steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Various Artists

"Card-Carrying Supporters of Romance" CD

Blackbean & Placenta, Morc Tapes

Genre: lo-fi, DIY, pop

June 2008

This weird old comp from long-standing DIY labels Morc Tapes and Blackbean & Placenta offers up a wonderful sample of music from the hometaping underground, including material from indie stars Appendix Out and Fuck and lo-fi stalwarts Gang Wizard and Will Simmons. I dug it up recently and have been enjoying the bulk of it, although some of the songs do drag the comp down a little. In short...

GREAT: Fuck's enchanting singalong, "22 no"; Zent One's dark guitar atmospherics on "Have Some More Carrots," Persons oddballery, Gang Wizard vs. Wio = crazy, Appendix Out being quirky

GOOD: Will Simmons' lo-fi pop, Jen Turrell's confessional bedroom stuff

BAH: The 100 Lists' go-nowhere lo-fi mediocrity, The Ordinary Seaman's acontextual instrumental tomfoolery,

DIY comps are intended to be inconsistent and to present a wide array of sounds, and Card-Carrying Supporters of Romance keeps in line with that approach. Particularly impressive is that this strikes a fine balance between pop and experimentation, with even the most out-there offerings (Ordinary Seaman, Gang Wizard, Zent One) keeping things relatively melodic and tuneful. A few duds could be singled out for taunting, but in the spirit of a good old comp, I like to focus on all the great obscure material I'd otherwise never get my paws on.

76%

mp3: will simmons - take two steps to the right

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 20 tracks, distributed by toneVENDOR, released June 23, 2001]