Imp of Perverse - Who Knows?

Imp of Perverse

Who Knows?
Some Weird Sin; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

As it turns out drummers sometimes fantasize about becoming front men and making their own melodies. I know this not only from my own experience but all you have to do is take a look into the history of music. There are very obvious examples such as Dave Grohl, Phil Collins and Ringo but there are plenty of others such as Phil Selway and many more which are less well known.

I mention this because this was the case with Sean Lochridge. Lochridge is a drummer in the band The Halfways and decided to start a solo project entitled Imp of Perverse. His recent release Who Knows? is a nine-song album that flirts with off-kilter art pop. The drumming is fantastic throughout and truth be told so are most of the ideas and songs. 

I have to say that these songs were begging for better recording quality and production. This is a clear-cut case as any of the songs are being held back by the aesthetics. I was almost frustrated at points because the songs themselves have some great moments that I could imagine in my head but I wasn’t hearing the version that had the same visceral effect. Getting back to the music itself there's a lot to applaud Lochridge for. His unique singing style combined with inventive music is a winning combination. He locks into a vibe that runs throughout the album and it feels consistent. 

The album starts with “steponthisflowerpedal” and the first thing you notice is the exceptional drumming. Lochridge is no slouch on the guitar either. He strums jangly guitar chords making a psychedelic concoction of sound. I was reminded of Deerhunter at times. “Ribbon Chunk” was the song that got me hooked on his vocal style. He has a slacker like delivery somewhere between Bradford Cox and Stephen Malkmus. “Hapax Legomenon” has a Mac Demarco vibe while “Horseshoe Trails” has a jagged yet psychedelic guitar riff. 

For some reason “unending/unfolding” was mixed better than everything else on the album, especially during the middle part. It also happens to be one of the highlights of the album.

Who Knows? is a really solid start for Lochridge. For the love of god music this good should be treated properly. Befriend an engineer, get a part-time job to save up for studio time or become an intern at a studio and sneak into the studio like Trent Reznor used to do. You got the music now just make the sound quality competitive with like-minded artists like Deerhunter and Real Estate.

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