Odor Orienting—Ratkiller cs

Odor Orienting

Ratkiller

Crash Symbols

This sounds like music that an alien would make if that alien wanted to pass for a human. “Come on friends! Let’s dance to this human music i made! Then rest in this not space oven over here!” It’s pretty fun. 

The type is insane and the art is bonkers. It makes me pretty happy.

Young Statues—s/t cs

Young Statues

s/t

Run For Cover Records/Doghouse Records

Huh. This is different. Well, different for me. It’s actually kinda sweet. Reminds a little of a male-fronted Sundays a lot. I kinda like this… Don’t tell anyone. Anyhow… I feel like I should say something else about this. I guess fans of REM, the Sundays, the Smiths, Get Up Kids, Soul Asylum and maybe a little Pedro the Lion might be into this. I kinda like most of that shit so it works for me. The layout is fine. I am not a huge fan of those covers that I think National Audio Company provides that are almost perforated at the folds. It just destroys the artwork. Oh well… 

Women of the Night—s/t cs

Women of the Night

s/t

Manic Records

So, I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about a male-fronted band using a name like Women of the Night. Part of me doesn’t care at all. Bands don’t have to identify the members. I didn’t think the Animals (who this band reminds me of a bit) were claiming to be actual animals but there is a weight to using male and female terms with your band. Especially using the term “Women of the Night” which implies a time and era when woman’s sexuality was treated as something negative and that “loose” women were somehow immoral yet exciting. It’s a bullshit term but maybe this band is aware of that and is turning that on it’s head. I can’t count out irony. The name of a band, I think, is more of a narrative. The only thing in regards to this is that I don’t know if there is enough here to support that narrative. Then again… maybe. This is a tough one. Musically this is described as proto-punk but I am not sure what that means. To me this reminds me of a lot of great 60s rock and pop with a bit of that 2000s-era nyc hipster stuff. I think, ultimately, I liked it. There is enough here to enjoy. I am sure this entire band would make me feel bad about myself if I saw them but that’s cool. The layout is fine. The pictures of scantily clad women with film noir style photography adds some negative weight to the possibly sexist narrative but then again I am not going to judge because I could be very wrong here. I say you check it out and be the judge. Oh, real quick. There is a small die cut on the back of this cassette that is pretty cool but it’s so subtle that I really wonder why they spent the extra time or money to do it. Really strange.

Q///Q—Jardim cs

Q///Q

Jardim

Self Released?

I think…

I know the group Q///Q and I know they have a track on a previous record called Jardim… but this could maybe be a split with a group coincidentally called Jardim… Maybe? I don’t know. Anyway this is pretty great minimal experimental. Not totally something I would pop on normally but this totally ruled while I was drawing. I am super into this. The packaging is also minimal, which is normally cool, but this time I found it just plain hard to understand. Still. It’s a good tape. 

Oltron—Doze On cs

Oltron

Doze On

Self Released

When I first heard this I wasn’t that into it but after a few listens of this sort of vaporwave/electronic mix I was totally hooked. This is fucking great. It’s like the music rad miniature aliens would listen to if they lived in a small, beautiful, eternal night version of Venice Beach. Does that make any sense? It’s great.

I will say that the way they did the type had me a little confused as to what was the group’s name and what was the album name. Thankfully discos came to my rescue. 

Super chill. 

Plebeiangrandstand—False Highs, True Lows cs

Plebeiangrandstand
False Highs, True Lows cs
Tapes of a Neon God

Holy fuck.

This is great.

Guide to Bizarre Behavior—Vol. 2 cs

Guide to Bizarre Behavior

Vol. 2

Shangoril La Records

This is interesting. That’s for sure. It’s really a big fish mosh of pop, noise, la weirdo lo-fi and something else entirely. It reminds me vaguely of the earliest Ariel Pink demos but it’s not really there. At least for me this isn’t really there. It’s kind of…light. It’s hard to explain. I’m not really into it. I recognize that it is made by some very interesting brains though. Maybe a few more listens and I will be on board. Hmmm.

It looks pretty strange. Collage and simple type. It’s not really as interesting as the music but there is still something happening that I don’t quite follow. Maybe it’s my age. 

Amulets—In Flux cs

Amulets

In Flux

Wounded Knife

Excellent. Absolutely. I have listened to this a handful of times now and it has this beautiful broken quality. It feels like the music that might haunt you if after death all you were left was the memories you had when you were little and trying to make memories for the first time. There is a feeling of traveling and discovery in this sort of electronic layered music. This is good for you.

The packaging is tip top as well. Great handling of type and excellent photography. I really feel like this artists and this label really give a shit. Thanks everyone. 

Tristan Welch—Washington D.C. cs

Tristan Welch

Washington D.C.

Self Released

This is pure beauty. Honestly I love the way this tape sounds so much. It is half in a dream the whole time and makes you feel like you are dragging your senses just a little bit into infinity. It is drone but it’s also something more. It’s a language. I feel like this could honestly heal me. I was so upset when my tape deck ate this tape. Furious even but it still plays well enough because I am never going to stop listening. 

I was a bit disappointed in the packaging though. A simple O card with pretty lackluster type and a logo that mad me think, yup, that’s D.C.’s flag…as musical notation…eh. Still, it barely matters because the music is transcendent. 

Black Cum—Cum ep & Live at the Palace of Pain cs

Black Cum

Cum ep & Live at the Palace of Pain

Self Released

These guys are so fucking weird. I really sort of love them. Both of these tapes are super short but they are also super strange. The live one is really, really funny. Encouraging the crowd to not talk for what is almost an accurate count of 10 seconds before a totally anti-climatic beginning is perfection. This is got to be some Andy Kaufman level brilliance on here. I can’t even begin to explain this. Find it and love it.

The tapes are made by hand and it’s glorious. Exactly what you had hoped.

I'm back.

Hey, trade show season has come to a close for me and I can focus on a few other projects. I am excited to start getting some more reviews up. Here you go!