[DEU] Hin und wieder taucht CHAD VANGAALEN aus seinem Bunker in Calgary auf und öffnet mit einer Handvoll Songs ein Fenster in die private Welt des zurückgezogenen und rätselhaften Songwriters.

Mit "Diaper Island" legt VANGAALEN sein musikalisch meist zusammenhängendes Album vor und wagt sich gleichzeitig an das, was für ihn bereits einem Rockalbum gleichkommt.

Während seiner drei vorherigen Alben in einem engen Kellerstudio entstanden, sorgte der Umzug in ein größeres Studio dafür, dass er seinen Sound entwickeln und verfeinern konnte.

Gerade zurück von den Aufnahmen des von Kritikern beglückwünschten WOMEN Albums "Social Strain", verbot sich VANGAALEN den Trost des bekannten Territoriums und wandte einige seiner Aufnahmentechniken und Soundideen aus den Sessions mit WOMEN für seine eigene Musik an.

Zum ersten Mal stellt sich eine geschichtete, übersteuerte Gitarren in den Mittelpunkt der Songs, die oft spartanisch und ohne die melodischen Details der früheren Alben daherkommen.

Mit dem Hauptaugenmerk auf der Gitarre, die zusammen mit dem heißgeliebten alten Bandaufnahmegerät VANGAALENs den Sound bestimmt, bewegt sich VANGAALEN in Richtung einer eher minimalen Produktion, die mehr der Musik ähnelt, die ihn als Teenager beeinflusst hat, während der rote Faden seiner vorherigen Alben noch immer auch durch "Diaper Island" läuft.

Every so often, Chad VanGaalen emerges from his bunker in Calgary with a batch of songs, giving us a window into the private world of this reclusive and enigmatic songwriter.

With Diaper Island, VanGaalen distills his approach, producing his most sonically cohesive album to date, and the closest thing he has done to a rock album.

While VanGaalen's three previous records were made in a cramped basement studio, a move to a larger recording room offered space to develop and refine his sound.

Fresh from producing Women's critically lauded Public Strain, VanGaalen decided to avoid the comfort of working on previous ground, and apply some of the recording techniques and sonic ideas that emerged from those sessions.

For the first time, multi-tracked and often overdriven guitar is the instrument at the centre of the songs, which are often spartan and free of the melodic details that embellished previous albums.

With this focus on guitar, combined with a beloved vintage tape machine determining the sound, VanGaalen moved towards a leaner, no-frills approach-one that more closely resembles the music that influenced him as a teenager, while continuing the arc laid out in his previous work.

The paradox of trying to assert control in a climate of helplessness winds through the album, whether in the existential pondering on life and death that often pervades VanGaalen's songs ("Do Not Fear," "Replace Me"), or in the conflict between control and creativity ("Freedom for a Policeman," "No Panic, No Heat").

At the album's heart is "Sara," a simple and celebratory paean that gorgeously praises the ability of VanGaalen's partner and muse to nurture his creativity in the face of this uncertainty, and captures the songwriter at his most sincere and powerful.

At this point Chad VanGaalen may perhaps be better known for his illustrative rather than his musical output.

As was the case with all of his previous albums, VanGaalen has illustrated all of the art for Diaper Island himself.

He's also in the midst of animating a music video as well. His past videos have been collectively viewed well over a million times on youtube.

He's also animated music videos for folks like J Mascis, Guster, and Holy Fuck. VanGaalen has been quietly building a catalogue of songs, illustrations, and animations that invite listeners to gently explore his distinctive creativity.

Diaper Island extends the adventure into deeper territory, tapping into VanGaalen's lifeblood and mining the richness of his mind with sharper tools.