BLANCHE BLANCHE BLANCHE / BRUCE HART splitCHRIS WEISMAN "Beatleboro"(OSR Tapes)

Brattleboro VT's Blanche Blanche Blanche is one of my favorite contemporary bands.  They are the duo of singer Sarah Smith and keyboardist Zach Phillips (who also runs OSR).  They play melodically complex but catchy pop songs about relationships and other life-type stuff.  The songwriting on 2wice 2wins is just as good as on their Night People debut, but there has been an enormous upswing in the production and recording quality.  If you haven't looked into these guys yet you're really missing out on one of the freshest new things in sound today.  This is the kind of music that should be enjoyed by way more than the 100 people who could possibly own this cassette.  While the instrumental parts may share some similarities with today's top sounds (who am I kidding? this is like if Frank Zappa or 10cc put out a tape on NNA), the vocals are completely unadorned with all that needless digital gobbledegook so prevalent in today's DIY marketplace.  Don't freak out, that's the sound of a real human voice! Get used to it, because BBB has four LPs and at least one more cassette coming out in 2012.  The B-side here contains music by Zach's solo project Bruce Hart which plays out like a slightly more expansive version of the BBB backing tracks, but with male vocals.  His tape on Not Not Fun was one of my favorites from last year and this release is just as good.  The sounds are more hazy in the Hartland, but this is a perfect companion piece.

Beatleboro is a nice amalgam of the fleshed out pop of the Fresh Sip tape (soon to be a 2LP from Feeding Tube - read my review here) and the more somber and skeletal songs on the recent Transparency 2CD.  These tunes are bursting with weirdo background vocals, bass lines and all sorts of guitars, keyboards & percussions, topped with Chris Weisman's dreamy multi-tracked voice.  Though some mild comparisons could be drawn to Lennon-McCartney, Weisman's pop-koans are entirely unique.  There's got to be something in the water in Brattleboro, because it consistently produces some of the finest music of this new century.  It's a shame that there aren't too many shows in town and none of these acts really tour, as they could surely take the world by storm with a little elbow grease.  Well you'll just have to bring the music to you then, won't you?  If you're in Southern Vermont or Western Massachusetts hit Chris up for a guitar lesson, or if you're far away, buy his book of oddball music scales here.  Also read Zach's interview with Chris here.

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Both tapes are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Get 'em here: http://www.osr-tapes.info/

Although these two releases are listed as OSR 001 and 002, Zach has already put out a handful of great tapes on this label over the last few years: Horse Boys, Big French, Heat Wilson... Good luck finding those.

FAVORITE TAPES OF 2011

Just to be safe I've waited until the final minute of 2011 to post my best of list for the year just in case somebody scored right before the buzzer. It goes without saying that this is by no means definitive or complete, but if you don't have these tapes, your cassette playing power is certainly diminished. In no particular order:

ALTERED GEE "European Gees" c69 (L'anumaux Tryst) - what a great surprise. This is a 19 year old kid making extreme chillout R&B/electro that completely tops every synth and drum machine album released this year. The fact that I seriously doubt this guy knows he's part of a trend makes it all the more enjoyable. Sample here but definitely purchase here.

RYLEY WALKER & DANIEL BACHMAN "Of Deathly Premonitions" c30 (Plustapes) - steel string guitar duets that definitely have the spook about them. There's plenty to love when both of these young fingerstyle acolytes get together. Some of the material also has an Indian influence. Listen here or buy here. Ryley's solo tape "The Evidence of Things Unseen" on Plustapes is no slouch either.

GYPSY TREASURES "Buried Goods" c28 (Not Not Fun) - for a band that doesn't even play live and probably isn't even really a "band," this tape is seriously great. Modern psychedelic music. Listen here.

VILLAGE OF SPACES CORNERS "Morning Nap" c46 (Turned Word) - lovely folk album from Village of Spaces, nee Uke of Spaces Corners County. A demo version of the fine "Alchemy and Trust" LP. The tape is sold out from the label, but you can score a copy from Second Layer in the UK if you've got the dough, or just buy the LP version (different recordings, same songs, plus it's got Michael Hurley on fiddle on one track!) from Turned Word.

TOMY GARM "This Eros" c90 (Creature King) - This is probably my favorite tape of the year. I just wrote about this last week, scroll down...write to theancientmainer@gmail.com for a copy.

R. STEVIE MOORE "Ariel Pink's Picks Vol.1" (Laughable Recordings RSM Cassette Club) - really fine compilation of tracks from out Moore's distinguished home recording career, compiled by Pink. Available as a free stream and maybe purchase a few places.

NUDE SUNRISE "Should Be" c62 (Spooky Town) - expansive and gritty rock, a la "Sister Ray." Still available from the label.

BRUCE HART "Music For Drawing" c31 (Not Not Fun) - Zach Phillips, keyboardist and songwriter for Blanche Blanche Blanche and man of many pseudonyms plays to the sci-fi soundtrack set and does it better than rest. Audio sample or purchase.

BLANCHE BLANCHE BLANCHE "Songs of..." c32 (Night People) - I'd be crazy not to include this one here as well. A spotty dubbing job mars the quality of this outstanding first effort from the Brattleboro, VT duo of Sarah Smith (vocals) and Zach Phillips (keys, vocals). The song writing takes front seat and arrives with the same kind of freshness that must have been felt when Truffaut and Godard released their first 12" chillwave singles in 1959 and 1960. Still available from Night People.

UNTITLED TAPE that I received while playing a show at Gay Gardens this Spring - not sure what this project is called but it's an exceptionally well done collection of skewed folk. email nathanrainer@verizon.net and tell him Cassette Gods sent you.

BLOOD STEREO "Tape Hiss For Brainwash" c30 (Feeding Tube) - now that I don't work for the label, am I allowed to finally sing it's praises on Cassette Gods? I hope so...this murky and frightening little number is a fine addition to Blood Stereo's catalog of twisted vocal and tape experimentation. Get it here.

LEFT BEHINDS "Recess At The Psych Ward" c9 - great muppet hardcore a la the first Meat Puppets LP. Go here and you'll figure it out.

BIG BLOOD "Dark Country Magic" (Don't Trust The Ruin) - anything from this Portland, ME duo is worth checking out. They have lots to listen to on the Free Music Archive, but you really should buy some of their releases for the beautiful hand printed packaging that comes with tons of inserts. Their "Dead Songs" LP on Time-Lag is one of my favorite records of recent memory.

PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED "Second Edition" & "The Flowers Of Romance" (Virgin) - finding sealed copies of these on cassette during the most recent Cave Bears/Knight Howls tour just about made my day. Thanks to the Cambridge In Your Ear!

that's all yolks.

BRUCE HART - "Music For Drawing" C31 (NNF)

Goooood lord!NNF continues to just melt my brains away this year..(and Paypal balance).Bruce Hart is the solo project of Blanche Blanche Blanche's Zach Phillips.Music For Drawing is his first venture under this moniker, and it's pure magic from front to back.Diluted synth dynamics, with a heavy sci-fi and digital punk-noir vibe.This is a mysterious and all consuming noise indeed, and some of the tracks come off as somewhat heroic, even.Something like a funkier, more futuristic version of Axel's Them, smashed together with the more skittering moments of the War Games score.Each movement tells a similarly dark and seedy tale, with layers of gold spray painted bass lines and mirror-lensed keyboards, all trying to crawl atop one another.I'ts sometimes backed my dusty machine drums and the occasional foreboding vocal creepout, but all in all, it's a fresh and deeply compelling synthesizer pop workout.Deep drone interludes will bulge and then drop, giving a nice break from the constant high speed chase, but not for long.It's not entirely too far off base from Blanche Blanche Blanche's un-retro curiousities, with piles upon piles of freakishly perfect synth scales, but Hart lets the keys do most of the talking.This dude knows his way around electronic instruments, and if this were any better it would be terrible.Highly Recommended.Get one from Not Not Fun.