Alto Jeffro - "Night Came" (Self-Released)

i just wanna say one thing before i write about this ALTO JEFFRO tape, and i don't mean this to be directed towards him specifically but i gotta get this off my chest:

for those of you making lo-fi pop recordings for cassette - be careful because the music that SON OF SALAMI (aka JOEY PIZZA SLICE) is making is most likely better than the music that you are making. i don't mean to sound harsh, or discourage anyone from doing what they are doing, but mr pizza slice has set the bar extremely high for what has now become a genre. not only does the man write catchy and smart pop tunes, but his satirical lyrics are absolutely brilliant. he has mastered the art of making music that is as demented as it is beautiful. and it sounds fucked up for a reason - his sophisticated process makes the music sound that way (watch him remove the eraser head and create a song HERE).  

that being said, and with my personal biases aside, NIGHT CAME by ALTO JEFFRO is good tape. from the vibe of the letter that came with the package, i would assume that this jeffrey gallagher guy is somewhat of  a nutty dude (i mean this is a good way). somewhere in the scatter brained letter he wrote "music equals therapy" or something to that extent.. not that this is an uncommon thought for all us freaks out there, but something about how he made sure to include that statement in a letter to me, a stranger, was quite intriguing. the songs, are cute, mostly catchy, poorly sung, reverb drenched, and as lo-fi as the next weirdo making music in his or her basement. 

maybe son of salami hasn't ruined your appreciation for the other nuts making similar music, and even if it has, i suggest checking out this ALTO JEFFRO guy anyways. thanks for the tape and godspeed. 

listen HERE

ALTO JEFFRO "Echo Together" c35SKY STADIUM "Ancient" c20(Lave Church Records)

I got two cassettes from Lava Church about a month back. The label is based out of Sarasota Florida and you can get all five of their releases for only $13.50. Now that's a good fucking deal. The tapes come come on with double sided color cardboard j-cards and an 80s "Super Stars" trading card. http://lavachurch.blogspot.com/

First up is Alto Jeffro "Echo Together" c35. I like this one quite a bit. Alto Jeffro is a duo from what is described as the "arctic woodlands of Massachusetts." They are a duo and they sure do echo together. Despite some of the tape's computerized Ariel Pinkisms, the proceedings are generally tuneful and enjoyable. Mostly keyboard and drum machine pop with echo on pretty much everything. There's a ukulele on one track, but no guitar that I can detect. Can't really understand the lyrics, but it seems like these boys are having a good time. You probably will too.

Next we have Sky Stadium "Ancient" c20. Sounds like what you might expect a band called Sky Stadium to sound like. What's that? You expect it to sound like a bunch of football hooligans whose idiotic screams are only hampered by the lack of oxygen in their mile high sports venue? Well you're way wrong! Vangelis is cool again (or maybe cool for the first time). This tape sounds like the opening of Blade Runner for 20 minutes. No beats of any kind, just the sound that dolphins make as they fly through space. It's okay.