HsAcNoStEtN-2 "new reviews"

[Scott Hansen <scott-a-hansen@uiowa.edu>]

Title: HsAcNoStEtN-2 "new reviews"

here's 2 reviews from my cd project from earlier this yr. i don't even remember sending it...1st one rips me a new bum-hole (again), but they also ripped the new eric johnson album, so i feel like i'm in good company, 2nd one is a bit more "positive"...my big question: when am i going to get out of the "lo-fi" mode, i mean, the stuff was all recorded on a digital recorder, there's no hiss like on my 4-track recordings, jeez..., and i'm lumped in w/ the slackers now? when that was all happening 10 yrs ago, i was a good 1/2 generation older than most of the "slackers", oh well, guess it's good to be in "some type of category"...some humourous reading for the day....enjoy....s----

http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=3267012539626234
Scott Hansen has a beef with Corporate Rock. He says it plain as day with the title of his sophomore album, and his lo-fi singer songwriter/looped noise shtick rebukes all things mainstream and corporate-controlled. Unfortunately, his dislike for anything mainstream or "corporate" compromises his vision, steering him away from such tired concepts as entertaining his listeners or actually making sense.

Hansen offers 26 mostly-untitled noise tracks over 78 minutes. I have no doubt he had a blast (and more than likely was blasted) recording and manipulating corp ROCK sucks, but it isn't the easiest or most enjoyable listen for anyone else. His forays into noise looping and sound manipulation demonstrate no apparent forethought or focus -- they're mostly just annoying. The tracks Hansen bothered to title, most notably the catchy "Legacy" and the charming "Poplust", offer intriguing lo-fi singer/songwriter moments that, while never breaking any ground, at least engage and entertain...leaving only 74-odd minutes of material that doesn't.

The biggest problem facing Hansen here, outside of his confusing slacker moniker (chosen because there was already a Scott Hansen registered on MP3.com), is the album title. I'm assuming he has something to say about the substandard and shallow state of corporate rock, and corp ROCK sucks is intended to make a statement and push some buttons. Unfortunately, the only button you'll want to push is "eject".
-- Ryan Smith


http://members.evansville.net/tgodsend/latest.html
HsAcNoStEtN - "corp ROCK sucks" CDR - This 26-track, 78-minute album by Iowa-based solo artist Scott Hansen delivers both experimental sound collages as well as lo-fi bedroom-folk pop. The untitled electronic-based experiments seem meandering and aimless, often showing little more than improvised keyboard/guitar noise-noodles. On the other hand, Hansen's folksy vocal pieces show a slackerly singer-songwriter in the vein of another Hansen (Beck). It's rough, unpolished work, and the tracks seem rather samey and often plodding, but the honestly and down-to-basics approach is something that many a 'big-name' act can learn from. Congrats to Scott for keeping his music far-away and free from the gloss and false facades of the mainstream. (Hello Shadow Media)

--