Eponymous

Arms of Kismet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2004)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wampus Multimedia
• ASIN: B00016CLVO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,120 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Eponymous is the debut CD from postmodern pop alchemist Arms of Kismet. Featuring ten slices of sincere irony, it drops echoes of Beck, Freedy Johnston, Bob Dylan, Aimee Mann, David Lowery and a gaggle of other great songwriters into a Waring blender, and reconstitutes them as something fresh and new.

From fractured Americana ("Cuckold of Titan," "Sepia Eyes") to beatbox hip-pop ("Karma Never Forgets," "Beautiful Career," "Standby"), Arms of Kismet paints new and abandoned genres in shades bright, soft and psychedelic. From updated '60s melodicism ("Hang," "Foldback") to new-breed alternative rock ("Are You My God," "Alive and Awake," "Sail Seven"), Eponymous is a canny synthesis of styles, a neo-"singer-songwriter" album more adventurous than confessional.

Written and produced by Mark Doyon (who released three CDs in the 1990s as Wampeters) and mastered by Jon Astley (Tori Amos, Jools Holland, Pete Townshend), Eponymous mines existential terrain. Blending traditional instrumentation with atmospherics, samples and blips, it considers what it’s like to be born and not know why, what it’s like to know death awaits but not the hour of its arrival. Pitching a tent between the camps of Americana, hip-hop and classic rock, it summons a warm, analog vibe that sounds as natural in a coffeehouse as it does on a car radio.

It makes for toe-tapping, tragicomic rock 'n' roll.

Doyon, who published a book of fiction, Bonneville Stories, in 2001, thinks of Eponymous like a collection of short stories. "Songs speak in a more emotional way, maybe, but they’re still stories with characters and plot and a point of view. They’re compact fables."

Eponymous features Washington, D.C. indie-scene denizens Kowtow Popof (Eat My Dust), The Crowd Scene (Turn Left at Greenland), Janna Audey, Rob Santos, Eamon Loftus, Scott Goodrick and others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arms of Kismet "Eponymous": An Incredible CD, February 18, 2004

By 

Paul E. Golder (Haymarket, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eponymous (Audio CD)

What a ride! Arms of Kismet "Eponymous" kicks complete and total ass from Track 1 to Track 10. This album has been piling up great review after great review across the "indie" music scene, and getting FM airplay on some of the most prestigious radio stations in the country -- WBCN Boston, etc. -- check AoK's website for the complete details. It's all there. Great Reviews. Critical Acceptance. And for Good Reason. Eponymous is Rocking, Lyrical, Substantive, FANTASTIC MUSIC, wrapped in some of the most phenomenal song writing you will ever hear.

Track 1: "Karma Never Forgets" - EVERY act, is an act of consquence. 2: "Beautiful Career" - Beware of becoming the sum of just your unfortunate parts. 3: "Alive and Awake" - Live every minute, alive and awake. 4: "Sail Seven" - We are a species of explorers, attached to our couches 5: "Hang" - Forget your artifice, challenge yourself with the truth 6: "Cuckold of Titan" - the Throne of the Mind can fail even the greatest intellect 7: "Foldback" - Every nanosecond blends past, present, and impending future 8: "Standby" -the "Livelihood of Loyalty" is an incalcualble treasure 9: "Are You My God" - Finding big "R" Religion, amidst the smaller "religions" surrounding us 10: "Sepia Eyes" - TRUE LOVE, stops time. A wonderful, wonderful CD. A fantastic musical Experience. Enjoy it. I did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT songs here, February 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Eponymous (Audio CD)

Lately, the way I learn about new music is not from the radio or reviews, but through tips from friends. Word-of-mouth prompted me to buy recent records by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, and Wilco. For the past month I've been listening to Arms of Kismet's debut, a record as thoughtful and moving as you'll find. Believe me, you MUST check out Arms of Kismet songs like "Are You My God," "Cuckold of Titan," and "Sepia Eyes." (I guess what I'm typing here is not really a review, but a tip that you deserve.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will You Be My God? :), May 14, 2004

By 

Malary (Westchesta', NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eponymous (Audio CD)

Darn. My brother took the CD home to listen to after listening to it last night and digging it. I wrote the longest rambling song by song "review" of this awesome CD on the Jonathan Richman list just as it was changing "administrative" hands and I think it came off crazy ... But my posts usually do :)

GET this CD. I've never met Mark. I read his book "Bonneville Stories" and, well, this album is definitely poetry put to music -- but his novel is a novel on its own.

The vocals and lyrics and music are way too good for like ... radio -- they should be on Satellite CD. Meaning, while you are driving to somewhere, if anywhere particular or not, listening to this CD will make the trip. Stuff like "Karma Never Forgets" and well ... I could go on and on quoting lyrics, because I just LOVED them and wanted to know them. One of those "Wait -- rewind -- play that again!" kind of CDs.

I told my brother, 3 months ago, who lives in Atlanta and only listens to satellite radio, that he would like this, and he said -- when I come up in May, let me hear it. Turns out now he has a CD player as well as his Satellite thing, and well, he's home for 3 weeks, and I'm having a hard time getting EPONYMOUS back from him! "Just one more day" he says.

There's a definite reason why I'm keeping Mark's awesome book, Bonneville Stories, away from my bro until he has no more free time on his hand.

Arms of Kismet -- what can I say -- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS MAGICAL inspiration that SOMETHING MATTERS, and it sounds SO GOOD!

luv ya all!

Malary