“Ode To Carl Dennis” is less a tribute than it is a sideways conversation. It’s an imagined continuation of the poet Carl Dennis’ world that is run through the odd and wonderfully offbeat filter of Alexei Shishkin. Sparked by a late-night reading of “At Home With Cézanne”, the track slips into its own orbit by pairing Alexei’s trademark improvised lyrics with instrumentation that feels equal parts casual jam and careful layering.
Built without a blueprint, the song’s structure reflects its origin…spontaneous, slightly skewed, yet magnetic. The music came first, shaped with producer Bradford Krieger in the same four-day burst that birthed the rest of Good Times (September 5th). The lyrics came later, as Alexei mined the poem’s characters and themes and spun them into something uniquely his. It’s a playful sort of homage that is less concerned with precision and more concerned with capturing a vibe.
There’s no grand arc or tidy resolution and that’s the charm. “Ode To Carl Dennis” feels like flipping through someone’s notebook of half-thoughts, reimagined musings, and fleeting moments caught just in time. It’s weird, warm, and completely its own thing.
Watch our interview with Alexei Shishkin
