The Freak Flag of Chad VanG

It does get weirder than Chad VanGaalen, really it does. This is mostly because Chad is inherently capable of striking the perfect dissonant chord for any occasion, making him adorable and essential all at the same time. There is a flaw somewhere herein, but this flaw floats atop the sound, like oil over water, and says, "I don't care what you think about me." He is certainly his own, and is critically revered as a result. Soft Airplane plays mostly like an acid trip, awash in reverb and loosely strung guitar strings. A few of the songs somehow fall bland, or perhaps I'm not toking the correct carcinogen, but the few that hit the aforementioned chord are exactly the reasons why Mr. VanGaalen remains a hot button in the freak-folk indie community and on this very blog.

Listen:
Molten Light
Rabid Bits of Time
[from Soft Airplane|buy]