Diminished Men - Shadow instrumentals - recorded September 15th 2009

released September 15, 2009 on Abduction Records All music by Diminished Men, except "L' Appel du Verre", by Philippe Sarde Diminished Men Steve Schmitt- guitars Dave Abramson- drums, percussion Sam Wambach- saxophones Matt Rosoff- bass w/ guests: Steve Moore- Farfisa combo, mellotron, synthesizers, trombone Randall Dunn- analog synthesizers Produced, recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn at Aleph Studio, Seattle, WA Mastered by Mell Dettmer If current instrumental music was always as majestic and as compelling as this, I'd hang up my Retro-Italian Soundtrack collector's boots for good. From the explosive drum rolls of the opening track, the only cover on the record, "L'appel du Vere", from Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" (composed by Phillipe Sarde) to the darkly exotic finale "A Housewife's Dram", this record is a superbly crafted mosaic of whip-cracking vengeance, speakeasy hallucinations, and haunted geography. Besides the Italian western overtones, carnivalesque freak show backdrops, Khorshid Egyptian guitar passages, and flipped-out electronic space psych, are perhaps the best surf-inspired tracks I've heard in years. A thick damp fog must have been rolling in from the creek behind Randall Dunn's West Seattle studio when these recordings were made. Its spine-chilling how Dunn managed to make this record sound like the ultimate mid-60's Surf-Vampire-Western revival soundtrack. Elements of Joe Meek's best Moontrekkers productions cross with a dash of Badalamentian murder blues drama setting the stage for Steve Schmitt's cobra-twilight guitar work and Dave Abramson's drum kit outlaw splatter to leave their indelible stains across this 41-minute epic journey.” -ALAN BISHOP (Sun City Girls, Sublime Frequencies) credits released September 15, 2009 on Abduction Records All music by Diminished Men, except "L' Appel du Verre", by Philippe Sarde Diminished Men (2009 lineup) Steve Schmitt- guitars Dave Abramson- drums, percussion Sam Wambach- saxophones Matt Rosoff- bass w/ guests: Steve Moore- Farfisa combo, mellotron, synthesizers, trombone Randall Dunn- analog synthesizers Produced, recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn at Aleph Studio, Seattle, WA Mastered by Mell Dettmer license all rights reserved