Stars & Butter
"First Steps" CD
The Magic Plastic Cassette Factory
Genre: instrumental rock,
experimental rock, lo-fi
Aug 28 2008 |
First Steps is the instrumental work of Orietta Chiusamonti
(of Dedelectric) and Michael J. Bowman (a.k.a. hometaper
extraordinaire MJB), assembled and pared
down from two recording sessions into a twenty-five minute
collection of song fragments. The results are in line with MJB's
D.I.Y. past, comprised of short semi-songs that could be described as
experimental instrumental rock, but are noteworthy for their
impressive melodic sensibility. Indeed, as far as contemporary
cassette releases go, this is among the more accessible recordings to
be found.
The most noticeable thing about Stars & Butter's tape is it
eclecticism: First Steps erratically bounds from sludgy metal
to formless ambience to zippy, Pell Mell-inspired instrumental
pop - all in the first few "songs." On a more conventional album, this
might make for a confusing and all-over-the-place listen; however, as
a cassette release it's strangely fitting. In fact, the quixotic
nature of the record makes each listen a strangely cognitive
experience: "hey, that sounds like it belongs on an eighties camping
movie soundtrack," "this is college roadtrip music," "this must be
what mutants listen to," etc. What ever the experiences may be that
these songs conjure up, First Steps' unconventional and
adventurous approach makes for a wacky and entertaining relic from the
cassette underground. And all in glorious D.I.Y. cassette sound.
Great fun!
80%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 25 minutes, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |
