No, you have not been magically transported to a run down honky-tonk in 1957, you have just put on the newest release from Lyon’s own Hugo
Clarence. In two short songs, the sounds of the American south are processed
through a Frenchman’s film and vinyl fused mind resulting in some very “old
school” sounds that remain unsettling as they are satisfying.
More strong surf revival jams from Orlando’s Girls on the
Beach. Their newest piece is something you can put your finger on but can’t
exactly pin down to any era or location. This is fuzzy surf rock put to
cassette and may be enjoyed by ironic hipsters traveling with their fat old
uncle to a Jimmy Buffet concert. Without knowing it, tracks like “.45” may very
well end the fights you have been having with your relatives over what to put
on while on a road trip in your old sedan.
When I think of Oxnard, California the bubbling punk and
skating culture comes
to mind, but the city has produced a good number of fuzzy pop acts that
were likely not as tough as that aforementioned scene. Bands like the Sea Lions
were likely rocking Pavement while playing D&D. Neotomic Records has
re-released this tape after it sat in obscurity for a few years, it is just too
bad they don’t offer a digital copy for those of us not lucky enough to pick up
these pop gems when it was available on tape.
Don’t always judge a book by its cover. Well, this record
you can, but there have been times when folks have submitted covers with cutesy
anime characters that featured brutal drill-and-bass music. Nothing like that
here on Baby Ghost’s first full length. Pop-punk melodies wrapped together with
dueling female/male harmonies, this Salt Lake band’s sound may not be world-shattering,
but they have crafted some fun music that would have possibly made it on to a
mainstream alternative rock station if they still played music that was an “alternative”
to the corporate music scene’s dictation. I really enjoyed the track “Ghost School,” but
I’ll understand if you find your own pop connection on this 12 track LP.
Working in a bookstore I'd say it is pretty safe to judge books by the covers, not quite sure where that expression got its legs. Poorly made books are often poor reads, at least for fiction usually. The music is a harder call I suppose, but that's what blogs are for, right?
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