A slipstream mind with a labyrinthine soul, renowned artist and musician David Welker has created an astoundingly inventive, leading-edge album that truly crowns him The Mayor of Little City. Welker has been creating legendary album covers and posters for iconic bands such as Phish, The Black Keys, and The Decemberists for years, and unbeknownst to many, he has also been recording music on the side. At heart, David is a scholar of music. In this quirky, post-modern album, Welker imaginatively explores and ponders all of music’s allegories, emotions and topics, everything from ex-girlfriends to American identity to Jamaica’s mourning of Bob Marley’s death. With darting tempos, organic, wavy textures, hip hop beats and of course, a beautiful, brave and adaptable voice, Welker steers his sonic ship through time to pioneer the way to a realm where no one has sailed before, much like the Viking ships that sailed before Columbus. The Mayor of Little City bears an incredible stylistic range of instruments, vocals and rhythms, but stands together as a remarkably cohesive and beautiful whole, like the many parts to a personality. Level One of the record’s hip-hop flavor, jungle drum and bass tones and mid-tempo grooves are compliments of the wonderfully beat-centric producer Christian Montalbano, a sonic beat-work chef of the highest order. Level Two of the album’s production was heralded by Nandi Johannes and Gerrald Samraj of the NYC DubRock production team ShiftingBliss, who assisted Welker in curating and cultivating the ambience, beat architecture and sonic textures of each song. These two beat-wise bodyguards faithfully serve and protect Welker’s most soulful and sensitive frequencies. “Arkie Dirt Hill” opens the album, with old American mid-west jams rubbing up against Welker’s vibrant, colorful voice; an elliptical, dreamy synthesizer and moody guitar evokes the rugged individualism of pirates and cowboys on the move. In “Chifferobe,” Welker’s surreal voice travels across the plains of a vigorous evolving and devolving beat, like a hand taking yours to guide you across a long journey. “Rasta Stevie” has its own set of special virtues. A fantastic swizzle of remixed and synthesized banjo, this is a truly stunning, modern mash-up of skittering tempos, manic panic rhythms, and lurching, undulating vocals that get some serious air. “Ocean Plan’s” slow opening quickly peddles into the fast lane with an insistent, throbbing house beat. It’s laced with deliriously fun and quirky jabs of the synthesizer and a sweet violin, and produces a strangely elegant but energetic tone that makes you want to jump up and tell everyone that you’re in love. “Great Explorer” is a song that tosses and turns late at night, and wrestles with melancholy through an enigmatic guitar and bells sprinkling like summer rain, but awakens with the bright outlook of a soulful adventurer. A contemplation of Manifest Destiny, Welker’s voice seems destined to swell across the continent. “Pure Velour” is a short sound that merrily tilts and swings its weight as it strolls across your eardrums, while “Medication Time” works on some wonderfully grungy electric guitars that pervade your senses the way medication does. “Beautiful Downtown Utica” has an in-with-the-cool-kids vibe, while “Ocean View Drive” is a more country-cool romance. Its dreamy, careless guitar strums and halting tempo is the wordless narration of a girl and a boy falling in love under ocean stars. Bringing some new sounds to the table, “Yagga Zoom Zoom” features the shimmering voice of Colleen Max Fisher, which blends melodiously into its habitat of warm-weather guitar strumming and exotic slow-paced beats. “Greetings” is pure fun, bringing into the fold some dippy, daffy hip hop flavor combined with the album’s signature guitar strumming and flowing, organic textures, this synthesizer/rap/late Beatles cocktail is satisfying enough to play again and again. These faster-paced songs showcase Welker’s brilliant talent for innovation and creation, as well as his deep awareness of the music world. But slower tunes like “Lump Sum Baby,” which is filled to the brim with all the lamenting, elegiac tones and wistful textures your poor heart could possibly want, and “Hotel Room,” where Welker’s tender, irresistible voice weaves wonderfully into the female vocals to create a dreamy, loving optimism – this is where Welker really shines, as a songsmith who’s best power move is found in shedding his shyness and letting go. They are also a great pat-on-the-back soundtrack for the day you spend in bed after you get dumped. In “Land of the Look Behind,” flowering, echoing voices combine with a fast-paced tempo to create a complex tension, like a swinging pendulum late at night, before the beat takes off and bursts into flight. “Caution” has the same palm tree vacation vibe as “Ocean View Drive,” but Welker’s wide-ranging and adaptable voice, schooled by his profound knowledge of the music realm, has a soulful quality in this song, one that gently whistles and poeticizes to you across the campfire. “Naheentuba” speeds the end of the album up with some cheerful maracas, quirky vocals, and delightful, chiming cymbals, giving due credit to the remarkable array of sounds this album is able to incorporate without sounding discordant in the least. “Dark Shark” brings back that distinct Welker sound – the lovely, romantic guitar strums, combined with erratic tempos, bouncy, loopy beats, and supple, wavy textures. And in the midst of it all stands Welker’s psychedelic, imaginative, brave voice riding into the night. – Bryce Pope