The Year in Local Music
9The Art Department Paperwork/Birdwork (Gen Pop)
The Art Department, an oddball Jonathan Ehrens lo-fi project among many that came to life as a gigging live trio, released its second album on vinyl at 45 RPM. That makes sense given that the Art Department often feels like a sped-up and compressed version of a more normal band you might hear at 33 1/3. The Paperwork side, recorded in Georgia, expands that sound with clarinet, tuba, and zither, while the Birdwork side, recorded at Beat Babies studio in Maryland, finds the core trio as tight and weird as ever. (AS)
