NAKED ROOMMATE was conceived in 2018 by Amber Sermeńo & Andy Jordan (partners in art & life) as a playful aside from their roles in Oakland's most dearly-departed ensemble, The World. With a handful of twitching insta-sketches, each addled with late-nite D.I.Y. quiver, the duo's side-hustle sprouted in classical easy/cheap fashion [see the demo tape on their Public Nipples imprint for evidence]. As "global" concerns slowed, compatriots Michael Zamora (a superbly slanted multi-instrumentalist late of Bad Bad) and Alejandra Alcala (the region's one true bass supervisor, also of bright lights Blues Lawyer and Preening) joined Sermeńo & Jordan as additional exposed flesh. In full form, Naked Roommate has not only become a must-see, ever-evolving live act, but architects of 'Do The Duvet', one of the most intriguing and inspired recordings to come out of 2020's American subterranea.

'DO THE DUVET'

Mad Love

UTR132 | LP | 10 tracks | Buy

'Do The Duvet' proffers leftfield hijinks via punk execution, answering all the questions posed by questionable post-punk revivalism with sour lemon sneering and cherry-sweet smiles. It's a fever dream, really... A flailing, sparking wire of hyper-compressed rhythms (breathing and synthetic), devolved guitar work and minced electronic compost. The resultant congealed groove is suitable for club situations and/or living space pulsations alike. Either way, the landlord is pissed.

Jordan's beat programming, presumably inspired in part by recent obsessions with unjustifiably discarded electro sounds, manages to elicit physical response without veering into genre clichés like decay dance or Armageddon rave. Instead, movement is prompted by sheer playfulness and high humour: see the sleepily sampled City sax on "Fondu Guru" or the comically taut bassline from "Credit Union", itself a dreamwork born straight from a lovingly held-tight 99 Records 12". Thematically, 'Do The Duvet' bounces between dissections of bourgeois trickery, the absurdity of domestication and the recognizable insanity of living in this particular age. As narrator, Sermeńo's vocal presence is time-capsule great: a commanding grand-slam performance, alluring yet switchblade-dangerous in terms of wit and gaze. So totally wonderful.

What do you really own, anyway? What if your home does not even exist? Why not simply Do The Duvet and answer these queries yourself?

Mitch Cardwell