masteller

GUiLT – Anthology One

2.8.19 by Ryan Masteller

Guilt. It sits there in your stomach like a lump of undigested beef, festering next to the liver and the kidneys and the duodenum until you can’t take it anymore and are forced to do something about it. Admit to whatever it is that’s making you feel guilty, maybe. Apologize for it. Anything to alleviate the pressure of despondency it’s causing, the claustrophobia of its menacing presence. It’s suffocating living under a veil of total guilt.

Here on “Anthology One” we’re living under a veil of tonal GUiLT, capitalized weirdly because I’m now referring to it as a proper name, and tonal because we’re hearing it. GUiLT specializes in experimental drone, the kind that keeps you on edge, that makes you grit your teeth upon hearing it, grinding away at those molars for the entire hour GUiLT’s recorded oeuvre is playing. At times ominously drifting, at others ear-splittingly intimidating, at even others scolding in its use of samples, “Anthology One” plays like a song cycle for the inner demons hammering away at your black heart. It’s hellish, but not in the fire-and-brimstone-y way popularized ever-so-effectively by Dante Alighieri. No, this hellscape is crafted by the absence of reason and logic, by the fear of the unknown, by the feelings of being alone with your internal pain and suffering for eternity. Here, GUiLT/guilt reigns supreme, an ever-present reminder that something’s gone horribly amiss, and you’re now powerless to rectify it, no matter how much you want to.

That’s real GUiLT.

Or you can turn off this tape and go say you’re sorry and immediately start feeling better about yourself. But why would you ever want to do that???

Why would you indeed. You can still grab one of these from Lurker Bias if you’ve got the stomach for it.

Penance Stare – Solanaceae

2.6.19 by Ryan Masteller

Does atmospheric black metal with goth and shoegaze aspirations get a bad rap today? I mean, there’s pretty much only one band that comes to mind when we’re talking about this in conjunction with “bad raps,” and that’s Deafheaven. Real talk: I’ve always been a Deafheaven fan (more so their early stuff), but man, they really seem to get thrown under the bus a lot these days.

Penance Stare is not Deafheaven, not even remotely, but that’s not a bad place to start the discussion. It’ll help orient you – and I know there are some of you out there (not me, obvs), who are like, “Black metal? Isn’t that Satanic music? Isn’t it just a maelstrom of noise and hate?” And I’ll respond with, “‘Maelstrom of noise and hate’? There’s no way you’re smart enough or articulate enough to come up with such a poetic thought. You’re quite misinformed, and you also live in the 1980s, probably at the evangelical church I grew up attending and have now outgrown. But to answer you, briefly: no.”

Tangent aside, Penance Stare, the solo (!) moniker of UK-based shredder Esmé Louise Newman is a heavy affair – heavy atmosphere that is. Utilizing definite shoegaze tropes (those guitar tones) and post-rock progressions, Newman builds up worlds of static and fuzz and shatters them with machine-gun beats and dissonant breakdowns on her new album “Solanaceae.” Her voice floats above it all, Cocteau Twins style, in a gentle counterpoint. She even drifts (literally!) into ambient territory near the end of the tape, with “The Remains of the Wooden Icebreaker Lie Submerged” sounding exactly like the title implies, following that with another dense and frigid slab of drone with “Bensedin Petrichor.”

In short: beautiful, heavy, intense. Edition of 50 from Crow Versus Crow.

moduS ponY & VLK – split

2.4.19 by Ryan Masteller

This cassette is evenly divided. Perfectly. Right down the middle. On one side, the white one, Strategic Tape Reserve stalwart moduS ponY brandishes multiple implements of sonic construction, combining them in unusual and powerful ways, sometimes like weirding weapons in “Dune” (but not dangerous). Strategic Tape Reserve stalwart VLK eschews Sean Hannity and Avril Lavigne samples for the red side, drawing on a much more democratic array of sound sources and matching moduS ponY’s side vibe for vibe in a true spirit of camaraderie.

Yeah, yeah: this is a two-tone cassette.

What we do know: Sound files shot back and forth across the internet, from California (moduS ponY) to Cologne (VLK) and back, serving as inspiration and source material for this split. Nevermind that hackers can totally rip through your computer system with malevolent code and steal these brilliant ideas – the two intrepid artists threw caution to the wind. With moduS ponY you get a surreal instrumental slurry, both acoustic and sample-based, sounding exactly like what you would imagine something like “Black Lasagna” sounds like: meaty, dark, confusing, dystopian, and ultimately satisfying. VLK shakes a “Mario Party” jar until all the candy comes out, variously colored, tactile, smooth, generous, “Dizzy.” Disorienting? Sometimes. Who the heck is laughing on “Gallic Shrug”?

What we don’t know: What “Adriatic ports,” “gymnastic displays of groinal flexibility,” and “low-temperature banana confections” really sound like – no point of reference. Although I can guess on the flexibility one, what with my all-star levels of athletic ability.

This gnarly split comes in an edition of only 22 from Strategic Tape Reserve, so act fast, or I’m gonna email you and call you dumb to your face!

Already Dead drops their third Retrospective

2.1.19 by Ryan Masteller

This is the 185th “VIP” (Very Important Piece) I’ve written for Tabs Out. Why is that important? It’s not a round number. It’s not even a funny one. But the point is, it’s pretty big. Think about this: there are only 138 Tabs Out episodes (editor’s note: there’s more if you count Laser Focus and Bonus episodes like this one, but whatever…). You can look at it as if I’ve lapped the Delaware crew. Also, it takes me at least 6.9 hours to write one of these things too, just in case you think “more goes into” a podcast or whatever.

Point is, 300 is also a big number (unless you’re from Sparta, then it’s unimaginably small). And we’re here today to celebrate the 300th release by Already Dead Tapes and Records, now based out of Atlanta. There’s been some Already Dead coverage on this website before, perhaps most notably Scott Scholz’s Space Age Pressure Pad writeup on a bunch of AD releases – almost a year ago? That can’t be. Anyway, as is the label’s wont, they’ve dropped a massive compilation on us as catalog number AD300, which they’ve done before for catalog numbers AD200 and AD100. And it’s a doozy!

I don’t know how you all can keep up with all the stuff AD releases, but these “Documents” serve as a reminder that I often only scratch the surface of their catalog. Sure, I’ve written things about Comfort Food, Curt Oren, Complainer, Cop Funeral, Claire Rousay and even artists that DON’T start with the letter C, such as Alien Trilogy, Michael Potter, A.M. Stations, and The Myriad Ones. … OK, turns out I’m actually pretty familiar with the last 100 releases, so I can vouch for them. But you – YOU, newbie, you’ve got to catch up!

Fortunately there’s a “cheat code” for you to do just that.

Each physical copy of “Document III” comes with a “Golden Ticket,” just like Willy Wonka put in his chocolate bars in Tim Burton’s hilariously original film retelling of Roald Dahl’s beloved book. This “Golden Ticket” takes you to a magical URL (if you have a computer), where you’ll be able to skip and dance around a playground of download links for AD101 through AD199, a veritable wonderland of MP3 files that will allow you to catch up on all the amazing Already Dead releases you missed. Then you can buy the tapes for the ones you like – since this is a cassette website after all – presuming they’re in print still, of course.

“Document III” is still in print. Edition of 100, though, so act fast!

Comfort Food – A Cordial Warning
Mu Vonz – Hypnotize
Curt Oren – Moab
Complainer – Fucking Droid
cop funeral – try
Mezzanine Swimmers – Black Cat in Heat
Excessive Visage – Verwöhnt von Happiness
The Hell Hole Store – Musician Street
Michael Potter – Can One Make Two
YMDSIH – Legacy of Nothing
Painted Faces – Keep on Rocking in the Freak World
the binary marketing show – daydream (i cannot)
A.M. Stations – Attic Money
NONZOO – GREAT AMERICAN TROUGH
Coastal Car – Ultraviolet Light
Claire Rousay – Definitive Attributes
Alien Trilogy – Barlow
Imbue – Ghost Stories Pt. 1 (ft. iAlive & Carl Kavorkian)
The Myriad Ones – La Luv
SHOTO – Worship Nothing
Dead Tenants – Rubbed Out
Unsung – Bowl of Honeydew
About a Million – Wakin’ Me Up
Forget the Times – Some Tolerance for Silence (Document III Edit)
talk midway – night

OGRE and Dallas Campbell – All Hallows’ II

1.31.19 by Ryan Masteller

I know this is going against protocol, but…

THIS TAPE IS SO SCARY AND I LOVE IT!

OGRE (aka Robin Ogden, not the one you’re thinking of) and Dallas Campbell are transatlantic buddies who just want to frighten the bejeezus out of each other. Fresh(ish) off their rescore of George A. Romero’s classic zombie flick “Night of the Living Dead” (Lakeshore Records, whoa!), the boys are back in town, virtually, through a secure internet connection. This time they’re cooking up a sequel to their hit “All Hallows” with another soundtrack to an imaginary thriller. And this one’s real nightmare fuel, check it:

“35 years ago investigative journalist Ellis Ledstone admitted himself as a patient to an alternative healthcare facility, The Shepard Institute For Psionic Inquiry. 6 months later, police would break down its doors to discover the remains of a dozen patients in The Institute’s basement.”

Oh snap! That sounds terrifying, in all the right ways. Not uncoincidentally, this is right up your alley if you’re a “Stranger Things” fan, as that soundtrack was also released on Lakeshore – Lakeshore is like a genre film soundtrack hall of fame! Delightful synthwork conjures fabulous moods, and you can pretty much imagine how the “film” “All Hallows’ II” is going to play out, just by listening. You thought John Carpenter knew how to cook up the heebie jeebies, make your skin crawl, but you won’t be disappointed with OGRE and Dallas Campbell, not even a little bit. Plus, we all know it’s better to celebrate Halloween in January anyway – it’s sneakier that way.

And hey, you guys are a bunch of fucking nerds, right? Then you’re gonna love the equipment listings:

Dallas’ Gear: ARP Axxe, Odyssey｜Casio SK1｜Crudman V2｜Doepfer Dark Time｜EHX Deluxe Memory Man｜Farfisa Syntorchestra｜Kawai SX240｜Maestro RK4｜Multivox MX312, MXD7｜Pioneer RT707｜Roland CR78, CR8000, Dimension D, Juno 6, MKS 70, SH101, SVC 350｜SCI Pro One, Prophet 600｜Star Instruments Synare 3｜Tape Loops｜Tascam Portastudio 424｜Yamaha SK30.

Robin’s Gear: Arturia Microbrute｜Doepfer, MAKENOISE & Mutable Instruments Eurorack System｜ Kawai SP-100｜KNAS Moisturizer｜KOMA Field Kit｜Korg Mono/Poly, MS-20, Poly 800 MK II｜Moog MF Delay, Mother 32, Minitaur｜Novation Bass Station Rack｜Roland VP-330｜Tape Loops｜Tascam Portastudio 414｜Voltage Controlled Walkman｜WEM Copicat Super IC｜Yamaha TX81Z. 

Preorder from OGRE now: “pad printed shell, loaded with pro dubbed Type I ferric grade tape. Made in the U.K. Also includes original Shepard Institute Of Psionic Inquiry Flyer and a digital copy of the All Hallows’ II Case File as a 38 page .PDF.”