Thanks to the blogosphere’s usual bang-up music journalism, it’s unclear whether Christopher Laufman (a.k.a. Wise Blood) hails from Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Mars. Regardless, his ‘+’ EP, from which “STRT SRNS” is taken and which also happens to be available for free download, shows real promise. Well, as much promise as any other lo-fi bedroom project these days that perilously skates the line between musical genius and happy accident. With his off-kilter vocals and heavily echoed drum beats, all wrapped in the requisite layer of hazy fuzz, Wise Blood is definitely borrowing from the Animal Collective playbook, but the melody here has a bit of a tropical R&B bent. Jeez, how many more 2010 music buzz words can we cram into this blurb? Was Wise Blood created in some kind of a lab as the perfect marketing tool for targeting upwardly mobile urban tastemakers and thought leaders? Hmmm… we can’t rule it out. Let’s just say that yes, we like this, but we kind of hate ourselves for liking it. (via Pitchfork via Delicious Scopitone)

Wise Blood – STRT SRNS