ONLY NOW & OROGEN “Self-Titled” C33 (Discrepant/Sucata Tapes)

There are plenty of dark ambient sound sculptors out there that can paint bleak, compelling portraits of a life lost wandering haunted coal mines, but these two SF Bay Area artists know how to take that fear and tame it -take that uneasy ambiance and make it livewithable, almost cozy in its claustrophobia- by highlighting futuristic catacombic antechambers and necroluminescent spirit trails with an amicable, neon gloom to act as charming skylight, so many hundreds of feet below ground. 

With their eponymous debut, Only Now & Orogen take a common, foreboding story arc and turn it on its ear, teaching us to make the best of a doomed situation; When life gives you ghosts, enlist them in your molasses-greased groove-machine and quiver to the seismic rumbles of a groaning, chasmic prison!

https://discrepant.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

and/or

https://www.discrepant.net/labels/sucata-tapes/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

HEP LAD “>>[:]<<” C64 (Philip K. Discs)

Hep Lad are two too-noisy New York, New York knob-twisters that co-explore the rumbles of lower-hertz harsh noise destruction and mid-range electrified ceremonial shrieking together. Their album, “>>[:]<<“, is pretty much an hour-plus of non-stop, repetition-free statixplosive-chaos-gone-musique-concréte-gone-glitch-gone-drone that leaves time and space all but fleeing for their very lives. Pretty intense stuff. Not good for studying or dealing with errands, like, at all. Too gripping/distracting.

https://heplad.bandcamp.com/album/-

and/or

https://philipkdiscs.bandcamp.com/album/-

—Jacob An Kittenplan

PATRICK SHIROISHI / ARTURO IBARRA “LA Blues” C45 (Eh? Records)

I cannot think of a more “fuck-you” tape to blast in your apartment building than this here “LA Blues” tape by saxophone-strangler, Patrick Shiroishi, and axe-sphyxiator*, Arturo Ibarra. The brute force and stamina exhibited across this 45-minute instrumental screaming-match is so nervous-system-jarring that the cover art for this release may very well be a pre-post-mortem sketch** of someone attempting to map out the two players’ utterances simultaneously in their head.  Not for the faint of heart!

https://patrickshiroishi.bandcamp.com/album/la-blues

http://www.publiceyesore.com/ehcat.php?eh=105

and/or

https://www.patrickshiroishi.com/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

*as in, guitar-neck choker

**as in, exact time of demise

THE MUCH QUINTET “Volumes 1 and 2” C90 (Friendship Tapes)

Each member of The Much Quintet plays, but is not limited to, cello, piano, electric lutes of varying string-thicknesses, and woody/windy/bellowed keyboard-like instruments. They each also play in lock-fucking-step with one another; as in, for improv, this is diiialed-in. Both “Volumes 1 and 2” capture the intimate-bond/magic of deep-listening while jamming along W-I-T-H all your good buds, not a single note stepping on any other note’s foot or anything, each lick simply supporting all the others in ego-less grace. Amidst chaos and faux-stumbles, TMQ waft warm wisps of melody in & out of an otherwise deceptively consonant cacophony. Pretty rad!

https://friendshiptapes.bandcamp.com/album/much-quintet-vol-1-and-2

and/or

https://muchband.bandcamp.com/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

TODD BARTON “Multum in Parvo” C51 (Blue Tapes)

Todd Barton utilizes an Epoch Modular Benjolin and Buchla Music Easel to plot strobing flurries and palpably vacuous swaths of sound-points for your left and right ears to concertedly map out betwixt ‘em and t’s hard not to feel like this isn’t some kind of lab-tested means for making both brain hemispheres cooperate with each other in order to parse out these otherwise acoustically unachievable patterns, timbres, and dynamics. 

At times, it’s an all-out bombardment of percussion-gone-static, and others, it’s a solo nine-days-wandering, coming-of-age passage; “Multum in Parvo” should prove a serious treat for those sound-sculptor fanatics out there who don’t need brute force to feel pushed to their limits.

https://bluetapes.bandcamp.com/album/multum-in-parvo

and/or

http://www.bluetapes.co.uk/product/blue-twenty-eight-todd-barton

—Jacob An Kittenplan

THE TENDER BAND “One Small Step” C60 (Dead Definition)

This is a pretty trippy telling of the tale about the ultimate human trip. 

Taking liberties with original Apollo 11-themed soundbites and the BIG MOOD that those intrepid astronauts must have been feeling, The Tender Band synthesizer-izes and otherwise post-third-rocks out with some outta this world, musical/psycho-drama radio programming that doesn’t waste a second in its hour long duration. 

Across eight unique acts, TTB’s “One Small Step” explores the outer reaches of adventure, lunacy, and re-grounding of the action-seekers' psyches through lush, sonic animations of expertly playful, sentimental, and at times downright spooky soundscapes and broadway ballads.  

Explore the links below to see if you can catch the actual theatrical event in a village near you! What a blast!

https://tenderband.bandcamp.com/album/one-small-step

https://www.deaddefinition.com/

and/or

http://stfortune.weebly.com/one-small-step-2018.html

—Jacob An Kittenplan

VELMA AND THE HAPPY CAMPERS “Permatemp” (Floating Skull)

“A singsongy thingy started by a bored guy in Florida,” A. J. Herring’s Velma and the Happy Campers morphed into a lo-fi indie-rock spectacular. Or maybe that’s what it always was, a project stuck in a basement with a four-track, a bunch of GBV and early Built to Spill records, and tongue jammed firmly in a cheek. Because, you know, “Permatemp” is an oxymoron. Wasn’t sure if you noticed. You can’t get away with a thing like that without a sense of humor.

If you’re in the market for some throwback-to-the-1990s scene-and-zine heartfelt indie, then Herring’s your man, and Velma and the Happy Campers is your tape. A generous thirteen tunes covering everything from “Koala Sex” to “T-Rex Arms,” “Permatemp” will remind you of the days in high school, laying on your bed and wondering what it was really like out there, then grabbing whatever instruments were nearby and writing songs about the things that popped into your head. That’s what I did anyway. Maybe I’m a throwback? Maybe A. J. Herring is a throwback? Let’s hope not – let’s hope that there are some earnest and eager kids out there ready to do the same thing. No more of this metallic sheen over everything. Get twee!

https://velmaandthehappycampers.bandcamp.com/

https://floatingskull.bigcartel.com/

--Ryan

CONNECT_ICUT “No Darkness?” C34 (Aagoo Records)

CONNECT_ICUT’s newest offering (also out on Aagoo!) finds their raga-esque electro-drone mantras tinged with a new monkey-mind anxiety, tinny glints & glares providing a subtle, slow motion horror show of agitated chimps parading in the periphery of a mind struggling to meditate in peace. The dis-ease is palpable but not overwhelming, kept in check just enough for you to observe its weaknesses and compensate your mood accordingly. Quite the psycho-acoustic journey! Listen at max volume while staring into the gold foil-stamped abyss that is the elegant j-card and breathe slowly in and out and in and out and

https://aagoo.bandcamp.com/album/connect-icut-no-darkness

and/or

http://connect-icut.com/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

MARIUS CHWALEK “Penta Volta” C53 (Ana Ott)

“Penta Volta”, Marius Chwalek’s debut long-burner, comes on cold & clinical, a sparse, minimalist ambient glitch-meets-drone patchwork of rich timbres punctuated and obscured ever more by trebly, noisy skitter & syncopated digital scruff as the album progresses, its layers beginning to pile a bit, the beats concentrating and thwacking more aggressively, the kick vacillating between accent and attack, the bass reaching deeper and deeper into the room. Through all this, a frenetic warmth is generated, and it feels nice against the all pervasive metallic noise swaddling.

https://anaott.bandcamp.com/album/volta-penta

http://anaott.com/

and/or

https://philipkdiscs.bandcamp.com/album/-

—Jacob An Kittenplan

VARIOUS ARTISTS “This Reminds Me: Songs by Linda Smith Reimagined” C60 (Lost Sound Tapes)

Per Lost Sound Tapes’ Bandcamp bio for this release, Linda Smith has apparently had a cult following as an outsider/lo-fi synth-pop visionary since back in the 80s in Baltimore…and that influence still pumps heavy today in the blood of 19 bands LST chose to “reimagine" her songs for on this comp. 

Fairly reminiscent of Jerry Paper, and for a solid hour, “This Reminds Me…” toes the line between catchy and plum-fuckin-weird, shining a spotlight on the raw/cheesiness of lo-fi/presets/beats and simple -if not wildly unconventional and/or infectious- pop hooks that were (and still are) the hallmark of LS’s solid, laid back grooves. Think Depeche Mode’s “Speak and Spell”, but Chopped-&-Screwed, & with Brainiac vocals. Pretty rad!

https://lostsoundtapes.bandcamp.com/album/this-reminds-me-songs-by-linda-smith-reimagined

and/or

https://lostsoundtapes.com/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

HOBOCOP “Hungry Freak in the Data Mine” (Head Cleaner Records)

No wave garage throwbacks Hobocop aren’t tech-savvy enough to develop an unstoppable crime-fighting robot, so they’re instead employing the unemployed for their law enforcement needs. At least that’s what I’m getting out of this. How else do you explain to a child what a Hobocop is without referring to the Peter Weller vehicle as a counterpoint? You just can’t.

Cody and Owen are the principle Hobocoppers, and one of them purportedly was in Shannon and the Clams. Together with their friends Lillian Marniningzing and Peroni Cloutzer, the weird boys make Devo-meets-Eastern bloc punk on Hungry Freak in the Data Mine, a batch of quick rippers that refuse to sit still. Hey, Hobocop once released a record on Slovenly, one of the best scuzz-unearthing labels in the biz. We’re in good company here.

Over fourteen tracks, the band lets every odd thought leak out into their compositions, and the result is a constantly thrilling joyride of tight rhythms and spiraling melodies. Hungry Freak in the Data Mine will have you white-knuckling at top speed down a snaking mountain path in a brakeless 1960s European racing model. Each track is a turn you barely make as you squeal on two wheels around it. God, don’t you just love this brisk alpine air?

https://headcleanerrecords.bandcamp.com/releases

--Ryan

EKIN FIL “You, Only” (Vaknar)

Turkish musician Ekin Üzeltüzenci, aka Ekin Fil, processes voice and piano and other sources until they’re completely otherworldly. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the tape itself, with its black-and-white photo of a logger on a river, calls to mind the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington, with its prominent sawmill and dreamy atmospheres, where veils between worlds are thin. Ekin Fil certainly helps the comparison by composing ethereal songs in the vein of Julee Cruise, although run through a Grouper-like filter of Liz Harris gauze instead of Angelo Badalmenti’s warped vision of the 1950s. Both work just fine when juxtaposed next to each other, thank you very much.

“You, Only” is a surreal affair, moonlight filtering through tree branches and rippling across water. It’s a personal statement, one you have to bend your ear to in order to perceive the magic of Ekin Fil’s surroundings. Get close, get in there – “You, Only” is inviting and welcoming, a spell cast over a small amount of real estate; if you come across it though, forget it: it’s got you. It’s cinematic but not overt, personal but not cloying, a story waiting to be formed and translated. Once it’s yours, it’s your secret; be careful with such elusive and vibrant knowledge.

https://ekinfil.bandcamp.com/

https://vaagner.bandcamp.com/

--Ryan

CHALTANDR “eLeVeN” C25 (self-released)

Chaltandr is “either” or “or” on eLeVeN, one of two sides, depending on which faces out the tape deck on any given day. Whether you’re “either” or “or” – and to clarify, those are the titles of the two sides according to Bandcamp, not the tape itself – you’re in for a polyrhythmic digi-attack for twenty five straight minutes. You can decide for yourself how you want to be bombarded, or you can let fate have its way with you. For the latter, just close your eyes before popping this in and pressing “Play.” Can you figure out where you are? Can you figure out who you are?

https://ooooooooo.bandcamp.com/

--Ryan