Model Home Both Feet En Th Infinite

On its Don Giovanni Records debut, both feet en th infinite, Model Home find a balance between order and entropy. The Washington, D.C. duo’s music – “abstract hip hop,” if you must slap a label on it – has long favored a freewheelin’ and improvisational approach. Their single-take gonzo mind-melds currently span 19 Bandcamp-only releases, a compilation album, one full-length LP, and numerous mixpates.

both feet en th infinite enters a newly meditative territory. The music is Funkadelic-esque in its mutant decadence, but also strangely hypnotic. Here Model Home’s core duo – Nappy Nappa (words) and Pat Cain (home-made Serge modular synthesizer) – is augmented by producer and Future Times label-founder, Andrew Field-Pickering (Max D), whose obliquely funky rhythm tracks set a solid foundation for the group to spill alien logic.

The record’s 7 songs were captured in just two days with the goal of creating a Model Home record that could eventually be replicated on stage. All but two songs are full-blown live takes and there’s a communal energy present via contributions from a who’s who of contemporary DMV heads – including Dreamcast, Awad Bilal (Too Free), Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements), Bubbie, and Rob Stokes. The album was engineered with Mike Petillo (Geo Rip).

Model Home create and release music at an intimidating pace. Amid that flood of noise and thought there are moments that mark a shift in tone and approach. Last year’s album SE was one, as was the compilation One Year. both feet en th infinite is another. It’s relative stillness and gridded percussion mark a departure from Cain, Nappa, and Field-Pickering’s status quo and also a renewal. It’s a set that pulls double duty as a brain-breaking koan and an outer-limits party record.