Search - Self :: Gizmodgery

An Accomplished Undertaking

cinephile100 | Sewell, NJ USA | 09/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Self is the name of the band of Matt Mahaffey. The name spurs from the fact that he records most of the songs by, you guessed it, himself. "Gizmodgery" is his latest release. You could call it a concept album; the concept being that besides his voice, all the instruments used in the recording of this album were toy instruments. Yes, you heard right. No electric guitars. No drums. No pianos. Only their toy equivalents. Quite the gutsy move.But he pulls it off. He manages to make these toy instruments sound commonplace in his music. The idea of "only toy instruments" moves beyond being a gimmick into an expression. This album is unlike anything I've ever heard before. There is really no better way to describe it. It's sound is unique unto itself. And its a bit of a departure from previous Self albums. It moves out of the more rock oriented realms and begins to experiment with what can be done in the art of music. That's not to say this album doesn't rock.With such songs as "Dead Man" and "Nine Lives" to the cover of the Doobie Brother's "What a Fool Believes" to the classic "Trunk Fulla Amps," this album doesn't stop (with the exception of "Chameleon", a song I could take or leave). Track after track you are hit by another rocking tune. Even the croonish "Ilovetoloveyourlovemylove" has a beat you can tap your foot to.As a whole, the album is a well executed experiment in music that pays off. If you have the fifteen bucks and are tired of listening to music that sounds like everything else out there, pick this up. You won't be dissapointed."

A New Approach to Making Music

Adam W. Smith | Kansas City | 09/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded using toy instruments only (such as toy guitars, drums, keys, etc., and plain childrens toys), "Gizmodgery" is a truly unique album in many ways. Comparable to "Subliminal Plastic Motives", "The Half-Baked Serenade", and "Breakfast With Girls" in sound and musicianship, "Gizmodgery", Self's 4th CD (not including "Feels Like Breaking Shit" and various boots), has a different feel to it at some points during the course of the CD. Obviously, the songwriting has a different approach to it, it ends up working quite well for most of the CD. On "I Am a Little Explosion", the music has a kind of sterile, inhuman feel to it, but that's the exception to the rule, for an album using strictly toy instruments and vocals (and handclaps), "Gizmodgery" sounds very much human, and all of the songs on here would sound great live. The constant barrage of toy sounds and bleeps doesn't become annoying at all, it's part of the overall charm of the album. The standout tracks, in my mind are "Dead Man", a nice piece of pop that has great lyrics to match the music behind it; "Trunk Fulla Amps", an obvious single which has an edited version included as track 13; "Miracleworker", which starts out with a guitar riff that brings to mind The Who's "I Can't Explain"; "Pattycake", a Prince-esque post-disco rave-up ode to a carefree childhood, complete with a handjive in the middle of the song; and "What a Fool Believes", a cover of the Doobie Brothers song, which improves upon the original, while sounding faithful to it, despite the usage of toy instruments. The usage of keys and synth is heavier on here than any Self album before, but the whole thing is excellent overall. A truly unique and quirky CD, "Gizmodgery" should get airplay on college radio stations because of the high level of musicianship Matt and co. display here. It's not my favorite Self album ("Subliminal Plastic Motives" is still the champ), but if you've ever enjoyed the music of Self, "Gizmodgery" is worth at least a good listen. Recommended to anyone who enjoys well-made pop music with a twist or 2."

Stunned!

Rik | Nashville, TN | 11/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you havent heard SELF, GO BUY THEIR ALBUM! It is amazing that this cd along with "Breakfast with Girls" and "Subliminal Plastic Motives" is available on this website. They are almost impossible to find! However, while Gizmodgery is an extremely good cd, (made entirely by toys, yes, freakin toys like playschool stuff), im intimidated to pay the 40.00 for it. My best friend let me listen to this cd, and i couldnt put it down. Breakfast with Girls, Gizmodgery, Subliminal Plastic Motives, and The Half-Baked Serenade are all of SELF's albums. My personal fav. is Gizmodgery followed by Half-Baked as a close second. I was shocked when i heard this band play, and even more shocked that something this good could come from my homestate of Tennessee! If you havent heard this band, you owe it to yourself to listen to these extraordinarily talented musicians. You wont regret it in the least. I love this band, and hope that they release another album soon."