First Terrace Records releases the multifaceted stunner “Compilation 2” 1.26.18 by Mike Haley
Let’s say a friend is telling you a story about, I don’t know, going to Whole Foods for avocado water or whatever. If during that story they offhandedly mention that Huey Lewis was there shopping for chestnut kefir spread I would call them out for burying the lede. The avocado water story, no matter how interesting, becomes meaningless when The News (lol) is now 100% Huey.
First Terrace Records buried the lede with “Compilation 2.” And boy did they pile the dirt on.
The image above shows off the compilation’s exceptional packaging and contents. The gold embossed box with prints and a zine looks like something you would see attached to the article “Woman discovers original Basquiat journal in cigar box.” The curation is flawless. You can stream all thirteen tracks if you don’t trust me for some reason. Even if you do trust me, listen to them anyway for a frothy lathering of damaged energy and a hard-won out of body bubble bath.
BUT the real story here: The runtime of “Compilation 2” is 68 minutes long. Just one minute shy of a very VERY funny number of minutes. Start off with that, then get into how fucking amazing this thing is. That tip is free for First Terrace. The tape will cost you, but it’s worth it.
Premiere: Adam Gnade & Demetrius Francisco Antuña – Voice Mails From The Great Satan 1.25.18 by Ryan Durfee
America’s most troubled troubadour Adam Gnade is at it again, prepping another slab of post apocalyptic talking-blues via the venerable Three.One.G with the help of musician Demetrius Antuña.
“Voice Mails From The Great Satan” is broken up into two sections, Nighttime Suite / Daytime Suite, and explores living in America during Tr*mp’s presidency through the lens of Agnes, a character we were introduced to in Adam’s novella Locust House. Side A (Nighttime Suite) guides Agnes through the darkness of a heartbreak not known since businessmen threw themselves out of windows back in ’29. Ominous bowed guitars & clanging drums, at times sounding like a rough Sunn 0))) (wouldn’t a collab between Gnade & O’Malley be dreamy?) mesh with some gorgeously doomy post rock. It leads us to a question: Is this the society we want to be living in? One where profit motive is placed before the welfare of the have nots. One where greed lays waste to the last dying gasps of a beauty we are so desperately grasping onto. Makes you want to run to the hills. Side B (Daytime Suite) brings more gloom while spiraling further and further down the rabbit hole. The influence of Dean Hurley’s sound design on the latest season of Twin Peaks can absolutely be heard in the distorted field recordings and electrical hum that sound like the ground is being torn asunder.
“Voice Mails From The Great Satan” has a release date of February 16th. Preorders for the tape are open now.
Track 1: Nighttime Suite (11:48)
I Blood in the Parking Lot
II Voicemails From The Great Satan
III Ghostship
Track 2: Daytime Suite (13:57)
IV Interlude
V Sunday Afternoon in the Sun
VI Summers End/Summer’s End
Cleveland has always been the definition of downtrodden. The constant underdog in all aspects, especially in music. While lacking in definitive superstars and major pop appeal, Cleveland has created more underground music legends and game changers in creativity than almost any city. These are the most Cleveland tapes of all time in my opinion, and music that changed my life and made me who I am. Time for a history lesson in the greatest Midwest city where just existing, let alone trying to make music or art, says something about your character. Before you freak out that your fav band isn’t on here, please remember many groups didn’t get tape releases. This is my list of the most Cleveland tapes ever.
Pagans – Buried Alive (Treehouse)
The Pagans are Cleveland punk, period. Formed in ’77, they ripped thru ’79 with some EPs and roaring live shows. Following a road paved by the Eels and the Dead Boys, they perfected what their earlier contemporaries were doing. Faster and deadlier, the Pagans were the soundtrack to watching jobs leaving the city and slamming drinks. This comp captures all of the aforementioned material from 77-79. What’s this shit called love and street where nobody lives are the sound of Cleveland punk and rock n roll. Lead singer Mike Hudson recently passed away in 2017, leaving a legacy that changed Cleveland forever. RIP “You better give up!”
Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance (Fontana reissue)
While The Pagans were raging and pissed off in the alleys of Clevo, David Thomas and Pere Ubu took their anger in almost the complete opposite direction in 1975. Grating synths and noise, Thomas yelping and yodeling, Ubu juxtaposed their mess of art punk with an almost pop sensibilities to their songs. Thomas would frequently just smash a wooden block with a hammer during live shows and incorporate saxophones, homemade instruments and whatever else they could find. After Peter Laughner’s untimely death, the band became the figurehead of everything weird, strange and uncomfortable in the city. Reissued on tape in 1988 on Fontana, this is a must have along with their first album “Dub Housing.” When I saw Lydia Lunch perform in Cleveland last year, she stated this: “This song is for my friend Peter Laughner, and this song is the anthem of your city. Be proud of it.” And then tore into Final Solution. Cleveland’s finest outsiders.
Spike In Vain – Jesus Was Born In A Mobile Home (Trans Dada)
While hardcore was exploding all over the nation, Cleveland was a little different. Most of the hardcore bands didn’t last very long at all and sounded very different than, say, Black Flag. Enter Spike In Vain. This recording of hardcore, post-punk and even deathrock hits like a sledgehammer. Released during the last year of the huge hardcore boom, every lyric holds the desperation of kids in a city that tears apart any dreams or admiration that you could have during your break at your shitty job (if you were lucky to have one at that point). Soundtrack to steel mills closing and cheap beer.
My Dad Is Dead – Let’s Skip The Details (Homestead Records) In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated bands to ever come out of Northeast Ohio. Playing post-punk and a mix of Husker Du’s later era, My Dad Is Dead shattered pop/indie rock. Mark Edwards was championed by not just Cleveland but by John Peel and other very notable DJs playing his tunes on their shows. Mostly a solo project with others brought in to play the instruments, MDID should have been as big as REM and all the other college rock bands but suffered the inevitable Cleveland curse. While not entirely buried in obscurity, My Dad is Dead is still considered underground in the most sense. Gone but not forgotten.
Integrity – Systems Overload (Victory Records)
While Dwid and company didn’t invent crossover, they sure as hell innovated it. In the wake of hardcore bands Confront and Face Value (which FV almost made the list), Integrity put Cleveland on the map nationally for hardcore/metal. Along with bands like Ringworm, One Life Crew and Keelhaul, they helped bring many national acts through Cleveland that would have otherwise skipped the city on their tours. This helped spark a resurgence in the 90’s of Cleveland punk starting with the Apartment 213, Inmates, H-100s, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers and the Darvocets, who would take this hardcore blueprint and give it the Cleveland sleaze it deserved. Infamous especially here in town, Integrity and Dwid will always have a name attached in 90’s hardcore and the sub genre of straight edge.
9 Shocks Terror – Zen And The Art Of Beating Your Ass (Devour) You were probably wondering why I didn’t mention 9 Shocks above along with all the other great late 90’s Clevo hardcore/punk tapes. Well, theses psychos get their own section! Literally a super group of everyone that had laid the groundwork for Cleveland punk beforehand, 9 Shocks shows were stuff of legend. They were the first hardcore band I ever saw live and I will never forget seeing a Christmas tree on fire getting thrown around at people and fireworks being launched inside Speak In Tongues like it was the 4th of July. Erba bleeding and cutting promos between songs, Steve Phefer destroying anyone who was in arms reach, this is arguably the most Cleveland band and album of all time. Thanks to them, a ton of bands were created and a scene rejuvenated.
Emeralds / Tusco Terror – Christmas Tapes 2006 (Tusco Embassay) Speaking of rejuvenating scenes, this tape was single handily responsible for spawning more bands and labels in Cleveland than almost anything ever released in the city. Operating out of the Embassy gig spot in east Cleveland, some of the wildest parties and shows went down in the mid to late 2000’s. Helping usher in mainstays such as Bee Mask, Moth Cock, Skin Graft, David Russell, Sam Goldberg and more, both Emeralds and Tusco Terror paved the way for both experimental music and harsh noise. Both sides are some of the bands finest works and this will always be a relevant album in both Cleveland and noise in general. Scene has never been the same since the doors were closed and both bands split.
Skin Graft – Drug Addict (Wagon, Hanson)
I would not be writing this right now if it wasn’t for Wyatt Howland. He was one of the main reason I started my record label, Mistake by the Lake. Seeing him live as a young gun blew my lid back so hard, I had to release something by him just so more people could experience what I did. The king of Cleveland noise, the king of harsh noise period, no one does it better. This disgusting tape features Howland messing with a sink full of water with a contact mic, producing some of the sickest noises I’ve ever heard. Initially released on John Elliott’s Wagon imprint, it has since been reissued on Hanson Records, where it is still in print to this day. The true sounds of the Cleveland underground; All the shit you have to take, the people you have to deal with on the streets everyday, everything that is wrong with the city and the world at large. Hats off to ya How-How.
Andrew Kirschner is an unlicensed, amateur Cleveland historian and runs the very Cleveland label Mistake by the Lake. His latest solo cassette, “Eulogy For Past Lives,” is available now from Torn Light.
Cinchel – A Sad Study in Temporal Dissonance 1.23.18 by Mike Haley
I’m onto you Cinchel. *cracks knuckles*
I’ve figured out your little game. *cracks neck*
I see what you’re trying to do. *cracks all seven Chakras*
“A Sad Study in Temporal Dissonance,” Cinchel’s latest for the Patient Sounds label, is a trap. A sunken trench covered in fall leaves, misleading young lovers, hikers, and cassette reviewers to early termination with the assurance of radiant golds and magentas. The nine track subterfuge (which clocks in at a hour btw) starts off with bells. BELLS! It seems obvious now, gazing up to the light from the bottom of a deep ditch Cinchel has dug, that the bells were pure enticement. Why would the sound of ceremonious bells even be wafting about like an unignorable aroma anyways? But, you know what they say – hindsight is 4/20. Now I’m trapped in a pit.
Every song on “A Sad Study” doesn’t begin sugary sweet only to dilate into a ravine of darkness, but it would be good form to assume that the next gum up of good times is always on it’s way. The smooth sailing guitar, electronics, and BELLS! It all crumbles with time. I guess that’s just life though; A sequence of attempting not to fall in ditches mixed with falling in ditches.
I managed to get a message out to Cinchel asking him to explain his intentions with this devious shit, and to please send supplies. His response:
“The tape is meant to mimic the arc of life: birth to death. Each song explores how events in a life are in a constant balance between happy/sad, optimism/pessimism.”
No supplies were included.
I applaud Cinchel for his work on this tape. The angelic avalanches and cruel certainty are like oil and water, end-to-end saturating the recording. Cinchel is one of the few “drone people” (if that means anything?) that refuses to bore and “A Sad Study in Temporal Dissonance” is an excellent sounding/looking tape. I just wish he would help me out of this hole… Maybe you’ll join me!?
Norelco Mori announces preorder for “Compilation 001” 1.19.18 by Mike Haley
Well, well, well. What in the hell do we have here? It looks like the Tabs Out archenemy, rival cassette podcast Norelco BORI, has done cooked themselves up a niiiiice looking cassette compilation for the new Norelco Mori Limited label. Wouldn’t it be a shame if something nasty were to happen to it? Something like, I don’t know, a REAL COOL cassette podcast pulling a huge prank and dubbing over all 100 copies with Donkey Lips sound clips just as Ted ButTler finished dubbing them in real time on chrome cassettes. I’m not saying it’s gonna happen, I’m just saying it COULD happen. Yeah, dub right over all 11 tracks from b.lind, øjeRum, Desroi, Grozny Penthouse, Head Dress, Lower Tar, Con Cetta, Tom Hall, Sleep Clinic, Grøn, and even this little ditty by Sequences.
That would be hilarious. And to be honest, people would probably like “Compilation 001″even more with a zany twist like that. And can we talk about the name?! “Compilation 001” is what you’re going with? That’s it? Here’s some low hanging fruit to bite into, Ted: “Compilation 069.” You taste those juices? That’s a name like that will drive these preorders through the friggin ROOF. So heads up, Head Dress. Get your act together.
The Swiss financial services holding company Credit Suisse has predicted that upwards of 25% of US malls (roughly 275 shopping centers) will close in the next five years. That is on top of the landscape of skeletal boxes, or dead malls, currently rotting across the country. For every 100 Americans there are 2,353 square feet of shopping center space, which makes less and less sense in a reality where a person can grab bacon, lasers, and DJ equipment for their cat all from the comfort of a sad, but convenient couch.
I was talking with my dad not long ago and the conversation, of course, went to his youth. Nothing is more special to a boomer than a boomer’s coming of age… Beatles and shit. He’s going on about how there used to be stores around the neighborhood. “People could walk to all the local stores and get whatever they needed, but not anymore, they’re all gone.” Yeah, you did that. You replaced the local Main or Market or whatever the street was in that particular town with standardized zones of acquisition. Don’t get me wrong, malls were stone cold cool to hang out at as a kid, shiiiiii. But that’s probably it for em, huh? In use for but a few decades, malls are now essentially time capsules. The cities remain dry and malls are downgraded to museums of spent neon and plastic trees from the worst era of plastic trees. Pretty cool, right? Perhaps one day they’ll become capitols for the various post-nuclear survivor factions who use expired Kohl’s Cash as currency. Here is an artist rendering of what that might look like:
Ｓｐｏｒｔ３０００, who does something silly with the font of course, is a person, or people, or line of code with a bad case of mall-brain. The blurry-eyed lounge drip of “Ｃｌｅａｒａｎｃｅ Ｓａｌｅ” goes thirteen tracks deep, setting out to narrate the life and death of a department store, and absolutely nailing that objective. The opener,３０，０００ Ｓｑｕａｒｅ Ｍｅｔｅｒｓ, is fresh and welcoming -The floors are buffed so well they look like you could ice skate on them. Piles of sweaters and husky boy slacks are displayed in precise piles like a Navy man folded them. Generally, the first half of the tape is extremely chill. The security cameras are still running, all the registers are working, etc… Each track on the front end walks us through another department, Cosmetics & Beauty sounding particularly popping, even visiting a restaurant on the top floor. How fancy. With majorly impressive form, Ｓｐｏｒｔ３０００ vacuumed the DNA of a fictional high-end shopping mall and it’s decline. Speaking of the decline… By the time we reach the title track Ｃｌｅａｒａｎｃｅ Ｓａｌｅ there is a guy holding a huge arrow sign outside. “80% off!” “Final Day!” Not only does the malsoft vibe begin to languish into depression, buffering glitches and long moments of silence stick the the back end tracks. Carl the guard isn’t monitoring the security footage anymore. Hell, the cameras haven’t worked in months. Lollipops from Halloween promotions stick to every possible surface, including the mannequins, who can even feel the end coming. Everything must go!
Hear the unreleased Narwhalz (of Sound) tape that’s been fermenting for a decade 1.15.18 by Mike Haley
Unclear if POM REDNECK SNOOPY:A side was in a mason jar, maturing like a fucked up Kombucha goblin or not. Maybe it was stashed at the last known Blockbuster behind a copy of Bee Movie, which was released in 2007 when “Pom Redneck Snoopy” was recorded. I don’t know why it never came out, or where it’s been for a decade, or how it was found. I don’t know how Tiger Woods was convinced to do the intro. I don’t know what the Tetris score was after Narwhalz surfed on that Gameboing something nasty. And I didn’t bother asking Brian Blomerth either. This is what we know from the Soundcloud summary:
A side of Unreleased Narwhalz (of Sound)Tape from 2007. Two gameboys straight to DAT in the Pom Hole, Richmond, VA.
Cover depicts my favorite memories from that era. Mainly getting thrown in the trash at the end of a set.
Also…I’m giving the Narwhalz name and gear (two gameboys) to any kid that wants to take up the mantle. They can be Narwhalz from now on. If you want your little sister to have a horrible time in her 20s. Tell her to be Narwhalz. All you have to do is send me a message but she’s gotta drink my favorite drink with me. (Listerine and Four Loko)
Damn. Listen to this shit before Soundcloud isn’t a thing anymore, then become Narwhalz! Damn.
Lee Noble shares the track “Sanyo Loop” from his forthcoming Japanese tour tape 1.14.18 by Mike Haley
The monumental amount of shitholeness going down right now makes it vital that the US dispatches its best and brightest throughout the world as goodwill ambassadors. Some trips need to get canned while the urgency of others have skyrocketed. On that note, Lee Noble will be embarking on a Japanese tour in late February. The boss of all things No Kings probably thought he was gonna be pouring over breathtaking sights, eating amazing food, and playing seven fun gigs. Nope! Never before has the dealing of waxy synths, tape loops, and flexible grips of guitar/vocal putty been so important to a nation’s face saving. Lee, I’m speaking directly to you here. Lee, this is a very serious mission. Don’t fuck it up. You’ll have a guitar, therefore the ability to BURST into Cat Scratch Fever at any moment. The next thing you know we’re all watching the “Lee Noble’s mens rights rant” video on Pitchfork. Sure, it would be nice to get some of that smokin’ Pfork coverage, but please!! Only do good while abroad. I know you’ll make us proud.
Muzan Editions will be releasing a tour cassette by Noble called “Ashenden.” Listen to a track from it called Sanyo Loop right here.
Right off the bat I got “isomorphs” confused with “xenomorphs,” and boy, did I feel pretty stupid. I’m not going to pretend I have a healthy grasp on what an isomorph, or “isomorphism,” is, so don’t expect a lengthy treatise on any math or science stuff. All I know is, if I was a kid again and I called one of my brothers an isomorph, you can bet he’d shoot back “YOU’RE an isomorph” before tackling me (and eventually being subdued by my overall superiority). (I can kick both of their behinds in basketball too.)
That has nothing to do with Matthew D. Gantt, who rebounds from his stay at Orange Milk (the vibrant “Split Series Vol. II” with Future Daughter, which I covered, duh) with a slam dunk of a cassette tape called “Isomorphs,” which is where the initial and now probably obvious confusion sprang from. Planting his pivot foot and looking down court for an open teammate, Gantt realizes he has the stadium to himself this time, because who is he, Joel Embiid? He doesn’t need four other jokers hanging around and cramping his style. He’s just fine on his own, thank you very much.
“Isomorphs” blooms from the opening seconds of the title track and stretches from there, blasting all kinds of weird samples and tones and sources into polyphonic fractals whose nexus point lost all molecular connection right from the get-go. Kind of like this backboard following a Darryl Dawkins dunk. And he does it all from the comfort of his iPhone 5s, which I roll my eyes at because c’mon, dude, we’re in X territory now. Although I shouldn’t talk – my idea of technological advancement is making the balloons go on an iMessage. Which I giggle at.
From there it’s the pump fake of “New.Wav (BMF),” darkwavish, nocturnal drone electronics that flow into “Ephemera,” the B-side, the main event, an eleven-minute run of unanswered layups, jump shots, and three-pointers. Yeah it bleeps, yeah it bloops, yeah it blocks shots, but in the end it’s a science experiment gone irreversibly right. You don’t need a scorecard to get that “Isomorphs” put up a triple double while I was listening to it. It’s just obvious.
For those of you wondering how I got from “xenomorphs” to the NBA (and let’s face it, basketball’s WELL down into the bottom tier of my least favorite sports), I’ll probably tackle you if you ask me. So, to tide you over till we meet again, here’s a Bandcamp link to Oxtail Recordings, where you can purchase “Isomorphs” for a mere $7 if you’re one of the fifty lucky stiffs who get there in time.
