Matt Shimmer @ Indieville
These days we have seen a large scale attention shift towards folk and Americana music, pioneered by the success of bands like Okkervil River, Beth Orton, and Death Vessel. But behind the major names lies a vast and varied scene filled with countless strummers and storytellers. One such artist is Brian Michael Roff, who has put out a number of strong records both on his own and with his Deer. Inventory is his much anticipated second album for KEEP Recordings, an absolutely incredible DIY label from Tucson, Arizona.

Roff makes Inventory's tone clear right from the start with "I Would Work If I Could," an infectious little bumper detailing the frustration of the working man. This is folky Americana, composed of friendly narratives and warm melodies. It can become a little bland at times - such as on "For Pledges" - but the glut of strong songs makes up for any discrepancy. "Winter Will" is a bittersweet, longing piece of nostalgia designed to bring out your emotional side. "Unfantastic Few," meanwhile, is a heartfelt beauty with the serious viola lending it a sense of urgency. The nearly seven minute "I Fell At The Opera" could be considered the album's centrepiece, and rightfully so. There is very little to complain about on this strong set of songs, which marks another step towards glory for Brian Michael Roff. We can only hope he continues to put out albums like this for years to come - and gets the recognition he deserves.



David Cowling @ Americana UK
Shelf space wanted for no filler lo-fi folk-rock. Inventory is all about control - the faster it turns the better, where levels are set by complex calculations and the Pareto rule says that 80% of all music is shit. So what sorts of things go to make up the bill of materials for this item? A measure of viola to give a crepuscular drone to songs like ‘Drank the Lake’, a dusty lived in pop sensibility, bare bones of banjo with strummed electric guitar chords, skewed walk through vocals on ‘I Fell at the Opera’ which develops into the sort of song that generates power through its restraint. ‘For Pledges’ has a slinky dusty syncopation of Josef K where the rhythms have less spasm and more consideration, ‘Winter Will’ is as bare as a December deciduous - with bare patches of guitar with some legato bent notes, it succeeds in providing the perfect backing for his voice. Nowhere is there any extraneous sound; drums are sparingly used, just brushes like gentle urges to keep a donkey on track, and seldom do the guitar notes run into each other. When they do as in the chorus of ‘This Yellowed Yield’ everything suddenly seems so rich and yet there’s still so little there. They marshal the resources for the striding ‘Unfantastic Few’ - the strings, guitar and drums join together for a march around the Pintetop 7. Storage location is key to inventory: you can locate the inventory somewhere near Willard Grant Experience, the Gourds, Hayden and maybe Will Johnson. Where you locate something like ‘Pour the Batter’ is more problematical - the obtrusiveness of A Witness, an aesthetic somewhere between lo-fi and FM, a dusty slack Americana sound. You can realise your inventory more quickly if your marketing is right, and in this case the first 1000 copies come in a letterpress matchbook packaging, hand numbered with a signed inventory tag - you should get your order in before the inventory gets too low. There’s some debate in accounting circles whether inventory is an asset of a liability; in this case it is definitely the former.



David Cowling @ sctas
On Brian Michael Roff's 2004 EP In the Analog Woods, he stated - and I quote - "I want to make an honest sound, I want the sound to be the truth". He was then (and since 2000's The Way Things Work), yet his speech "like violins" is yet to be determined.

Now, on his 2005 LP Inventory, Brian Michael Roff would "work if he could". I don't buy it. Making an album this capable of getting me up out of my seat to move for a while couldn't have just made itself. Bob Seger had his Silver Bullets - Brian Michael Roff has his Deer, and those Deer have made Inventory a very special album indeed. Housed by the crafty hand of Jeff Bell and his KEEP Recording label - it's all quite strikingly charming.

A bigger, studio-rich sound is among us on Inventory - and the compliment to BMR's voice, songwriting and 'the Deer' shines straight through. Less of a banjo / acoustic-led affair that In the Analog Woods was (and rightly so, "Analog" followed a strict set of rules: use only 4-tracks and only use banjo, guitar, accordion and vocals.), this album is the defining full band sound that will put BMR and the Deer on many lists for years to come.

"I fell at the opera" is the royal service, the BMR&D opus if you will (it's right under seven minutes) - fittingly around the 5:30 mark when the terms "banjo" and "picking" actually meet eye-to-eye and join hands to glide across the floor in unison with damn fine percussion, to bring the last minute of the song to a fitting close.
How "I fell at the opera" began, as a slow engagement of banjo, guitar & bass under Roff's dazzling tale, will likely have to be tracked back by the songs impressively upbeat ending as a refresher. A genuine classic
here, by any standards. "For Pledges" is an immediate foot stomper, and the stray hints of fuzzed-out guitars and "band playing well with others" sound is not to be passed by - ever. There are stripped down moments that reflect BMR albums of the past, such as "Winter Will" that - again - puts Roff's gentle vocals against a display of delicate strings and carefully plucked instruments.

With the Deer consisting of folks that share time in grand outfits such as The Hotel Alexis (Gregg Porter - percussion; see also: Unbunny) and Willard Grant Conspiracy (David M. Curry - Viola) and kin - Inventory calls for a scheduled listen.

"Pull the plastic back".. . and love it! You cannot fuck with this band.



Uncommon Folk
Keep Recordings is very amazing record label out of Tuscon, Arizona that puts out a lot of good records. But, mostly, Uncommon Folk had always been more enamored with the labels packaging than some of its artists. Brian Michael Roff & the Deer’s album Inventory is one of the label’s two most recent releases. Roff is a very good guitarist with a strong voice and his Deer add the stuff that makes the album pop by playing viola, piano, drums, banjo and bass. Roff’s sound is very Americana and heavily influenced by the history of country music from mountain banjo sounds of old up to more current artists like Alejandro Escovedo, Uncle Tupelo and early Wilco. Roff’s vocals are definitely the driving force of the album along with some amazing layered guitar work especially on the fuzzed out songs For Pledges and Pour The Batter. The drums have a very minimal and lo-fi sound which actually adds to the album greatly by creating a live recorded vibe. The production, in fact, is at times intentionally not pristine which is when the band is often at its best. Overall, Roff & the Deer are soncially all over the map (within the confines of the band’s sound). From soft banjo driven lullabies like Winter Will to the infectious country-driven pop of the opening track I Would Work If I could. Yet the band manages to cull all these different tempos and emotions into a coherent sound. Probably the most powerful and best track on the album is titled Unfantastic Few. Though it contradicts the earlier statement that the band is often at its best when the recording quality isn’t as pristine, on Unfantasic Few the band is at its most experimental. From rapidly changing tempos, gorgeous layers of sound and more experimental organic qualities that differ quite drastically from Roff’s usual songwriting structures. Unfantastic Few is undoubtedly the stand out track and also the kind of sound that would help separate Brian Michael Roff & the Deer from similar sounding artists and bands. Finally, the album is not just musically strong but comes in some very inventive packaging. Playing off the album’s name, it comes in a chipbaord folder with dark brown letter pressed graphics. The front of the album is also hand numbered (as the original packaging and first pressing is limited to only 1,000 copies) and inside a plastic sleeve holds the actual CD while an inventory tag hangs, signed personally by Roff himself. Overall Roff & the Deer have created a very solid record with Inventory and with further experimentation the band could really make a name for itself especially since the groundwork has already been laid and the talen already more than apparent. With Keep Recordings’ imaginative approach to releasing records and Roff’s songwriting capabilities there can’t be anything but better music and records to come from him and his Deer.