image courtesy of Bob Lord

EP Review of Bob Lord: Playland Arcade

Progressive? Experimental? Quirky? I’m never quite sure how to describe Bob Lord‘s music. Bob is kind of like a musical Picasso. He creates masterpieces you don’t quite understand, but you know you’re witnessing something worth paying attention to, worth remembering, worth enjoying. Slated for an April 27, 2021 release, Playland Arcade contains nothing that disputes any of that. If you’re familiar with Bob’s work within Dreadnaught, whose 2017 album Hard Chargin’ I reviewed here at the Blog, this solo album is much more esoteric.

The music on Playland Arcade tends to fall into one of three categories: video game, movie soundtrack, or cartoon soundtrack. Actually, most of it falls into zero categories, but I can imagine it being used creatively and effectively in one of the three aforementioned situations. And since the album is named for the Playland Arcade at Hampton Beach, NH, this mix of sounds isn’t surprising; the album is an arcade-caliber auditory assault on the senses.

Now, I’ve listened to movie soundtracks. The Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack is a classic. And cartoon soundtracks can be incredibly detailed. In my early music journalist days, I reviewed The Carl Stalling Project: Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958. Carl Stalling’s music was pure genius, and I had that album in heavy rotation on my CD changer for quite a while. I can’t say I’ve listened much to video game music albums, but I’ve seen them cross my desk; no, Buckner & Garcia’s Pac-Man Fever doesn’t count because it was music about video games rather than music from video games, though I practically wore out that cassette from repeated plays when I was a teenager.

Still, as oddball as Playland Arcade is, and as unusual as it is to hear music from these categories, Bob Lord’s vision and execution are masterful, and though I don’t sit alone just listening to it, it’s an interesting backdrop for me while doing other things, though the music occasionally seizes my attention, so I can’t be doing anything too attention-intensive while listening.

I’ll start from the beginning and end at the end, but I’ll skip around in between like a kid in a beach town on a rainy day with nothing else to do, dropped at an arcade to wait out the storm and unsure how to spend his pocketful of tokens.

“Fry Doe” opens the collection as an instrumental musical number that establishes a tone and rhythm, adds bits and pieces to itself as it progresses, building in power and taking the listener on a journey, either through a video game or, toward the end especially, maybe also through a jungle, while delivering memorable musical runs and recurring hooks.

The most attention-grabbing song on the disc may be “Yo Soy Miguel,” perhaps because the lyrics – or, rather, the title phrase – is delivered with such an enthusiastic jolt, though the keyboardwork, as well, adds its memorable, energetic splash. Later in the disc, “Get Yer Drink Up” is a subtler, more rhythmic vibe in the same vein, with a beat that almost sounds as if it was being taped while walking down the street, with the percussionist tapping it out on the wall, garbage cans, his own body, even clapping when necessary; I dig it.

True to its name, “In For the Kill” is an excellent example of tension-building background music, as if taken directly from a crime drama. “Night Sweats” continues in the eerie vein but also launches into a mid-song musical bridge that could be taken from a 1970s progressive AOR album. Also on “Night Sweats,” I’m especially partial to the ratcheting sound effect used in it, a bit like an old wind-up alarm clock… or toy… or maybe even just a ratcheting wrench. “The Backyard Swan” also plays in this ’70s TV/movie soundtrack musical space, simultaneously channeling both The Mod Squad and a Clint Eastwood movie soundtrack.

“Beach Pizza” is soundtrack background music of a walk that ends with a panoramic view, and it flows right into “Tenderly,” with its slack-key guitar style twang, as if straight from a Hawaiian beach… perhaps with a pizza? (Does the Playland Arcade serve Hawaiian style pizza?)

One song specifically reminds me of the Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack. I could easily envision a scene where “Fanfare for a Losing Team” was the background music. Perhaps a scene in Marrakesh where Indy and his companions are being chased, with surprises around every corner. The song has sounds of tension building intertwined with success. I can see how it could be a team’s fight song, as well, but I’m gonna go with Indiana Jones on this one. Much shorter “Last Word” contains the same sort of seemingly-Raiders-inspired tension, too, and it’s clearly movie soundtrack fodder with its big, climactic ending.

A personal favorite of mine, “Wyoming Vice,” has the western feel its name suggests, while 35 second long “Lobster Roll” feels like it may come from either a ’70s sitcom with an overly enthusiastic music bed or, perhaps, a blooper reel.

“Mighty Forces” builds into a celebratory song, with barn dance-worthy fiddling and a more-frantic-seeming-than-it-actually-is pace really getting your heart racing over the course of the tune.

I’ll close by mentioning another favorite, “Siege,” which ends the album with energetic rhythm. Very ’80s electro-pop/rock styled music, blending pop song techniques with video game-worthy sound effects and progressive/experimental stylings in at least one of the bridges for an effective fast-moving song, both before and after the mid-song, odd musical interlude, which, by the way, is something I’d expect from a ’70s progressive rock album. Bob accomplishes the feeling of a 12-minute prog rock opus in the much shorter (only 5:16!) “Siege.”

Beginning to end, Playland Arcade is a well-conceived, peculiar collection of unusually catchy odd songs and sound effects. It’s kind of like an audition tape for various types of background music and soundtrack work. Bob Lord is joined by some of exceptionally talented musicians on this well-conceived project (as noted on Bob’s website here), and you’re not likely to find much else like it. Interesting from the first listen, it continues to grow on you with each subsequent spin.

Looking Ahead

Well, Dreadnaught’s website says there’s a new Dreadnaught album, Northern Burner, scheduled for a summer 2021 release. First things first, though; Playland Arcade will be released in three days, on Tuesday, April 27th, and you can pre-order it here.