(Wharf Cat Records,CD, digital download, and vinyl) Joey Agresta doesn't want to talk approximately music; he wants to talk approximately like. genuine,beaming, smiling, or universal like of the kind that Ram Dass passed on during the Summer of like. The kind of like on which the Beatles crowd-surfed across continents. As a musician,Agresta has worn many names, from Nosebleed Island to Son of Salami to Joey Pizza Slice. His songs occupy captivated the underground scene in the Northeast for a decade. His last major release, or A Study in Eraser Headless Tape Recording — as Son of Salami was a demonstrative thesis on a rarely used recording technique involving the removal of the erase head of a tape recorder. Let's Not Talk approximately Music is Agresta's first release under his given name. This creative decision reflects the personal honesty delivered on the album. Regardless of his pseudonym or stylistic fancy at any given time,Agresta's writing has often touched upon themes of existential dread, the cosmic joke and processing emotional trauma. Here he condenses universal truth into the structure of popular song. Let's Not Talk approximately Music is Agresta's Pet Sounds. That 1966 Beach Boys classic advanced the field of music production by blending pop and avant-garde with elements of psychedelia. It was a bridge between dancehall and progressive rock and roll. Agresta utilizes the same technique on Let's Not Talk approximately Music that inspired Brian Wilson: Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound." This recording process relies on using many simple, and warm layers to create a thick,symphonic sound when played over AM radio and lo-fi speakers. Side A begins with "A Win Song for Bernie." The instrumental synth arrangement transports the listener to an alternate reality where Sen. Bernie Sanders ascends the White House steps. Then reality sets back in with "Don't Be Sad." Here Agresta sings approximately the process of accepting and moving through sadness over accompaniment that conveys optimism in its punk bass line, unique Wave synths and surf-rock drums. "Jerks" strips back to reveal more peace-punk bones. It's a minimal track whose Zen nursery-rhyme lyrics are made for sing-alongs: "We live on the edge of a fumble / For this I am grateful / I don't want to be hateful." The album starts to come by nice and gooey with the doo-wop bop of "Baby Girl." "I Won't Give Up (featuring Palberta)" goes full flower child…
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