By It’s our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring Glitterer’s tactile new punk release RATIONALE, and Twelve Cubic Feet’s unearthed 1982 album STRAIGHT OUT THE FRIDGE!
Glitterer – RATIONALE
Genre: Punk
Favorite Tracks: “The Same Ordinary,” “Recollection,” “Just A Place”
The otherworldly richness of LIFE IS NOT A LESSON’s kelly green; the uncomfortable confrontation of THROUGH THE SHADES’ absorbing ruby; the striking straight lined denim blue and faded flax on FANTASY FOUR… Glitterer are a band who understand the visceral, affecting rush of color, the broadly simplistic art of each record evoking base emotions both primal and instant.
RATIONALE’s color palette might hone in on their unwavering blend of tender punk energy and hardcore instincts better than any of the aforementioned cover art, the staggering, shimmering hues of pinks and oranges nearly overwhelming. Glitterer’s latest is, like the artwork, immediate, wasting no time to land big rock hooks and meaty choruses. Opener “I Want To Be Invisible” begins with an eerie hum and creeping organ tone, but what follows for the rest of the album is decidedly direct. Like the visual contrast of the cover, there is a sonic duality within the songs themselves; the blurry guitar tones, scuzzed-out punk energy, and performance of vocalist Ned Russin are all in polarized harmony with how clean a rock record it is — RATIONALE is decisively current (re: cool) while, at times, dipping a toe into the increasingly active rock side of what “alternative” has evolved into within the mainstream punk sound (think: the Dirty Nil, The Mengzingers, Spanish Love Songs, etc). Tracks like “Can’t Feel Anything,” “Recollection,” and “My Lonely Lighting” are smooth hardcore cuts with a blown out, fuzzy, longing feeling reverberating throughout; the change-of-pace songs on RATIONALE are weary in their spirit and soul (“Half Truth,” “Just A Place”), but Russin’s vocals are helplessly trapped in a roaring, punky howl though every track, continuing to drive home Glitterer’s existential pondering. The album is Glitterer’s fullest front-to-back listen to date, a worthy highlight in the post-GLOW ON world of modern rock. Give it a listen over on Bandcamp. [CJ Simonson]
Twelve Cubic Feet – STRAIGHT OUT THE FRIDGE
Genre: Post-Punk
Favorite Tracks: “Blob,” “Hello Howard”
There’s a nostalgic, nigh-revisionist tendency in music. Thanks to labels like Light in the Attic and Numero Group, people prescribe endless brilliance when they unearth, say, a soul-polka album recorded in 1967 Montana. The truth of the matter though is that there’s likely a reason it was left behind, and we often emphasize this “retro-significance” for our present-day ourselves. Still, if we’re just doling out second (or third) chances, I’m glad Twelve Cubic Feet got their moment in the spotlight.
Per London’s Sealed Records, STRAIGHT OUT THE FRIDGE is one of three releases from TCF (1981-1983), which featured past and/or future members of Solid Space, Khmer Rouge, and The Reflections. Aside from that tidbit, what possibly could make their sole 10-inch worthy of removing from history’s recycling? Sure, some of it’s cultural/contextual. The band were part of the anarcho scene of London in the early ’80s, and it’s nice (and wholly relevant given our current climate) to see more of this brand of punk emerge. “Blob” showcases what made that chaotic, maniacal sound so deeply refreshing while still emphasizing the solid pop hooks that lends TCF their universal appeal. There’s a kind of strategic tinge of abandon in making something so deeply catchy. But speaking of universality, there’s no denying that TCF’s sound also plays around with shared nostalgia. “The Almshouse,” for instance, is pure ’60s psych—so much so it’s hard to tell if the band’s having a little fun at our expense (but not so much that it’s still not utterly effective). When they modulate those satirical undertones, we get pure sunshine circa 1967 in “Evercare.” So were they really a semi-cynical pop band or just a hugely romantic punk band? We’ll never know, and that’s a massively appealing mystery.
Still, much of this record’s appeal has everything to do with those potentially influential tendencies. “Mary’s Got The Bug” nails that whole minimalist, purposefully janky synth punk that would be an indie staple decades later. And “Hello Howard” expertly melds garage and synth rock into this overly sentimental, perpetually inventive jam that feels novel even all these years later. It’s innovation from a band who maybe didn’t know or couldn’t even care about the future, and that’s the secret to nailing the golden pop ratio. That last bit is why I’m actually delighted by this latest retromania indulgence. There’s no massively heartfelt or even exciting story around STRAIGHT OUT THE FRIDGE; it could have easily remained in history’s refuse. But it didn’t, and this super fun, totally layered construct made it back into the larger world. That feels essential to this actual LP—it’s here to get weird and make some noise, and it’s up to you to decide what that means (if anything at all). That not only feels like a proper marriage of punk realism and pie-in-the-sky idealism, but something worth celebrating in an age where everything demands our attention. This one doesn’t—but fully rewards those efforts—and that’s truly worthy of our interest. Listen to it now over on Bandcamp. [Chris Coplan]
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