RQ laji-2 - Bad Future Bullshit (2014)

I remember when I was younger, putting my shitty Radio Shack (r.i.p.) microphones up to computer speakers and recording music from Commodore 64/128 games. There was something in those tunes that blew my prepubescent mind.. to the point where I'd load the games just to hear the music. That crunchy, 8-bit sound... that others of my generation first heard in Atari and some earlier Nintendo games, has been seeing a bit of a renaissance lately, specifically in a slew of retro games coming out for smart phones (check out The Incident).

It's a sound that may escape most generations pre- or post-ceding my own. I imagine the home video-gaming console craze didn't exactly sweep the attention of those born in the 1960s... and as technology progressed with those systems, so did the music quality... and the 8-bit crunch was lost to, eventually, actual orchestral scores... so kids born in the 1990s might not have the same connection to it either.

Ren Queenston, the Canadian composer/songwriter behind this and buttloads of other releases, I would guess is, of or around, my generation. The music here could easily be outtakes from a strange Atari game that never saw the light of day. As robotic voices sing to you about piñatas and about how they want to drink your juice, visions of pixelated venus fly traps and knife wielding Speak and Spell machines may spring to mind. Yes, it's a little menacing. But the marriage between glitchy '80s video game music and creepiness speaks volumes to my mind which, these days, seems to be impulsively grasping at those melancholic days of youth (where I played a lot of video games and watched a lot of horror movies).

I suppose that happens when one is in the midst of a midlife crisis. Life expectancy is only early 70s people! At 35, I'm feeling it. Time to buy a DeLorian, or whatever car it popular with the balding class these days.

RQ laji-2 - Bad Future Bullshit

EP Grab Bag vol. 75

All of these songs are straight out of the submission box, in a loose no corporal sense. I think they're solid listens of various genres, but that goes for most all these Grab Bags. So trust me, if you liked the prior 74, this one should be good for it too. I promise, pilgrims.

To be had here:

3FT - 3FT (2014)

This a Detroit band that I became aware of when I ran into some members at the Ty Segall show in town a couple of weeks back. Turns out I know one of the musicians and was aware of his prior work, yet as many musicians do he's kept busy and is in this band now as well. Though I found the EP through an acquaintance with a stake in it, it is every inch the sort of lo-fi garage rock that I count myself lucky to hear in Detroit so often. A healthy amount of washed out psychedelia in there and very good pounding drums and excellent guitar riffs. Can't wait to check them out live.

Guruzsmás - Demó I. (2014)

A band from Budapest who plays trippy progressive rock, or as their friends have dubbed it "post-folk." They share a sense of urgency and intense lo-fidelity akin to their Hungarian compatriots we've featured such as Piresian Beach, Gustave Tiger and Nohopekids. Guruzsmás is more diverse in style than those bands, almost as if it were several bands in the course this demo ranging from surf rock revival to post-metal. It is impressive, but I wonder which one they might settle on for a full-length or if they keep the scatter shot. Either way, I'm game.

Crashfaster - Superchroma (2014)

Electronic dance music with a heavy degree chiptune and synthpop infused. San Francisco's Crashfaster isn't my usual fare, but is undeniably catchy and the first time I heard the EP it ending too soon for my liking. The album art is a perfect summary for this music, it is like fantastical manga from Japan, but sung in English as they are Californians. It's pretty cool, particularly if you put a few beers in you and playing some video games, which is exactly what I did as I heard it.


Landlines - Log Out, Tune Up, Drop Dead (2014)

This is a group from Portland that Elvis wrote up previously, when their Loserly EP came out. Like that EP this new one is lo-fi indie pop/garage rock that sounds like an E6 band with even more fuzzy guitars. Meaning that I fucking love this EP. The EP is mesmerising and I have been listening to it all over and over ever since I got it onto my mp3 player. I sure hope Amazing Larry gets a chance to tell me what they're like in person, as I am way to far to get to Portland myself.