Obvious Errors: Poor Execution by Snowfield

Obvious Errors: Poor Execution is a 15 track, 25 minute CD put out by Snowfield, the solo music project of Alex Mitcalfe Wilson. If you live in Wellington, you probably know Alex, who puts out the zine Cupcake Monsters. Alex is very good at writing about music. Making it? Not so much.

Admittedly, Snowfield is not the sort of music I would choose to listen to, particularly after the live shows where the backing track didn't match up to the instruments actually being played. So it was a great relief, when listening to Obvious Errors, to find the beat wasn't off. Mostly. I think that was deliberate.

The album is probably more interesting for what it speaks about than musically. It reminds me of things like Frase + Bri, but dirtier, more eclectic, not about crushes. Lyrics are recited, chanted even, rather than being sung, and tend to be in the background. I was disappointed reading the liner notes to find "a cat still wants tui birds" was actually "a cat still wants to eat birds". I think I like my version better. But that gives an example of the type of topics Snowfield discusses. It's definitely political, punk in anger, and not just the DIY aesthetic.

I like this CD best when there's lots going on; track 12, The Execution of Things, is my favourite. Some of it I plain don't get, short tracks that leave me confused as to what they're trying to do. Most of it I'm just not interested in.I admit I don't like minimalistic music - even so, I don't think the songs here are very successful. You can't doubt the sincerity, but I think you'd need particularly experimental tastes to appreciate this.