| ajiao - "1502" - cassette - although i have no idea what this title means, let alone how to say it, i do know that these are the songs of pascal troemel, a guy i sold a shitty guitar to maybe 4 years ago. a guy who dated my ex-girlfriend in sixth grade, and a guy who i every-so-often was blessed to accompany in the old ritual of drinking liquor. little did i know that pascal troemel churrned out the kind of beauty that is displayed on this ten song cassette. any time i saw him around playing guitar, i was either drunk or he was either wanking off. i was suprised to recive a demo tape from him a year or so ago, right before he moved to scotland (or some place such as) and dropped off the face of the earth. i regret letting a friend borrow that demo tape, before i even had the chance to hear it. it is now lost in the bowls of time. "1502" delivers some heartfelt songwritting from the kid who you didnt even know knew how to play guitar. not that knowing how to play the guitar means you know how to write a song, and vise-versa but you get my drift? this tape starts and finishes with some sort of backwards noodling and its hard to tell if the lyrics are forwards due to the quiet sublety of them, but on further dissertation, they are backwards. i think? the meat of this is just one hit after another. slow acoustic guitar, dual vocals, all drenched in reverb and echoy delight. the songs dont seem to have things like verses, but they seem to just more or less progress. standard slow struming that builds and falls. this is true emotion. short and sweet. plain and simple. send three dollars... (unread) Frank Peck Year of the Rat Certain derniers irréductibles s’acharnent encore à défendre le format cassette qui subsistera tant qu’une dernière étincelle animera encore suffisament de double ou simple decks. Frank Peck, alias Mark Ritchie, est loin d’être un néophyte dans le domaine, accumulant jusqu’à aujourd’hui une bonne pile de cassettes, à la fois sur son propre label – de cassettes bien sur –, KAW (Killing Animals is Wrong) et sur différents autres labels dont le belge cassettophile de Morc Tapes. Qui dit cassette dit souffle, dit donc lo-fi. C’est bien de ça qu’il s’agit ici, et encore à sa plus simple expression, une voix, une guitare, un micro et voici Frank Peck, rien de plus – même pas de synthé cracra ni de disto. On est en 2002 et plus en 1992. Sentridoh et toute sa bande de losing losers semblent loin désormais, à l’âge d’Internet, de l’électronique et du home pc recording. Il y a quelque chose hors du temps à écouter cette bande magnétique, une nostalgie désuète, une naïveté qu’on n’arrive plus à avoir. Il n’empêche que ce que fait Frank Peck est intéressant en dehors de la monotonie inhérente à sa démarche. Tous les morceaux sont en effet malheureusement bâtis sur la même structure, quasi le même tempo. Les accords de guitares sont beaux et mélancoliques même si pas férocement orignaux et le chant a quelque chose de Mark Eitzel dans sa douleur. Rendez-vous peut-être dans le monde digital avec ses règles propres et sa jungle. (Matamore) RUTH SHERBOURNE “RUTH SHERBOURNE” Oh dear, guess Dddd is turning into one of those ‘everything-is-brilliant’ fanzines – no no no, strap me to a lie-detector and the needle will confirm that this is a totally fucking splendid tape. It’s 7 songs slipped silkily into about 40 minutes, and she sounds like a REALLY REALLY nice June Tabor, just her and her guitar – voice and guitar are slow and heartfelt. It’s PJ Harvey being really really really really luscious, it’s mature and sober – but that’s no hardship at all on this morning of light-rising sippings. Closest Ruth comes to any kinda ‘production’ is when her voice is all echoey on ‘She’s A Dancer’, the tape’s best song – on a tape full of best songs, a friendly desirable joy to be sure. (From Dddd fanzine) CHOWPILOT “LEGS OF ACRE” One guitar and two vocal tracks that add up to some of the most infectiously melancholy folkrockpop action this side of your mama's duet with Johnny Cash. Paul Doucet is the man and he has no problem churning out the lifechangers. "Lightyear". The vocal harmonies are fucking stunning. "One More Chance" adds drum machine and a lead guitar to the mix and also comes away a winner. Doucet's songs are classic in every sense like The Lilac Time at its peak. But different. The slide guitar is fucking brilliant. "Another Reason" just rules. Beyond words. Dude's a fucking beast. KAW scored big time with this one. More please, quickly. (From AutoReverse fanzine) RED FIRECRACKER “NOW LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU” If Red Firecracker's nine-song cassette is lacking in any way, it is the fact that it has merely nine songs. It is a delightful collection of lo-fi pop-rock, from the homage "Laura Takes No Crap" to the quiet pain of "Bottom of the Class". "Howl at the Moon" sounds like Belle and Sebastian the way one sometimes wishes they would sound, with that rough edge they lost on their last album. Definitely enjoyable, and certainly not run-of-the-mill. (From AutoReverse fanzine) RED FIRECRACKER “NOW LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU” Might be one guy, might be a few, this is a really happy-feely-touchy-caressy glamour-thrust of TUNEFUL guitar music. You can see the smile in the trousers, tracks seem lumped together, not afraid of the odd odd-instrumental patch with e.g. the backwards pipings – always a success. If the Lemonheads had been brilliant (a very difficult concept, yeah, but y’know…) they’d’ve sounded like this – but this is slower, tunier, friendlier, the unobtrusive drum-machinery. ‘Something Amiss’ has NOTHING amiss about it – it’s the best track – dead-sad dead-uppy dead-perfect for the lifeless brown light on this brown morning with the postman just going right on by without stopping – once that’d make me a bit sad, but now it’s SUCH A RELEASE – no commitments, no one to disappoint – FREEDOM. Feel the future as you get a top-up. Cheap tapes and cheap booze – THE BEST!!!!! (From Dddd fanzine) KENYATA SULLIVAN “NORTH CAROLINA” One of the greatest zines ever was/is that Opulence/Crap thing from North Carolina, full of those kinda mad rants where someone else speaks the thoughts you never thought you had. Most of them were written by Kenyata Sullivan – yeah, it’s sometimes like there’s only about 60 talented people on the planet, all of us/you making most of the best music and writing the best stuff and in about eight million bands and doing about 30000 dozen zines. Kenyata’s also in a band called Pandora’s Lunchbox, know that ‘cause there’s a pic of them up by this table here, been here for years. Kenyata on his own goes for that US singer/songwriter stuff – some of it’s gorgeous and warm and moving, especially when he’s at the piano. Imagine self-whining trailer-park Randy Newman ultimate no-fi. Sadly, when Kenyata plays his guitar he thinks it’s compulsory to be wacky and zany and all that unbearable shite – though sometimes even here Kenyata pulls it off – like Will Oldham, but better. (From Dddd fanzine) Chowpilot That classic easy going Searchers era Brit invasion sound. Very smooth even though it’s a home recording. Tasty stuff all the way. I don’t get their name however. (Lonely Whistle) Ajiao Lo fi pop folk and although this guy’s name is Pascal it sounds like it should be Peter or something American like that. From your lo-fi headquarters, KAW tapes. (Lonely Whistle) Ruth Sherbourne Ms. Sherbourne pleads and moans and strums her guitar.All in lo-fi splendor. (Lonely Whistle) Timo The rollercoaster of life seems to be going up finally for this unique and sometimes angry songwriter. He is probably also the very best accompanying guitarist in the home taping tent. Great words,as always. (Lonely Whistle) TIMO It Was More Than Communication We Lacked I could tell from the title of this cassette that the music contained on it wasn’t going to be the most cheerful…a quick glance at the song titles only confirmed my prediction: “Dark Days”, “Confessions of a Killer”, “Covered in Ice”, “Bullets and Maalox”, etc. There’s a fine line between melancholy and melodrama, and Timo has both feet planted on it, as he ruminates on dissolved relationships, fading youth, and vengeful longings. He seems incapable of writing a song in a major key. The songs are quite spare, driven by drum machines and electric guitars; might I add, Timo is an excellent guitar player, and layers almost every song with delicious blues-based solos. Could Timo be the Eric Clapton of cassette culture? Maybe. Timo has a full-bodied, ponderous voice that sounds like William Shatner if 1) William could carry a tune, and 2) inhaled helium once in a while. (It doesn’t sound nearly as bad as I’m making it sound.) Sometimes, when listening to this cassette, I want to grab him and say, “Cheer up! Turn that frown upside down! There’s no way life could be this bad!” Then, a song like “I’ll Kill You” arrives, when Timo’s muttering of title phrase is filled with so much anger, desperation, and resignation that I can’t help but feel chills down my spine. Timo is also good at using his spare instrumentation for dramatic effect. The first song, “Yesterday, Today” uses a ticking clock prominently to underscore his lyrics about feeling defeated in old age. The otherwise molasses-slow “Bullets and Maalox” incorporates a few fast, second-long drum breaks to inspire a feeling of anxiety in the listener not unlike the anxiety the song describes. This is not something I would listen to often, mainly because I’m actually pretty content with my life, but it’s obviously well-done. 7/10 (Speeder fanzine) Frank Peck Fragile Idiot Frank Peck has been producing tapes at a pretty fast pace for some time now, and I’m relative newcomer to his work, but no less of a fan. The format is simple—guitar and voice—and is perhaps more effective for it. His strength is in his voice—it’s strong but anguished, complementing his tales of woe. And that Frank isn’t too happy a chap can be confirmed by the song titles alone: "Time of the Weak", "I Feel Low", "The Loneliness of Roads", "Cut So Deep". But whereas with other performers such introspection may seem like bleeding-heart tedium, with Frank you can’t help but be sucked in. The tunes are almost hypnotic, so that while there isn’t a great deal of variety, you simply don’t notice (er, unless you’re a lowly reviewer like me). So please, sir, can we have some more sir? 8/10 (Speeder fanzine) Kenyata Sullivan-“North Carolina” A masterpiece of singer/songwriter lo-fi. Kenyata has been a major force in the underground for some years now and this tape shows why. He exposes his soul, sings his heart out and understands dynamics. This tape may be known as the missing link someday. Damn, he’s good. (Lonely Whistle) FRANK PECK “GARNETHILL” Mark Ritchie CAN do wrong, he just chooses not to. If there's a better, more together, more melancholic and beautiful singer-songwriter-acoustic guy out there, I don't wanna know. Because Mark's the shit, period. Frank Peck = beautiful, aching, acoustic torch songs. To infinity. (From AutoReverse fanzine) FRANK PECK “LAST NOTES FROM HOME” Always rare in a tape review to mention the word ‘tunes’, but that’s what Frank bequeaths to us all, a generous fella. 9 tracks well within half an hour, nibbles your earlobe with a nice instrumental made with instruments so charity-shoppy they have no known names – then 8 songs and Frank is singing about the end of his youth and the chances he shall never have again, the lovers’ tastes that will never resurface in the mouth unexpectedly in a dull morning at work and remind him of the precious times. Frank’s voice is perfect for his dismay, he strums a guitar. This album is far better and more tuneful than almost all of the ‘proper’ albums you pay 15 for this month or any month. Frank will never join Steps. He is the Michelle Shocked of Glasgow, not singing round a campfire but with the gas oven door open and inviting. Frank, babe, the advertisers want everyone over 26 to think they’re old, then we can spend the rest of our lives buying their definition of prolonged youth – me, I shall still be young at 94 – crazier than a frog on the trapeze, and happier too. (From Dddd fanzine) FRANK PECK “YEAR OF THE RAT” Another slam-dunk of melancholy goodness from Mark Ritchie. The guy makes it sound effortless. He sweats great sorrow-filled balladeer type shit and ‘Year Of The Rat’ is just the latest in a very long string of increasingly sharp releases. This recording is suitably lo-fi but of course the songs themselves are the star attraction. The hooks are prickly and lyrics resonate for months, years, decades. Obvious (and frequently made – by me mostly) comparisons to Mark Eitzel, Mark Kozelek and maybe a pinch of Nick Drake. Mostly Eitzel, though. I just hope that emulating Mark Eitzel doesn’t doom Mark Ritchie to a similar commercial fate. (From AutoReverse fanzine) FRANK PECK “YEAR OF THE RAT” Here’s a half hour of a lovely Scot sitting alone and strumming. His voice is unique and will be recognised by me forever even if I live a longish time. It’s mournful and sad but never depressing – but shit I was the kid who adored Peter Hammill and found him uplifting physically and mentally and genitally. Masses of tunes on this tape, really love it lots. All 9 songs win, but especially ‘Why I Was Born’, the despair of being God’s punchline and being cursed forever to buy drinks just to get the odd feel of Brillo pad in your face and liver on the lips and maybe end up buying all the drinks for yourself, the only sensible option. Frank holds your hand as he escorts you through the pain barrier and I emerge with my (sad but true) cliché – we hear MUCH stuff on poncey CD that’s not a patch on this music. Frank, you’re a star, how I wonder how you are. (From Dddd fanzine) FRANK PECK “ACOUSTIC HOLOCAUST” Blimey, babes, wary of playing this ‘cause I’m rarely in the mood for an ‘acoustic holocaust’. Thank Christ though, a misleading title….ha ha ha ha ha ha…. What wags these musicians are, eh? Frank lives in Glasgow and sits strumming his guitar and singing things like ‘I’m gonna keep on drinking till I can barely think’ – doesn’t happen like that, though, does it? More you drink, more you think, makes stuff worse. This is a nice tape, tat seen-too-much-of-life weary voice, a delisssh keyboard interlude. It’s one of those unassuming tapes which is a pleasure to play while doing engrossing things which you can halt from time to time and recover your breath/erection and hear the music and think sad self-pitying thoughts – in an upbeat kinda way. (From Dddd fanzine) FRANK PECK ‘INSIDE THE SPACESHIPS’ Bresney: Well, this is bad, but at least the awful production covers most of it. Hazer: Now that is very cruel, quite accurate, but we are supposed to at least be kind. Bresney: No, I don’t! I have been hired to write these reviews because I am a cantankerous old bastard and because it helps me work off my community service hours. Hazer: I refuse to become involved here, but I will go over and turn this damn thing off. (From AutoReverse fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “VANITY RECORDINGS” The prolific Mark Ritchie keeps up the pace – but hey, wait, I thought these guys broke up! I’m so confused! And very happily so! The merchants of mope return (or continue, I guess) with more of the sound that’s made them infamous. Acoustic ballads at a snail’s crawl. This time adding keyboards to the mix. About three songs in it turns into a full-band deal with live drums and bass and it’s easily the best thing ever from this lot. ‘Delta Forever’ sounds like a suicide note pretty much. But that chorus digs deep. ‘Failure Is My Business’ sounds like the big radio hit of this bunch – acoustic guitar and distorted bass. ‘When did I become somebody you used to know?’ You see what I mean. ‘Something Strong’ is bolted down tight with a drum machine groove. ‘First Light’ is slow ‘n’ sulky and features some sweet violin and keyboard action. Feelin’ moody and low? Or just wish you were? Here ya go. (From AutoReverse fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “VANITY RECORDINGS” 2 guys including the speechlessly kissable Mark Ritchie, and his voice carries the weight of the entire world’s tears over its collapsed shoulders. Some of the world’s loveliest tunes, press yourself close to his body and you can just FEEL his hard passion for e.g. Red House Painters and American Music Club – maybe I’m just a pervert, but this sad despairy music NEVER makes me sad or despairy – I just ache to take it sooooo much. We’re talking drums and guitars and keys and things and the ‘production values’ are 100% opposite of e.g. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but 100% as brilliant. (From Dddd fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “GREAT WESTERN” "Drag Me". Yeah, that pretty much sums up the album "Great Western" by Lankashire England's' Shy Rights Movement. This recording sounds like it was made at home using a standard recorder, you know, the kind you use to record little things, such as memos to selves, etc. The first three tracks on this album are sleepers for the true rock fan. It's more for this god-forsaken so-called (I hate to use the world) "ALTERNATIVE" crowd. However, I was fortunate enough to find two songs on the first side of this cassette somewhat acceptable, the early REM-ish "Serpent Song" and, even though I used it to describe the recording in general, "Drag Me". For some reason, the sound quality on "Merchant City Hotel" is so shitty, you almost cannot tell if the song is fading to the end right in the middle of the second verse. Moving on to side-B, the track "Sandy" is fine because it almost has a sort of Concrete Blonde-y feel to it, especially in the chorus. Pretty much echoes any one of the missing Beatles songs from their psychedelic hey-day, say, 'Magical Mystery Tour', while the title track may kind of remind you of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". This album is, in my opinion, PERFECT for mainstream audiences, MTV, MP3, etc. Seeing as this is the same type of rock music that any average ordinary pot-smoking fashion victim might relate to. I can definitely (nowadays) see songs like this being made into high-cost, low creativity, image-heavy music videos. Hey, if you like Vertical Horizon, you'll just LOVE the Shy Rights Movement. (From some on-line fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “LIVE & DEAD” 90 minutes and lots of tracks of these people live and demo-ing and underfunded under-fi recordings, and this is rock music from one of our lovely tribes of Red House Painters fans. Singer can sound like Robert Smith out of the Cure and with the cure. It has passion and tunes and 90 minutes all in one go is naturally too much yet I am a big fan of these fellas and the lower the ‘fi’ the bigger my fandom pokes out, and this tape is hung well with an almost-inaudible live take of ‘Hey Hey My My’ – tells you everything. ‘Atmosphere’ is this box’s selling point. Freedom only comes to those who renounce the world and all its attachments. (From Dddd fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “LIVE & DEAD” Damn it. Well, as implied by the title of this recording, Shy Rights Movement is toast. Damn it. One of my favorite bands has bit the dust, thrown in the towel, called it quits, screwed the pooch and basically quit. Fulfilling their fate as a UK DIY version of American Music Club. Shit. Mark Ritchie is the Mark Eitzel figure of Shy Rights, crafting melodies and gut-wrenching lyrics with a heart-on-sleeve delivery that seems somewhat plain on initial contact. But with repeat listenings the intricacies become more apparent and lyrics like ‘my soul is not my heart’ suddenly leap out. The guitar/bass/drums/keys arrangements recall somewhat Counting Crows, like if they weren’t total bullshit. The melancholy delivery will find favor with fans of Red House Painters, Nick Drake, Idaho, etc. Fortunately, Ritchie will still be able to kick the hard-soul acoustic action as Frank Peck. So, it’s not a complete loss. But what pisses me off about the demise of Shy Rights Movement is that they never even had a chance. They should’ve been bigger, they should’ve had a label behind them and they should’ve done some gigs very near my house! It’s funny, I said the same things when AMC broke up. The songs on ‘Live & Dead’ are mopey, moody, melancholy but oddly uplifting. The recording job is basically DIY. Side 2 is total lo-fi, but it’s good enough that you can hear all of the instruments and all of Mark’s lyrics. ‘Live & Dead’ makes a good definitive statement about SRM, it’s just a pity that the band had to be offed to accomplish it. 90 minutes of woe. (From AutoReverse fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT "SONGS FROM THE SMALLTIME" Here's a DIY tape with an excellent sound quality! And as for the music.. well, it sounds so 80s-like! Please don't think that '80s music' stands for 'old fashioned' as this isn't true! No really, I have nothing against the Small Faces or so (I even like them) but copying them is cool but stuff like the Human League is seen as dated... I can't understand that! Mind you, there's no Phil Oakey in Shy Rights Movement... more a sort of Roddy Frame (that's the lead singer from Aztec Camera...and yes, they were a band from the 80s!). Mark Ritchie's voice is simply heartbreaking and this semi-acoustic band flirts with bands like Sophia, Scritti Politti (ask your daddy!), Wilco and other great bands. Great tape-cover too... Life can be perfect too, really... (From The Original Sin fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “SONGS FROM THE SMALLTIME” A wistful singer, all mid-tempo with a deep tunefulness in the strums. Peaceful 'rock' music with zero pomp/horror. Semi-acoustic feel. Songs about pain and emptiness and that. Music for gorgeous open-doored empty summer-city pubs in the afternoon alone with a tum full of mellowing beer. It's kinda what Moose would be like if Moose didn't do feedback and recorded in a shed trying not to sound like Moose. Plenty of albums creamed over by the easy-cummers in the posho press are far less good than this tape, and that is a fact and a half. (From Dddd fanzine) TIMO-#199/”QUIET SONGS” 45 minutes of quiet songs with mainly just the voice and guitar-twang-pick delight and the gollomy voice of Timo. There’s birdsong, it’s all very like very early Peter Hammill doing his pretty stuff. On the other side. 45 minutes of #199 which we’ve heard/reviewed before. This isn’t so good, mainly because Timo goes all wacky/zany too often, also too tuneless, his voice by this time seems bereft though it all has its moments, but no, sorry, heart not in this side of the tape. Immerse me in the trappings of a man of the world. End. (From Dddd fanzine) TIMO – VARIOUS TRACKS AND THINGS And Timo does some okay things here, proper (?) old-fashioned (??????) songs with the tune and beats and him singing and reversing carefully and reminding me of Warren Zevon or an American take on early semi-simple/semi-complex Peter Hammill. Always the music is unpretentious. When he speeds up he can sound a bit like poppy Bill Nelson. You cannot upbraid him and he always remains his own man. A nice relaxed guitar. Star track is also (maybe) the simplest (but that is always the way) and it’s called ‘The Dead Guy’. This is the kinda rock/pop that always gets ignored by the personalised cheque-books ‘cause it’s untrendy and un-shit, and these are tracks taken from Timo’s stuff on various labels. (From Dddd fanzine) TIMO/FRANK PECK “20 GOLDEN GREATS” What an interesting match-up between Frank Peck (aka Mark Ritchie) and Timo. It’s like chocolate and sauerkraut, completely different tastes, smells and textures, but a person could like both. Ritchie’s side of the album is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Incredibly moving and depressing (I mean that in the good way!), the songs are all amazing. So well-written and delivered, it makes me want to give him a hug to make him feel better. Flip the tape over to hear Timo coughing and hacking up phlegm in the middle of a song. Intentional? Who knows. Hilarious? Hell yes! Bronchitis aside, the Timo stuff is interesting, but in a different way. By the way, are you allowed to start a song, stop and then start over for no apparent reason? I just wondered. Side two is mostly some dude trying to be creepy and psychotic and a little silly and succeeding. I hope I don’t have nightmares now. Seriously. (From AutoReverse fanzine) TIMO/FRANK PECK “20 GOLDEN GREATS” Half hour each from these probers of the lonely bedsit guitar and thwarted voice. Frank gives great throat, the whine of the people who CAN complain/grumble. Tracks like ‘Dry Days’ are so lovely you wish he was rich enough to do his stuff on a posh disc. Half way through he gets gunks of stuff on his tape and fades beneath a giver of bad head, orally almost going down on nothing. As for Timo, hadn’t known what a genius-guy he was/is till I read the new Kaw ‘’’’’’press-release’’’’’’ – nah, it’s more of a mini-zine, Qs and As, Timo gives the answers that make you wanna share a few drinks with the guy -–he doesn't mumble timidly about his fave websites and give monosyllabic ansas – he just GOES FOR IT – he’s what us country-folk call a ‘character’. He does more of his Warren Zevon-ish stuff, ‘cept he uses better tunes. Thing is, Timo seems to’ve disappeared after doing this tape – he was a motor cycle courier, he had a bad smash, it fucked up his hand. There’s songs on this album about the dreadful shitty things the NHS did to him – stuffing wire coathangers up his fingers …. He can’t play guitar anymore – it was his life. On this tape he does a lovely version of Don Campau’s ‘All I’ve Got Is Music’. Timo we love you. Life is shit, yeah. It’d be better if the right people had money. One day.. (doubtful, doubtful). (From Dddd fanzine) TIMO - #199 Guy sounds American, very posh ‘n’ spicy recording set-up, many instruments, rocky songs, drum machines, but the tracks without the beats and with the passion are like the first funeral of a much-missed child, very moving. But again, here’s a guy who weakens and seems to lack the confidence to go through this life being a trillion per-cent un-wacky etc. But when this guy gives me the UN-penile lump in my throat I feel better. Loses me totally with a brief goosing of the Carpenters’ ‘Close To You’ – doesn’t he know that the Carpenters aren’t funny any more? But the moments of swoon cannot be denied or put in a pie and swallowed by a blue horse. (From Dddd fanzine) |