Celesteville... first off, I really love the project name. Celesteville is Tape Mountain guru, ex-Yak Brigade mastermind, Jake Anderson. He has been doing his new project for a couple years now and this is honestly my first exposure to it. I always enjoyed his Yak stuff during my Cactus Gum days and this album brings back a lot of great memories. Anderson loves pop music and appreciates a good pop song. His influences shine through on these 9 songs and I have to say, I was honestly surprised at how much I liked this. The opening rocker, "Coffee w/ Cardamom" is one of the best songs here. It's raucous and catchy. It makes you smile. "The Broken Microphone" reminds me of Morrissey in some ways, and "Joe Zeal" is just good, old fashioned, lofi pop. "Malmo" was recorded at an old church in Malmo, Nebraska. Anderson is accompanied by a group of musicians whose names he didn't know and who had never heard these songs beforehand. Sounds awful, right? Wrong, it actually works. "Your Gold Record Will Look Nice in Your Fallout Shelter" is the real keeper here. It's a mostly acoustic/vocal affair, with subtle background instrumentation. The abrupt stops in the chorus are wonderful, and the lyrics are so great. Really, I was not sure what to expect but Celesteville is one of the most fun and interesting projects I've heard in a while. Definitely recommended. 7/10 -- Brad Rose (11 June, 2005)