Upgrade & Afterlife
Upgrade & Afterlife is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on June 17, 1996 by Drag City.[4]
| Upgrade & Afterlife | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 1996 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Post-rock | |||
| Length | 49:12 | |||
| Label | Drag City | |||
| Gastr del Sol chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Press | 5/5[2] |
| NME | 4/10[3] |
The album cover is Wasserstiefel (Water Boots) by Swiss artist Roman Signer.[5]
Composition
Pitchfork writer Nitsuh Abebe characterized Upgrade & Afterlife as a post-rock album where "folk and avant-garde abstract each other into something warm, minimal, and slanted".[6]
"Our Exquisite Replica of "Eternity"" contains a sample of the score from the 1957 science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man.[7] The title of the track is derived from the name of a cheap perfume marketed in public bathroom vending machines.[7]
"Dry Bones in the Valley (I Saw the Light Come Shining 'Round and 'Round)" is a cover of a John Fahey song, and features Tony Conrad on violin. According to David Grubbs, the idea of having Conrad play on "Dry Bones in the Valley" came to fruition after a Gastr del Sol show in Atlanta, where Grubbs observed Conrad "literally dancing with excitement" while Jim O'Rourke played the song alone onstage as an encore.[8]
Several sources misidentify track 3 as "The Sea Uncertain". This title, correctly rendered, appears to refer playfully both to a track on Gastr's previous full-length release titled "The C in Cake" and to one of Gastr percussionist John McEntire's other bands, The Sea and Cake, a moniker derived from McEntire's mishearing of that title.
Track listing
All tracks are written by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Exquisite Replica of "Eternity"" | 8:26 | |
| 2. | "Rebecca Sylvester" | 3:53 | |
| 3. | "The Sea Incertain" | 6:12 | |
| 4. | "Hello Spiral" | 10:40 | |
| 5. | "The Relay" | 5:49 | |
| 6. | "Crappie Tactics" | 1:48 | |
| 7. | "Dry Bones in the Valley (I Saw the Light Come Shining 'Round and 'Round)" | John Fahey | 12:28 |
References
- Bush, Nathan. "Upgrade & Afterlife – Gastr del Sol". AllMusic. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- "Gastr del Sol: Upgrade & Afterlife". Alternative Press. No. 99. October 1996. p. 77.
- Cox, Tom (July 13, 1996). "Gastr Del Sol – Upgrade And Afterlife". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- "Gastr del Sol – Upgrade & Afterlife". Drag City. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- Upgrade & Afterlife (liner notes). Gastr del Sol. Drag City. 1996. DC90CD.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Abebe, Nitsuh (July 11, 2005). "The Lost Generation". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- Bowe, Miles (October 6, 2011). "1996: Gastr del Sol – "Our Exquisite Replica of 'Eternity'"". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- Woznicki, Krystian. "Banana Cabbage, Potato Lettuce, Onion Orange: David Grubbs Interview pt 2". Sound Arts. No. 14. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
