Additional Kids

Additional Kids is plunderphonic innovator and Negativland member Wobblys idea of a pop album, and not in the same league as his earlier releases like Wild Why, which tossed multitudes of commercial radio samples into a blender. Building on lyrics and ideas that date back to the late 90s, the album is a full-fledged art-pop suite originating from the perspective of adults in their thirties questioning whether they should have kids, then circling back over a decade later after some of them became parents and others didnt. Joined by a cast of over a dozen guest vocalists and musicians, Wobbly assembles contorted rhythms filled with jumpy samples and cartoonish melodies, bridging the slippery textures and rapid-fire sample chops of his Tigerbeat6-era material with the generative ambiance of his work with Negativland. The title track is a madcap bit of mutated glitch-pop, while "The Hospital" is much less frantic, with guest DemonSleeper (Alexandra Buschman-Roman) expressing gratitude for being taken to the hospital in order to have a baby delivered. Marisa Elene Nadieja is both frank and flippant as she discusses the financial constraints of raising a family during "Bank Account." The shimmering "You Belong" brings together a choir featuring Pamela Z and both members of Blectum from Blechdom, while John Oswald (the Canadian composer who coined the term "plunderphonics") contributes a subtle layer of saxophone. The more reflective "The Recording" incorporates childrens voices (one declares "I was born with a recorder"), and final track "Family" is a chamber music piece with Wobbly stretching acoustic instruments (particularly Anne Bournes cello) across a chasm. ~ Paul Simpson