Andrew Eckel - Make A Laser Sound (self released, 2009)

Andrew Eckel - Scene On A Beach


This Andrew Eckel character is special. I can honestly say I've never heard anything like Make A Laser Sound. Ever. It's got me thinking Beck at his weirdest, mixed with some Ben Folds, and lots of Barr. The craziness and absurdity found in Barr's songs are definitely shining through on Laser Sound. It's like fucked up funky trip hop with spoken word and a million outrageous sounds packed into a single song.

I feel about this record the way I did when I first listened to Barr. I kinda didn't like it because it's not easily recognizable as "good" music. It sounds like some 15 year old just grabbed every instrument he could get his hands on and had fun in Garageband. And I actually wondered whether or not Eckel was serious. Could Make A Laser Sound just be a huge joke?

But again, as the same as it was with Barr, multiple listens revealed the genius. And it's not the type of genius that can be easily explained. The only thing that can be said about it is it's sincerity. Eckel had a vision and went with it, disregarding any and all rules. I have no idea what his vision was but I can tell you the end result is a great piece of work. I gotta say, I'm really glad Laser Sound exists. For some reason, it just makes me really happy.