Bruce Smear (a.k.a. Tommy Davidson) is one of the latest artists to join Joel Ford’s new multi-media imprint, Driftless. While Davidson spends his days playing guitar in Brooklyn indie-pop outfit Beach Fossils, the energetic, “hi-fidelity IDM” jams he has been slowly churning out as Bruce Smear certainly don’t belie a lack of attention. Supposedly made on a 2005 PC laptop while traversing the country, “Rodeo” has a sticky, frantic arrangement that twists a soulful vocal fragment and some chopped percussion into a rolling, jungle-inspired track. Washes of white noise and phaser-soaked synths add even more layers into the dense tapestry of “Rodeo,” showing that even meager gear can create inspiring results.

Rodeo