Island House Recording’s first vinyl release is an excellent one from Minneapolis-based multi-instrumentalist Pat Keen. Keen’s I Saw A Bug is a diverse LP consisting of sixteen tracks that are hard to pin down. Keen contains multitudes embodied in these sixteen short instrumental songs.
The gentle and eccentric music on I Saw A Bug blends elements of electronic, folk, pop, jazz, Americana, Tropicalia, and beyond. It was recorded at houses and apartments in Minneapolis; Taos, New Mexico; and Los Angeles from 2020 to 2022. While you may have yet to hear of Keen, his roster of accomplishments is quite impressive.
Keen has a long-standing role in the songwriting-centered band Humbird. He’s also studied under luminaries like jazz bassist Dave Holland and collaborated with artists like art rock heroes Guerilla Toss and the avant-garde clarinetist John McCowen. The breadth of these experiences shows how Keen has created a dynamic new LP that melds so many influences.
Many tracks are concise, including some less than two minutes long, but they all blend together in a satisfyingly cohesive way. Keen leans into an acoustic-guitar heavy and lonely ambient country feel on several songs, reminiscent of Bure Langhorne’s haunting music for the film soundtrack to the 1971 anti-western A Hired Hand.
But just when you think you have Keen pinned down, he shifts into a different form, such as on the bright and whimsical “Mud Season” or the intricate beats of “Hopper.” “Dance With Wheeler” plays with a slick Tropicalia, while “15” presents a dizzying and trippy sonic collage of electronica.
Pat Keen’s I Saw A Bug will surprise you. It offers an eclectic mix of instrumental tunes good for lazy summer days. As the dog days of summer approach, check out I Saw A Bug and let the sounds wash over you.
Check out I Saw A Bug by Pat Keen on Bandcamp here.
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