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Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis and Krista Kopper- Popular Mechanics

August 10, 2025 William Brownlee

Midwestern barbershops during the Vietnam War era introduced me to Popular Mechanics magazine. I didn’t dare do more than glance at the covers of Playboy also found on the countertops of the smoky rooms while awaiting my monthly crew cut.

Then as now, an airing of the first two minutes of the 20-minute opening salvo of Popular Mechanics would send scissors flying and patrons fleeing from establishments with red, white and blue barber shop poles.

The sawing of bassist Krista Kopper and the slicing of guitarist Seth Davis on “So Much Water, So Close to Home” eventually settles into articulate dialogue that could be interpreted as a passionate symposium on theoretical physics. 

“Where I’m Calling From” possesses shades of heavy metal. The noirish title track invokes the grotesquery of the titular Raymond Carver story. The duo cites the author as an inspiration. “Smallest Things” contains moments of hushed beauty. 

The sublime use of space tends to make duet outings like Popular Mechanics the most rewarding albums by members of the EMAS collective. The peripatetic Davis is front-and-center on dozens of recordings, but Popular Mechanics may allow more listeners to recognize Kopper as one of Kansas City' s most exceptional musicians.

The methods applied by Davis and Kopper- scientific or otherwise- produce a kaleidoscopic array of tone colors on the 55-minute recording. A hypothetical Popular Mechanics article about their sonic inventiveness might change the life of an impressionable short-haired kid.

Tags Kansas City, jazz, Krista Kopper, Seth Davis, Extemporaneous Music Society
Now’s the Time: Alex Abramovitz →