Rafter

Animal Feelings (Asthmatic Kitty)

By Erin Wolf
Published: April 15th, 2010 | 7:00am

Rafter Roberts is hell bent on rewriting the “Book of Catchy” and then some. The energetic young musician and producer from San Diego manages such a tenacious feat with all the nicety of a total nerd on his latest release, Animal Feelings. Adept at purifying melodies into their shiniest parts and taking fresh liberty on a tired but happy genre, Roberts peppers his creations with flippant R&B nuances, sailor swears, and neo-hippie folk. Animal Feelings is a sublime stretch of pushing the boundaries and blurring the genres Roberts is obviously fond of. But it’s also an unintentional and enjoyable showcase of his impressive production skills (he’s produced and engineered the music of Fiery Furnaces, Rocket From the Crypt, Sufjan Stevens, and Black Heart Procession).

Glib pop qualities may come off as cheesy in some cases but with Roberts, the more wild and experimental, the more openly nerdy and good. Most often compared to the oddly crossed wires of Nintendo composer Koji Kondo and Justin Timberlake, Roberts’ fourth release shifts into its first track, the baby-maker prelude “No F**king Around,” as talk boxes wrap tightly around the smooth-as-baby oil chorus. Not one to get stuck in a rut, Roberts flips gears for the next track (“A Frame”) with shaky-hollow drum beats courtesy of Andy Robillard (Enon, Gogogo Airheart, Album Leaf), which turns the environment into a shuffle-step dance party. The dance floor antics continue on “Timeless Form, Formless Time” in which Roberts breathily entreats, “Get your ass out on the floor.” Indeed.

And ‘the music keeps on playing all night long’ with Roberts’ drum-centric ditties wrapped in lasers. Every next song keeps the momentum going with the loose energy of a roller skating rink that is populated by punked up, neon-clad disco pros throwing out the occasional fly-by cuss word. “Never Gonna Die,” with its prominent handclaps, is a dead-ringer for Baltimora’s “Tarzan Boy” and Roberts’ soul confessionals on “Love Makes You Happy” has the vocalist dishing out Kurt Cobain feedback squeals in between his smooth talking. Is it Nirvana, or is it Boyz II Men? According to Rafter, you can have the best of both worlds.

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