Ned Collette / Our Other History Cassette Tape

Ned Collette / Our Other History Cassette Tape

Cat #: e/n-083
FORMAT: Cassette
LABEL: ever/never records
RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2024 

“I don’t really know Ned Collette. That’s about to change, and I am energized with anticipation.  Last summer, I saw Ned in performance here in my hometown of Louisville, KY, accompanied  by Elisabeth Fuchsia who had recently become a hero-friend. And it was ‘magical’, ‘alchemical’,  engaging and illuminating and inspiring; I witnessed Ned’s and Fuchsia’s almost overpowering  fluency with music and with music’s ability to act simultaneously as the medium for  communication between performers and with audience.  

I’m bouncing back and forth with how I refer to Ned Collette in this writing. If I always called  him “Collette” it might disguise the fact that, should I wish to, I could reach him now, easily, on  the telephone or over email, and that our acquaintance continues to grow and just about  resembles something I’ve learned can be called friendship. If I only referred to him as “Ned”,  though, it would belie the fact that I am humbled by his ability.  

These are songs. They are also sound-pieces, artful constructions of dynamic arrangement. Our  Other History is a dreamworld unto itself and, where each song stands on its own, this is one of  those increasingly rare beasts: a full-length record to to experience and behold and live in for a  

while as a whole thing. The contributors’ voices (including the human voice in the cases of Leah  Senior and Judith Hamann) bring such significant impact that it is beyond what we think of as  musical parameters, getting deeper into the drama and tone of each piece. I would call it “Lyric  Music” because the lyric carries much of the weight (not to say burden) of what is  communicated. The word dominates, and here the word rewards. When Mick Turner’s guitar  enters the scene, I am overwhelmed with joy; and Jim White’s drum playing has never felt more  natural and powerful and appropriately modifying than it does here. And then I begin to notice  Steve Heather’s drumming everywhere else and am floored by its dusty elegance. But isn’t fair to  single out players; I’m being fully subjective, and my perspective changes with each listen. The  record as a whole is directed in ways that we understand a movie director oversees the identity of  her or his film.  

Ryan Davis and I were driving around the United States not long ago and he played this record in  the van. I couldn’t believe that something so fine was also new. But it could only be new; it  wears its modernity subtly and surely and is as rewarding a listening experience as I’ve come  across in recent times.” - Will Oldham, 2024 

TRACKLIST: 

Our Other History
Friendly Fucker
Athens
Little Hans
Endtimes Boogie
Bridges Of Sunlight
Shot Through
The Kitchen Tunnel
Blue Rooms