Chris Goss Posts New Tracks “The Workhouse Howl” and “Powder Man”
Posted in audiObelisk, Whathaveyou on January 9th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I was somewhat hopeful, if bet-hedgingly so, that last year might’ve brought new music from Masters of Reality. Sadly, it didn’t. Though 2016 brought a reissue of the desert-rocking 2001 outing Deep in the Hole (discussed here), it’s been since 2009 that an actual new record from the band has showed up. That last full-length was the pop-experimental Pine/Cross Dover (review here), which seemed to take particular delight in its own strangeness of vibe even as it played from a foundation of ultra-solid hooks very much in the tradition of Chris Goss‘ songwriting — an element that, if you don’t know by now, is about as unfuckwithable as they come.
Early 2018 brings two new pieces from Goss, and they’re immediately distinct for appearing under his own name. Does that mean they won’t turn into Masters of Reality songs at some point? Does that mean he’s going to put out a solo record? Does that mean there’s going to be any kind of follow-up at all and the songs might not get taken down by the time this post goes live? I have no idea. I have no idea on any of it. One cut is an excerpt of a song called “The Workhouse Howl” that’s got kind a haunting ambience of volume swells and some keyboard-sounding string arrangement, and the other is the acoustic-based “Powder Man,” a quiet but memorable and melancholy chorus executed in an efficient three-plus minutes.
Again, I don’t know what if anything these songs are leading toward. Following Goss on Twitter is something of a mixed bag of retweets and conservative political whatnottery, but ultimately pretty light on info as regards new music. Still, these songs exist and for today that’s enough to make me really happy and renew my hopes that at some point the man will produce a new full-length, be it under the Masters of Reality moniker or even his own name. If it’s a solo piece in the vein of “Powder Man” here or something more progressive along the lines of “The Workhouse Howl” or both, or even just the solo single, I’ll take it. Shit man, it’s Chris Goss. Take what you can get and be happy for it.
Here are those tracks:
