[potsie]

The music was recorded swiftly over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with the final album often reflecting first takes.

I've never understood why musicians wear "first takes" as a badge of honour. You would never see a writer say, "The new novel from x, with most chapters representing first drafts". First takes can mean that you played it 50 times and never nailed as well as you did the first time, and that's fine. However, in the case of Gord recording 23 songs over 8 days I would have to believe that first takes for Introduce Yerself is going to mean a lot of "one and dones". There is a certain charm in something that is fresh and not over-cooked, but it also leaves the question of "Could it have been done better?" lingering in the air. Which is the question that I sometimes find hovering above Coke Machine Glow. For as much as I love it, it feels like an unfinished record at times (vs. the more complete The Grand Bounce). I think I'll probably feel the same about this one.

I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth here as I'm very grateful for anything, and understand that time is not a luxury for Gord. I guess what I'm questioning is the marketing. It seems to set it up for diminished expectations, as in "You don't like it? Well, it's a bunch of first takes. What did you expect?" It is not far off from calling it an album of demos and is an odd choice.