What Day Is It?

Few people knew that Bob Drake had self-released an album in 1994. Most of his fans thought his solo discography started with Little Black Train. What Day Is It? came out three years earlier, in the form of a self-recorded album in a self-assembled package. Only 300 copies were put in circulation, and the whole thing was kept quiet until Ad Hoc reissued it in 2006. Most of Drake's signature quirks are already part of this album, including sharp turns, dense multi-tracked arrangements, wild stereo separation, and disquieting lyrical topics. What Day Is It? can almost be seen as a blueprint for The Skull Mailbox (And Other Horrors) or The Shunned Country. The songs have yet to reach that perfection in brevity found in later efforts, and the production is not yet as Lovecraft-esque as it will get down the line, but if anything, this album points toward those directions. Some tracks run around aimlessly in an uncharacteristic way ("Death Valley," for instance), but others deserve a place among the man's upper average, including "The House," "Spiders" with its Halloween hillbilly feel, and "The 13th Animal." Dave Kerman is drumming on six tracks out of 14; Drake handles everything else: vocals, guitars, keyboards, violin, bass, and percussion. Newcomers to the man's uniquely creepy brand of avant-prog songs may want to start with a more mature work (The Skull Mailbox remains a pinnacle), but seasoned fans will be more than pleased to add this early effort to their collections. ~ François Couture, Rovi