Ringing
“Wonderful Tree Ears” b/w “Rusted House”

I’ve probably seen this thing in Detroit bins a thousand times and just totally glossed over it. It looks weird, but not a weird that would’ve grabbed my attention in my younger days. Limited to 200, pressed on blue vinyl at Archer, hand-numbered, some sort of paint/stencil/silkscreen color on a black-and-white sleeve that’s about 1/8” too big and appropriately dog-eared because of it. Ringing seems to have been Keir McDonald and Chris Girard…two Detroit names I’ve heard bandied about in Dirtbombs’ tour vans for nigh-on two decades, but guys who probably got out of the circle right around the time I started running in it. A missed connection…so to speak.

I do know that Keir was involved with the Volebeats, a country-ish band that was never able to get me interested. But this thing is SO far from what I expected. The eastern/Indian/raga vibes of “Wonderful Tree Ears" are precisely what I want from music but so rarely find. Hand percussion, what I *think* is a sitar (or some amazingly affected guitar), no vocals, just an incredibly unique vibe (especially coming from Detroit) that really just makes me want to hang out in a room with these dudes. “Rusted House” introduces vocals and is properly odd, for some reason I’m imagining this could fit on the soundtrack to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” with lots of what I assume to be hammer-on/hammer-off guitar noodle.

There are currently two copies of this single available for purchase on Discogs. I would strongly suggest you reading here to buy one…I probably would’ve already done so on my end if they weren’t located overseas. I did just go and buy all the other singles on the Manta Ray Fleet label which are small quantities and usually numbered and something that will probably be sweated by collectors sooner than later. I feel weird writing about songs that seem impossible for readers to instantly listen to…and then remember that EVERY record review used to operate under those auspices. This was not the case even ten years ago. My how things have changed.

Ultimately I just find myself so very happy that I was able to stumble upon something that ticks ALL of the boxes of things I hold dear to my heart (limited colored vinyl 7” pressed at Archer) AND the music is actually compelling. A banner day in the Blackwell household. My fear (and possibly my wife’s hope) is that I will run out of records to care about but “Wonderful Tree Ears” provides the gas that keeps me going.