steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

 

Xenocats / My Cell Phone is Better Than Your Cell Phone

Split CS

Scotch Tapes

Genre: experimental, 8-bit, glitch

Omaha, NE / Ontario, Canada

Mar 6, 2009

Xenocats create glitchy, messy 8-bit experiments that are equal parts Aphex Twin and Super Mario Brothers. The aesthetic is decisively lo-fi in production values, although the main message - wacky bleep n' fuzz - comes through clearly enough. The whole thing has an intriguing silliness to it, making one feel something like a stranger in a colourful videogame. On the flipside, My Cell Phone is Better Than Your Cell Phone are on the noisier end of things, taking vague 8-bit elements and dissolving them in abrasive electronic haze. The result is a fuller sound that's more dense and more consistently listenable.

Taken together, this is a brief little number contained on a recycled cassette (my copy's side B is actually side A of INXS' Kick). It sounds as if it has been taken straight from a post-apocalyptic world populated by robots crafted out of old Nintendo parts. All things considered, Pheline Phone Phriends is a charming relic from the obscure DIY experimental electronic tape scene. And with ten copies pressed, time is of the essence...

xenocats' myspace

70%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 4 tracks, ltd. to 10 copies, distributed by the label, released 2008]