Tabs Out, Author at | Page 82 of 1032

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022

Tabs Out | Alex Homan – Dawn of the Jawns Volumes 1 & 2

Alex Homan – Dawn of the Jawns Volumes 1 & 2

Mail days here at Tabs Out West Coast HQ are always a strange affair. On top of the usual suspects (select tapes from select labels) arriving in suspect packaging, there’s always a litany of freeform free-for-alls. And on the downtime of an elongated pseudo-winter vacation, there is an opportunity to employ radical heuristics and find which of those latter tapes tickles my fancy the most. Blind bag days are a vicious treat when you know you’re on a hot streak. Although I somehow always end up back in the primordial womb of indie rock; maybe that’s just unavoidable to return to my safest roots.

Anyways, Dawn of the Jawns (Vols. 1 & 2) arrived in crude plastic cases with even cruder, more rudimentary Jcard and liner notes (naturally printed on printer paper). Yet, forgoing the aesthetic presentation I took a leap of faith. Homan’s recordings are retrospective, with both volumes covering his “antisocial experiments” circa 2007-2009 in Philadelphia. He writes candidly and reflectively of these recordings aimless, pained attempts at straddling a line between noise and music. Most of the college recorded tunes lean towards a certain Baltimore four-piece in their halcyon era. And while I imagine Homan did “collect all the animals” at some point or another, there’s a bonafide level of trance emanating. More often than not, Homan’s raw musicality (lo-fi recordings of guitar with reverb and effects) entices and acts as a damn sturdy window to a time that feels unarchived and lost to layers of code. Spectacularly, it radiates and glows.

The first tape is genuinely an indie rock tape at heart. Underneath the acoustics and limitations, Homan’s trusty guitar and gaggle of effects are a jukebox of myspace melodies, reflecting song structures that you may have half memorized and will likely fit like a glove. It’s eminently warm and freeing, which Volume 2 often uproots. Slabs of Homan making attempts at beguiling noise a la Danse Manatee are found in and around the tape (alongside the occasional spoken word excerpt or campfire melody). Yet, Homan’s recollections and curation do find a pathway to a semblance of where his projects will err towards. All I know is that there’s no way this tape had to be as listenable and fascinating as it looked, yet here I am, clearly in a sort of trance over the whole state of affairs. Keep it like a secret.

Edition of 6 available at the Alex Homan bandcamp page

February 16, 2022February 16, 2022

batry powr – Un1ty Flute

2.16.22 by Matty McPherson

February 16, 2022February 16, 2022

Tabs Out | batry powr – Un1ty Flute

batry powr – Un1ty Flute

2.16.22 by Matty McPherson

I recently upgraded to an Xbox One, putting me only about 8 years behind the current swing of things. My issue is that I refuse to actually use the console for any bloody games; I’ve chosen to cite the “screen configuration” as my primary issue, but I think I’ve just simply moved past wanting to go dive off the deep end with a game. Also, the dishwasher nearly burned the house down and so I need to play “Dishcleaner Adventurer” for the foreseeable future.

I do like that game a lot though, as it leaves room for a tape. Although I find myself wanting to revive the old Oblivian lady elf again with the couple of spins Un1ty Flute has received. Maybe you heard of Hundred Waters and have enjoyed their music from a halcyon era ago. Well, this is frontwoman Nicole Miglis, in a deceptively distanced space of music. Her batry pwr project is centered around one limitation: using electronic gear that runs on batteries in remote places. Except Un1ty Flute didn’t quite come out like that – it’s a sudden spur-of-the-moment kind of recording that Leaving Records graciously has brought to us.

As a C30 goes, it leans into proof-of-concept territory. Side A’s title track purposely tries to pull you down to the swamps of Florida, recontextualizing it as a majestic airy land. In its own way, it reminds me of both the aforementioned Oblivion soundtrack, while also sneakily integrating field recordings and wistful sounds that could have come out of a rare Environments tape (for my money, it’s the one in a Country Stream). At first, I didn’t quite believe this was real, nor that actually this genuinely had THAT potent of a utilitarian function here. It’s not a piece of music that can just be summoned, but only felt out to its terminal end. Side B, simply titled ii, is much more in a contemporary sphere. Miglis has DJ’d and soundtracks her days, and this side of the tape errs more towards the “battery powered” electronic aspect that could return in a future from here. It all gravitates around a simple piano loop and an ethereal vocal. Two pieces come to mind: early Ana Roxanne and Jessica Pratt’s Opening Night intro from her 2019 album. Likewise, once I actually found myself in the rhythm, I was a little dismayed. I still had a mountain of dishes to go and no more ii to take in!

Edition of 250 from Leaving Records.

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022

Music En Berlin – ANIMAL

2.14.22 by Jacob DeRaadt

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022

Tabs Out | Music En Berlin – ANIMAL

Music En Berlin – ANIMAL

2.14.22 by Jacob DeRaadt

I had no knowledge of this project before being sent “ANIMAL” by the label, Orb Tapes. The seven tracks are divided into “Scenes,” somehow that really appeals to me, not labeling things songs but rather a glimpse into a world.

Right out of the gate, “The Hunt In the Woods” has a lo-fi industrial dirge that has me hypnotized, slowly dissolving into crackling whispers of broken electronic pulsations, like wires short circuiting in sewer water. There’s lots of space for the dissolving sounds to interact, some call and response with the juxtaposed textures. Each track has its own distinct flow and tonality rather than one long continuous jam session, something I can appreciate as a listener. The element that unites all of the pieces sonically is the slow, steady percussion underpinning each “scene.”

Later on there’s gently rustling detritus paired with simple digital rhythms and bowed instruments. None of the compositions overstay their welcome. Some of them border on the cinematic, which might be a dirty word for some but is welcome to these ears. I look forward to hearing more from this project!