For me, listening to an East River Pipe song is like sitting down on a cold metal folding chair -- at first it's uncomfortable, but it quickly warms up and feels more like home. East River Pipe -- aka F.M. Cornog -- is the one-man, home-recording act that has grabbed critical acclaim with past albums like Mel and Shining Hours in a Can. To me, his songs all begin oddly; I'm not sure I'll like them, but then suddenly it all comes together and I feel like, "Wow! This is a really great song!" Cornog has at least a couple of things going for him. The first is a remarkable sense of sound layering. The inevitable aggregation of tracks doesn't come across as artificial in his case -- the right sounds come at the right times and lock together to make a lovely whole. This is not always the case with DIY, home-studio-ers! Also in his corner is Cornog's brilliant sense of understatement. Take the first song on The Gasoline Age, "Shiny, Shiny Pimpmobile", as an example of Cornog's gentle melancholia. The lyrics evoke a sense of resignation: "Shiny, shiny pimpmobile runnin' through the night...we're all alone, just get inside...the cherry bombs, confederate flags, don't forget that's all you are...". The music, however, is catchy and jaunty. Or how about "Hell Is an Open Door", which culminates with the line "Come be a no one?" East River Pipe's beautiful, sad music reminds us all that DIY doesn't have to mean gritty, low-quality sound and screw-you attitude. I eagerly await Cornog's future work!