Asphyxium Zine: Full Length Review: Conan the Accountant "Pet Waste" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Project: Conan the Accountant

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Country: USA

Genre: Experimental noise

Full length: Pet Waste

Format: Cassette, digital album

Label: Independent

Release date: June 24, 2024

Ben Fitts, who played guitar, bass, and produced for the Brooklyn indie rock band Warhoney (and is still involved with them), has written reviews, articles, and fiction for Asphyxium since 2018. In his new project, Conan the Accountant, he is playing experimental noise, adding some techno, industrial, and complete, calculated song structure. Aside from designing the cover artwork, mixing, mastering, and producing it independently, he is also plugging the album on social media as a one-man promotional team. His promotional efforts appear to be motivated by a genuine desire to hear people’s thoughts about the tracks he curated.

Fitts recently stated he was inspired to create this project after experimenting with different sounds as Warhoney's guitarist, to see how far he could take it. This past May he performed solo with a number of local bands at Caffeine Underground in Brooklyn (admission was ten dollars for those of you who don't like ridiculously high ticket prices). During this performance he got to demonstrate how he wrote and composed the album with guitar; a Fender, no less; and several effects pedals. His instrumental pieces may appear to be made with keyboards, synthesizers, and electronic percussion, but all the sounds here are created with a classic guitar model, pedals, and his imagination.

Many of the sounds he obtains seem impossible to achieve in this manner, but he manages to pull it off, proving it's still possible to adhere to tradition while expanding your musical knowledge. With only the tools at your disposal, you can still be broad minded. As well as this album, Fitts has released a debut EP and a live album recorded at The Next Chapter in Huntington early in June. A little more classic and indie rock vibes appear in the former release, while the latter shows how well he's able to reproduce at a club the nuanced, layered instrumentals he experimented with conceptually in the studio.

Take a listen to this and the other two releases if you're interested in seeing how many different tones, moods, and atmospheres can be achieved with a Stratocaster. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Ben Fitts: Guitar, production, mixing/mastering, album art

Track list:

1. First Date At The Cemetery

2. Mars Is The New West

3. Manson Family Values

4. Amoraphobia

5. Junkyard Android

6. Free Improvisation #DCLXVI

7. If I Was Dr. Frankenstein, I’d Totally Let You Be My Monster

8. Setting My Metronome to 666

9. Written By Lenin And McCarthy