I Become Small and Go

I Become Small and Go
Studio album by
Creeper Lagoon
Released1998
GenreAlternative pop
LabelNickelBag
Creeper Lagoon chronology
Creeper Lagoon
(1997) 		I Become Small and Go
(1998) 		Wonderful Love
(1998)

I Become Small and Go is the debut album by the American band Creeper Lagoon, released in 1998.[1][2] The band promoted it by touring with Versus and Rocket from the Crypt.[3][4] The first single was "Wonderful Love".[5] "Empty Ships" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dead Man on Campus.[6]

Production

Founding members Sharky Laguana and Ian Sefchick, who had played in a high school band in Ohio, recruited a drummer and bass player through a want ad prior to the recording sessions.[7] John King, of the Dust Brothers and Creeper Lagoon's label, NickelBag, remixed "Empty Ships", "Dear Deadly", and "Wonderful Love".[8] In addition to employing sampling, the band used a long list of toy and found instruments.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Albuquerque Journal[10]
AllMusic[11]
Robert Christgau(dud)[12]
The Independent[13]
Spin8/10[14]

Trouser Press dismissed the album as "by-the-numbers contemporary alterna-pop for listeners who’ve never heard any."[15] The Washington Post wrote that "singer-guitarist Ian Sefchick and guitarist-keyboardist Sharky Laguana compose melancholy ballads that suggest such elegantly downbeat rock composers as Mark Eitzel ('Wonderful Love') and John Cale ('Second Chance')."[16] Spin determined that, "aesthetically, they're between indie-jangle and art-pop, floating in space between the Matadorian arch-intelligentsia and the miniaturists of the Elephant 6 collective."[14] The New York Times stated that the band "turns the kind of noise that sounds like it came from inside someone's brain into achingly pretty, unraveling ballads."[17]

Music Week said that "Creeper Lagoon track a thoughtful, textured path through My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 territory."[18] The Boston Globe labeled the album "a pleasant blur of folk-pop melody, noisy guitar workouts, sampled strings, and Bulgarian chants."[19] The Oakland Tribune concluded that, "live, this band motors along nicely on charisma and an edgy attitude, but this record tries too hard to finesse weak material."[20] The Rocket deemed it "basic, ready-for-airplay smooth pop-rock."[9]

AllMusic opined that, "without King's distinctive touch, tracks like 'Tracy' and 'Second Chance' seem stunted and colorless."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Wonderful Love" 
2."Tracy" 
3."Empty Ships" 
4."Dreaming Again" 
5."Prison Mix" 
6."Sylvia" 
7."Dear Deadly" 
8."Black Hole" 
9."Drink and Drive" 
10."Second Chance" 
11."He Made Us All Blind" 

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, James (17 May 1998). "Big Things Come in 'Small' Package". Sunday Datebook. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 55.
  2. ^ DeLuca, Dan (26 June 1998). "And There's...". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 17.
  3. ^ Devenish, Colin (May 18, 1998). "Creeper Lagoon Sneak Up with 'I Become Small and Go'". MTV. Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ Rayner, Ben (28 July 1998). "The would-be San Diego rock gods...". Entertainment. Toronto Star. p. 1.
  5. ^ McCammon, Shane (Sep 10, 1998). "Creeper Lagoon I Become Small and Go". The Daily Utah Chronicle. p. 9.
  6. ^ Barrera, Sandra (16 May 2001). "Making a Splash on Radar". Orlando Sentinel. p. E5.
  7. ^ Vanderloo, Lydia (July 1998). "On the Verge: Creeper Lagoon". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 59. p. 14.
  8. ^ Reece, Doug (May 23, 1998). "Creeping Up on You". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 21. p. 22.
  9. ^ a b Mast, Eric (Jun 10, 1998). "Creeper Lagoon I Become Small and Go". The Rocket. p. 35.
  10. ^ Rodriguez, Kenn (Jun 12, 1998). "I Become Small and Go Creeper Lagoon". Albuquerque Journal. p. E19.
  11. ^ a b "I Become Small and Go Review by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Creeper Lagoon". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. ^ Perry, Tim (Oct 31, 1998). "Album Reviews". Going Out. The Independent. p. 43.
  14. ^ a b Dark, Jane (July 1998). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 14, no. 7. p. 122.
  15. ^ Pattyn, Jay. "Creeper Lagoon". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  16. ^ Jenkins, Mark (24 July 1998). "Creeper Lagoon 'I Become Small and Go'". The Washington Post. p. N14.
  17. ^ Powers, Ann (5 June 1998). "Pop and Jazz Guide". The New York Times. p. E26.
  18. ^ "Creeper Lagoon: I Become Small and Go". Music Week: 12. Oct 24, 1998.
  19. ^ Sullivan, Jim (11 Feb 1999). "Weird and proud of it". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 9.
  20. ^ Tassano, Aaron (Jun 2, 1998). "Album Reviews". Cue. The Oakland Tribune. p. 4.