BASEMENT SURFERS "Human Music" (Halfshell Records)

Like most music, the first thing that impressed me was the incredible detail payed to the packaging (blue glitter shell in a poly clear case). The album started with a speech read over what seemed like Beach Boys songs being played backwards. These are both good precedence’s for Seattle’s Basement Surfers brand of slightly progressive power pop. Some really cool guitar and keyboard tones float around the many, many parts of their songs! The first song made me curious about whether or not they surfed (like the ocean). The drumming is pretty nasty and the song structures and arrangement are dense and fascinating. Even a space rock jam breaks out now and then!!

Part way through the side is a sweet synth jam (has to be my fave overall). Throughout surf rock pastiches appear and fade. This tape really went off into a jam/guitar soundscape section towards the end of side a!!  Side b starts with a well-deserved series of catchy, seemingly more pop, oriented guitar rock songs. Side B has a flow to it, almost like a medley. The vocals are subdued and fine. I imagine the band likes Yes a bit, maybe too? Sadly SOLD OUT but check it out on bandcamp!!!
https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/human-music

-- “Jamband” Josh Brown

SWAMP MEAT "Higher Art Vol. 1" C44 (Halfshell Records)

Looking at Seattle, WA’s Swamp Meat profile, I see “thee oh sees” in their tags line (per bandcamp), and I think to myself, “Do I need to research this band that I’ve been hearing about, in passing, for maybe ten years now?”

I am a person that hasn’t fallen in love with Radiohead or The Flaming Lips or Jazz or The Blues because, honestly, I haven’t been ready for it. I think that, when the time comes, a certain aesthetic or tone or chord progression will SMASH YOUR FACE IN, IN A REALLY PLEASANT WAY, and that I don’t need to rush it.  Anyways…that’s my justification for not seeing how Swamp Meat compares to Thee Oh Sees.

What I CAN tell you FOR SURE is that this album of previously unreleased tracks, Thee Oh Sees covers, and/or live songs are a great, diverse collection of cosmic, carnified-garage-psych jams and dark, chamber-pop devotional ditties (with some overlap!) that makes for great headphone listening. There’s lotsa hidden gems (like ghostly melodica lines and trembling organs) buried beneath the louder melodies (mostly richly bowed strings and/or soaring pedal-soaked guitar tones) that are well worth searching for with eyes closed.

It’s good to note, too, that this release is a fundraiser for one of the largest, non-religiously oriented homeless shelters in the PNW, so, feel free to donate!

https://swampmeat.bandcamp.com/album/higher-art-vol-1
and/or
https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

BAYWITCH "Hella Spawn" (Halfshell Records)

The opening track, "Baywitch Theme" completely introduces you to the world of Hella Spawn. Imagine yourself on an island with all the time in world. All you can hear is the tide rolling and this album playing from an unknown source. Both creepy and inviting.

Groovy basslines, driving percussion, twinkling guitar riffs and a vocalist who sounds like they're singing to you through a ouija board. This release is definitely a healthy mix of party, surf, and ghouls. My favorite track has to be "I.O.D.T.H.C." and if you don't intend on listening to this album in it's entirety then at least give that track a listen.

The closing track "Potion Breeze" almost makes you wish you were on a deserted island enjoying the surf and this tape. All around Hellaspawn is a solid release and leaves the listener longing for more. That being said, I hope to hear and see more from Lila Burns and this incarnation of BAYWITCH.

https://baywitch.bandcamp.com/

https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/ 

-- Julienne Pasta

UMBER SLEEPING “At Last You Can Fly” (Halfshell Records)

Taking the best of Cold War–synth pop and mixing it with kraut influences, Umber Sleeping, mainly the project of Peter Tietjen, cuts a rug on the catchiest of catchy bloops and beats. Like some of my favorite synth bands from twenty years ago or so, like Pulsars or I Am Spoonbender (but without the mathy-ness of the latter), Umber Sleeping is easy to throw on and enjoy on any occasion. And if you’ve read any of my reviews ever, you probably know that I’m a sci-fi nut, so AT LAST YOU CAN FLY pretty much scratches that itch in all the right places. I mean, look at some of these track titles: “Where Is Neptune?,” “Atom,” “Starro” – OK, maybe it’s only a handful that point directly to sci-fi, but still, the music is totally all Isaac Asimov on us. Freaky future space colonies and that kind of jazz, set to music for mass consumption, likely individually packaged and portioned for maximum caloric efficiency on the intake. But that’s food, this is music. You won’t regret your decision to emigrate to a frontier planet. There’s even a track called “Dr. Monroe,” and if he doesn’t inspire confidence, then I don’t know, you may be lost to the cause. But hey, at least you’ve still got your Umber Sleeping tape, right? … Do you?

Umber Sleeping
Halfshell Records

-- Ryan Masteller

GHOST SODA “Further Deep Down” C22 (Half Shell Records)

“80z AF”

… …

Bewildered, woke up hung-over, back of a karaoke bar.

… …

That poor Mormon troupe happened upon a Ghost Soda rehearsal + felt so drugged afterwards, they ran away + joined the Green Peace. Please do not disown them!

No headphones necessary. Time capsule implied.

… …

Off-key enough to not make me wanna buy stuff, but still so poppy I can’t take a nap.

… …

Perfect soundtrack for John Cusack & Molly Ringwald to clean their fingernails to before doing the family dishes.

http://ghostsoda.bandcamp.com/releases

and/or

https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/further-deep-down

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

NIXON TOOTH "For Our Blessed Ignoble Dead"(Halfshell Records)

Points right out of the box for the neat enclosed lyric booklet, additional points as this tape is a benefit for Syrian refugees-nice touch...now on to the goods.  This eight song collection jumps at you right from the start with a sonic kick in the groin. Nixon Tooth are a two-piece, with Mohammed Grout handling guitar and vocals. And what vocals they are. Grout sounds like Human Switchboard on acid with a side dish if Jonathan Richmond. This is not to imply it's bad-anything but. In a world if sound alike a, this combo stands out, especially as it's a two-piece. These guys are two left turns and a foxhole away from your usual White Stripes copycat bands.

I can't put my finger on it exactly, but suffice to say it's an Acoutic guitar being tirtured with Grout's voice as the mouthpiece.

Side one has four tracks (as does the reverse) and they go by fast. Personal favorites are the opener and closer-"Won't Let It" and "Things Death Taught Us" and eagerly I flip the tape for the conclusion. Pretty much more of the same with the standout here titled "Phil Ochs."

The tape comes with a download card and is a numbered limited edition. Mine is 3/20. Don't get me wrong, this is a refreshing outfit with a good dose of acoustic punk. If that sounds like your thing, by all means check it out.

-Bob Zilli

CASUAL HEX "Fleshed Out" (Halfshell Records)

Wow! This tape starts out with a powerful, if regrettably short track titled "Sacred Plush." Owing as much to Devo as surf/punk, Casual Hex knows how to get your attention. It doesn't let up when they leap into the second track "Futuristic Hieroglyphics" either. Only on "Dry Spell" do you get a chance to breathe. OK, there's some B-52's influence as well but it really isn't apparent until you get a fair ways into this tape.

But wait a second, it all slows down and dare I say this bunch tinkers with....surf metal? Each track is different enough to display a unique side to this group, but there's enough singularity to bind it all together. I don't know that I've ever heard anything like this, which, for someone to listens to a lot of tapes, is quite nice.

Not much in the way of revealing information here. The tape was recorded, mixed and mastered by one Ian Curtis Crist in Seattle but beyond that there is no clue who they are or where they're from. The program is all on one side and repeats on side two. The tape is standard issue plastic case with J-card.

Casual Hex is engaging. I wouldn't be shocked if these guys end up on a major label.

-- Bob Zilli

CABANA "Normal City" (Halfshell Records)

Cabana embodies a take on a rock vibe I truly never have appreciated much, but managed to keep me excited to hear each track in entirety. Be forewarned: I am severely under educated in this area. Normal City was released in 2014 on Halfshell Records and is packed with grunge, psych, folk, alt, classic 70's and more.

Normal City has nasally droning vocals like any of your favorite Seattle based grunge from two decades ago or Midwestern alt-folk from one decade ago. The recording is ace with full, thick bass elements and crispy guitar work that has both accessibly standard elements and unique melodies throughout.

Interestingly, there are a small tinge of beachy, ambient vibes (Vine Portal) or score-like atmospheric piano compositions (Eyebrow Blastoff) on this album as well. These are the brightest spots for me as a listener. Cabana are definitely full of surprises and Normal City is definitely recommended.

Cabana also masters smooth minor dreamy jams reminiscent of Street Spirit by Radiohead mashed with hefty portions of Flaming Lips (Fits).

Cabana are an extremely impressive outfit who master the ability to mesh all rock oriented styles together with a few experimental tinges to make one inspired listen in full. I can envision this being a favorite for any heavily invested fan of the alt-rock scenes.

LIYL: Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Radiohead, Flaming Lips

https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/normal-city

-- Joseph Morris

AH GOD “Ah God” (Halfshell Records)

 I say “Ah God!” and you say “Goddammit!” and we’re in a tomato/tomahto situation, sort of, where no one wins. It’s because of this that we have to sit back and you have to smoke a bowl (because I don’t hit that) and we have to reimagine our lives in overlapping Venn diagrams of languages of frustration. Because why? Because we need to understand each other, that’s why! Why are we even frustrated in the first place? And how can we overcome such a dire state of mind?

Let me continue, and you try to hang in there. You good and baked? OK, great. I say “Ah God!” because Ah God is a band that I was just introduced to like half an hour ago. I also say “Ah God!” because the band Ah God I was introduced to, the one from Portland, Oregon (screw you, Maine!), is a headrush and then a trainwreck of massively off-kilter psych-pop, a tornado-through-a-trailer-park flinging brightly colored plastic debris and garbage over as wide a swath of Kansas prairie as possible. Why bring Kansas into this? Why not? It’s filled with garbage and prairie! (Or so I imagine.)

Imagine the Flaming Lips, circa In a Priest-Driven Ambulance, writing tunes with Syd Barrett’s ghost and Courtney Taylor-Taylor instead of Miley Cyrus and you’ve got the gist. And that’s why you and I, in our different states of mental awareness and inebriation, should be putting our arms around each other’s shoulders and singing “Kumbaya” instead of flinging invectives at each other. This self-titled cassette, pink shell, poly clear case, edition of 100, has the capacity to wrangle peace from the cosmos and plaster smiles on even the grumpiest Grinch’s face. Do yourself a favor and tap into that vibe, won’t you? You’ll thank me later, potato.

Halfshell Records

Ah God

--Ryan Masteller