Aan, Minden, Kelli Schaefer
Recommended
Aan’s 2014 debut Amor Ad Nauseum was a long time coming, released eight years after guitarist/vocalist Bud Wilson first started self-recording songs under the name after a previous band’s demise. Not quite two years later, Aan is back with a follow-up, Dada Distractions, out this week on Party Damage Records. There are probably a number of reasons for the quick turnaround, but one thing’s for sure: Wilson has had no shortage of personal hardship to fuel his writing. In 2015 alone, the guy had two close friends die, a six-year relationship end, and some bandmates move on from Aan. On Dada Distractions, Wilson’s songs soar and skitter with unconventional grace, a restless union of prickly pop-rock, weirdo rhythms, and psychic pain dipped in acid and left to sparkle in the sun. The results are beautiful and slightly disorienting. BEN SALMON