This past October Michael Zapruder released a new album entitled Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope on Sidecho Records. Every year there’s an artist or two that wows me with some serious out of this world song writing chops and dazzling arrangements. Zapruder is one of them this year. His compositions have the flavoring of Andrew Bird, but his hushed raspy voice gives Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope a much darker twist. Recorded with Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, Two Gallants, Pattern Is Movement, John Vanderslice) over an intense two week span at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone Studios, Zapruder has created a minimal yet complex venture that echoes his mission statement of the idea of negative capability, the ability to be “in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason” and a line from poet Joshua Beckman : “This party is fucked without the karate chop of love.” Yeah! Check it:

mp3: Michael Zapruder – Ads For Feelings

mp3: Michael Zapruder – Happy New Year