This is usually the part of the post where I unleash a litany of bad jokes involving the inanity of an artist’s name. But I can’t do that with The Gaslamp Killer, because he wields one of the most righteous monikers in music. The Gaslamp Killer–the name conjures shadowy Victorian cities, cobblestone streets, and sharp knives. Like something straight out of that stylish but slightly stupid, Jack the Ripper flick, From Hell. (On a related note, am I the only one still excited for the Hughes Brothers’ new film?).
If you don’t know The Gaslamp Killer, you probably haven’t been to Low End Theory, which is to LA’s abstract beat culture what The Smell is to punk rock. The music scene’s getting so good out here, it’s making it almost impossible for me to talk shit–which poses a dire dilemma. GLK is one of the reasons why.
His debut, My Troubled Mind, is slated to drop early next month on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder Records imprint, and the first taste, “Anything Worse,” has me ready to harass his publicist into sending me the whole thing now. Staten Island-hard drums, “The Horror” synths, chilling vocal samples–at once emblematic of the Low End aesthetic, but very much a unique, coherent vision. If you’re doing the math at home: Ghostface Killah> Gas Lamp Killer > Killer Klowns from Outerspace> Crazy Joe Davola> Insane Clown Posse.
Download:
MP3: The Gaslamp Killer-“Anything Worse”
