As the fate of Calgary's Women lingers in silence, Chad VanGaalen resumed making solo songs in his bunker, which he calls Yoko Eno. While we always considered his influence exponential in shaping two of our favorite records, it seems his time spent with Women has rubbed off on his solo endeavors.
Chad's upcoming Diaper Island will apply similar recording techniques mined from the Public Strain sessions, which is obviously a good-good thing. Albums like Soft Airplane employed embellished push-button pop sounds and the various hand-crafted instruments that VanGaalen made to give his music an unrivaled quirkiness, but at the heart of Diaper Island is the multi-tracked guitar – pure and simple. The single “Sara” is a testament to his dedication to a stripped-down sound, lifting VanGaalen's words to the forefront. Any guy with a girlfriend or crush named Sara is sure to put this on his next mixtape sent her way.
Still, Chad is not denying us his quirky side entirely. His Your Tan Looks Supernatural EP is a collection of Diaper Island outttakes available for $5 download with the proceeds going to the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan.
Get the Your Tan Looks Supernatural EP here.
Diaper Island is out May 17 on Sub Pop.
