One thing about Ball of Wax that I will always be proud of – regardless of how many people in the world are even aware that this strange little endeavor exists – is the number of musical collaborations and friendships that have blossomed as a result of it. This, of course, wouldn’t be possible without a community of individuals who are open to such things, and Lattney B. Jones and Darryl Blood have to be two of the most creatively gregarious people I have the pleasure of knowing. Naturally it didn’t take them too long to collaborate musically, and we lucky listeners have the pleasure of enjoying the result right here, with Laudatory Consortium’s debut appearance on Ball of Wax.
It can be tough to pull off the musical subgenre of storytelling over music, but if you’re going to try, two of the finest sources of inspiration might be Slint and Tom Waits. “Fine Wine” unspools like an unholy collaboration between these greats, with Darryl’s guitar and Lattney’s bass and drums creating a subtly sinister, twining instrumental bed for Lattney’s unsettling winter tale of a man with a nice coat in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here’s wishing us all a happier winter than this poor fellow – and much more music from Laudatory Consortium.