It’s hard enough trying to pigeonhole techno wizard John Tejada or classical guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto. But their supergroup I’m Not a Gun is even harder. At least I can guess where the name came from: Brad Bird’s criminally underrated animated classic Iron Giant.
The heroic robot of Iron Giant spends the entirety of the film creating an identity by finding out what he is not: A weapon of mass destruction, an interstellar hitman bent on Earth’s demise, “a gun,” as he concludes at the film’s finale. Similarly, I’m Not a Gun’s fourth full-length head trip Mirrors, out October 14 from Tejada’s label Palette Recordings, will probably have you grasping for terminology to define its hypnotic allure.
Post-rock? Chill-core? Tech-jazz? Classictronica? Help!
Whatever you decide, it’s hard not to like Mirrors, which is as spaced-out as the Iron Giant. Check out the “Ghost Has Gone” embed and see what you think. It’s but one of several genre-bleeders on the effort, including the head-bobbing opener “Longing Mind” and the ambient chill of “The Dance.”
It’s hard to believe that John Tejada can produce something this addictive after 80 releases, even with the dexterous fingerwork of Takeshi Nishimoto. But some people just wake up with amazing music in their heads. The rest of us get lucky enough to listen.
This article appeared at Wired
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