Turtleboy - Log Cabin

Turtleboy

Log Cabin
self-released; 2013

4.1 out of 5

By Andrea Abi-Karam

Originally located in Vancouver, the rock jazz group Turtleboy has already released two albums before giving us the Log Cabin EP in November 2013. As a foray into musical collaboration the group moved to Montreal to live together in a cabin for one month. Their goal was to collectively compose what would become Log Cabin. No prewritten music allowed before their free form jam sessions. Turtleboy recorded Log Cabin live on the floor of their actual log cabin. It was mixed by Montreal’s engineer Tim Gowdy, and mastered by Jose Pupo in Mexico City. Turtleboy has since spread out to Brooklyn, Berlin, and Toronto, and lucky for us, they continue to collaborate. 

The EP takes off with “Boat Ship (intro)” with gorgeous yet dark guitar picking that begins with pauses and then picks up into an anxious timbre climb. The second track “Boat Ship” starts off with a quicker, jazzy, guitar intro before entering into a lyrical narrative; “when I was a little boy my mother said to me I would become something rising like the tallest mountain.” The vocal and tenor saxophone trade off, showcasing their talents. The tenor adds a reminiscent quality to the track, a kind older type of storytelling. 

“Boat Ship” gains momentum throughout the track as though Adam Miller is concerned he will run out of breath before he can finishing telling us the story, “I will write til there’s no more story.” The sound builds throughout this song from bareboned jazz to heavier rock at the end when the track’s momentum peaks with the repetition of  “There’s a place where I belong let me tell you.” Miller’s attempt to convince the listener that he belongs there reflects Turtleboy trying to convince the world that their experimental cross genre jazz-rock belongs out in the world, which it does.

The acapella aspects to “Lewis Road” and “Fog Island” sound similar to Fleet Foxes’ breathy vocals. The tempo in “Fog Island” picks up into syncopated, rhythmic vocals. I can really feel the earnest desire and frustration with the chorus, “I want to love something concretely / I want to love something completely.” Paired with the intro of chimes, the earthy tenor bridge, the emotions and composition in “Fog Island” are complex.

Definitely check out “One Gold Star,” it’s one of their more obviously grungy, rock tracks with a powerful electric guitar intro. 

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