Cassette Corner Timeline: Part 3

The final installment in a list of influential and interesting cassettes. 2003-2013

Hair Police - Obedience Cuts

(2004 Hanson Records)

Lexington, Kentucky harsh noise unit Hair Police have been destroying eardrums since 2001, and Obedience Cassettes is just one of many solid tapes put out by the band. It was their debut on the infamous Hanson Records label and also happens to be their most accessible effort to date. Underneath the layers of screeching noise and grimy tape manipulations, one can hear the faint echo of shouted vocals and meaty bass guitar on songs like "Bee Scrape" and "Let's See Who's Here and Who's Not". Only the truly brave will listen to this with the volume cranked up to the max.

Vehicle Blues - Pizza

(2008 Lillerne)

I think just about everybody reading this can agree that the inventions of both shoegaze and pizza are two of mandkind's greatest achievements, and here they are, housed in the same cassette. Pizza is the debut tape single of bedroom pop project Vehicle Blues, two tracks that combine the influences of My Bloody Valentine and krautrock, creating a stagnant pool of reverb-washed sludge that doesn't do much but stew in its own juices. That's totally ok though, as elements like the "Dancing In the Dark"-esque keyboards on "But What You Feel Is" make for a relaxing and unique listen. This tape is a brain massage, and if you ever get the chance to get your oven mitts on this personal Pizza, by all means do so.

Kevin Greenspon/Cloud Nothings - Split

(2010 Cass/Flick + Bridgetown)

Yeah, you read that right. You may not have known it, but Dylan Baldi's Cloud Nothings have a few tapes in their back catalog, which rank among the finest selections in his discography. This split with Bridgetown Records founder Kevin Greenspon offers two sides of deep-fried fuzz pop. Greenspon's tracks combine the sounds of the Go-Gos and early Dinosaur Jr, while Baldi's side takes on a more modernist garage rock approach, which should appeal to fans of the Orwells and Beach Fossils. "I Apologize" is a noise-laden gem, and is my current favorite Cloud Nothings song.

Yu(c)k - Weakend

(2010 Mirror Universe)

Here's another currently well-known artist who got their start releasing tapes. Yu(c)k was the short-lived side project of Yuck's former frontman Daniel Blumberg. More in tune with "Shook Down" than "Get Away", Weakend is a collection of four dreamy piano tracks recorded in Daniel's flat. Each of the cuts is haunting, from the shoegazey "Daughter" to the stark "Automatic". Perfect in nearly every way.

Abuela - Self Titled EP

(2012 Swan City Sounds)

Abuela's 2012 debut tape served as my introduction to the world of cassette culture, a humble cassingle I happened upon by chance on a Bandcamp binge over fall break last year. Though only eight minutes long, Abuela's tape is a powerful listen. It's extremely raw, with its simple acoustic finger picking, handclaps and stomps, yet it's not particularly noisy or "lo-fi". It relies on sparsity and emotion, not sound quality to capture the attention of the listener. Ramon Crespo's gravelly falsetto is heart piercing, and gives life to each of the three somber tunes on the EP. If this cassette doesn't strike a chord with you, then I don't know what will.

Julia Brown - To Be Close To You

(2013 Birdtapes)

If any current cassette culture band is going to make it big, it's Julia Brown. to be close to you is a lo-fi masterpiece, squeezing strings, watery keyboards, twangy guitars and super tight vocal harmonies all on to one little tape. There's no filler to be found on this album, as it's one of the best overall releases of the year. Read my review of it here: http://half-gifts.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-julia-brown-to-be-close-to-you.html

Cassette Corner Timeline: Pt. 1

Since today marks the first annual Cassette Store Day, I'll be celebrating my favorite musical format with a timeline of tape releases that I find inspirational. Starting at 1982 and ending today, this list only scratches the surface of cassette culture's rich history, but I hope to highlight the more important albums of the past thirty years and maybe even introduce you to a new band or two. Here's part one of the list, ranging from 1982 to 1992.

Solid Space - Space Museum

(1982 In Phaze)

With its muffled synthesizers and jangling lead guitars, album of 80's synth-pop has an unshakable sense of antiquated charm. It's a strange listen; the lyrics center around space travel as imagined by 50's science fiction flicks and there are a few disco-influenced moments scattered throughout the tape. Hiding behind the many quirks Space Museum offers are moments of sheer brilliance. "A Darkness In My Soul", recently covered by Led Er Est, is a particularly memorable cut, featuring vaguely proggy acoustic guitar in its intro. "Tenth Planet" is probably my favorite song off the album, a minimalist gem only enhanced by its humorously corny synth pulses. 

 

Full album stream

Amos and Crew - True Tears

(It's War Boys 1982)

Puzzling, fascinating, alienating, Amos and Crew's True Tears definitely isn't everybody's cup of tea, but it'll certainly capture the attention of whoever listens to it. The album, recorded in three days by avante-garde musician Jim Welton, is almost completely improvised, yet clings by a thread to loose pop constructions. A variety of instruments and sounds accompany Welton's squeaky, heavily filtered vocals: clunky drum-machines, sporadically played, tinny guitar notes and goofy keyboard grooves. True Tears, in a strange, twisted way, is pop music in its rawest form. Whether it's quality songcraft or utter crap is in the ear of the beholder, and in mine, it's lo-fi gold.

Armed Truth Foreigners

Beat Happening - Three Tea Breakfast

(K 1984)

No Half-Gifts "best of" list would be complete without mention of seminal lo-fi band Beat Happening. Released just after their self-titled debut EP, Three Tea Breakfast remains one of my favorite releases by the Olympia, Washington based trio. Everything about its sound quality is simply perfect. The guitars are fat and booming, the percussion sounds like kitchen utensils being clapped together, yet it's the vocals that make this EP. Calvin Johnson and Heather Lewis split singing duties on this tape, sharing a similarly monotone, uninterested delivery. Three Tea Breakfast sounds like your little brother grabbing your guitar and mercilessly banging on the strings as he belts out poorly constructed, stream-of-conscious lyrics. I mean that in the best way possible.

Youth

Daniel Johnston - Continued Story

(Self-Released 1985)

Not much ink is spilled over this under-appreciated tape by outsider artist Daniel Johnston, but it's possibly my favorite selection from his prolific discography. I'll spare you Johnston's backstory as you've probably heard it hundreds of times by now, and I'll get straight into the review. Johnston flirts with intelligibility (maybe even professionalism) on Continued Story, prying himself away from the chord organ that dominated previous efforts. With help from punk act Texas Instruments, he benefits greatly from a full backing band, making for an interesting departure from his familiar solo material. "Ain't No Woman Gonna Make A George Jones Outta Me" is the album's crowning achievement, a simple acoustic tune featuring an uncredited female vocalist. 

Ain't No Woman Gonna Make A George Jones Outta Me

Sebadoh -Weed Forestin'

(1987 Self-Released)

The oft-overlooked Sebadoh debut, Weed Forestin' is home to some of Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow's finest solo songs. This tape is the precursor to his later, acoustic-only project Sentridoh, possessing many of the lo-fi recording techniques and lyrical tropes employed under the moniker. As usual, Barlow's songwriting is overwhelmingly melancholy on Weed Forestin', featuring an early demo version of my favorite Sebadoh track "Brand New Love". "Whitey Peach" is another prime cut, and is one of Barlow's best vocal performances. It may not be as important as 1994's Bakesale, but as far as Sebadoh releases go, Weed Forestin' is a close second best effort.

Brand New Love

Various Artists - Pawnshop Reverb

(1992 Shrimper)

Pawnshop Reverb is the best of a smattering of cassette compilations released in the early 90's by legendary DIY label Shrimper Records. The Mountain Goats and Sentridoh are the more well-known acts appearing on the tape, but tracks like Delirium Insomniacal by the more obscure psychedelic rock band Primordial Undermind will give listeners reason to stay. That being said, "Certain Dance-Circumstance" is one of my favorite Sentridoh tracks, and that cut alone is enough to put Pawnshop Reverb on this list. If you're into blown-out twangy guitars, you'll love this tape.

Certain Dance-Circumstance