A Safe Substitute
(Harbinger Sound - 096) LP $17.50 (Out-of-stock)
Swaying pendulums of corroded bloop, grayscale warble, and hollowed out rhythms triggered from filter-fucked, synthesizer-generated arpeggios, upon which are grafted passages of alternately morose and plangent song structure fragmentation. “Both sides [of Harbinger Sound’s reissue] show what fertile times [the late 1970s] were for experimentation,” comments our friend at Idwal Fisher admiringly. “Detailed sleeve notes [and] a track-by-track break down reveal the use of tape delay, loops, the re-routing of signals..., low-frequency oscillators…, two VCS3s and a Synthi A…. ‘Hodge’ [feeds] a shortwave jamming signal … through the VCS3 with the LFO chopping up the remains … [resulting in a] thudding beat in which radio waves float in and out of hearing range, the beat becoming louder as the signal fades. ‘Blackheath Episodes’ uses three synths to produce a rhythm track in which various modes of the beat are tweaked while the two VCS3s provide background drones…. [Vocals on] the eerie ‘Mesh of Wire’ … are fed through two reel-to-reels, with a background of plodding ritualistic thump…, [which on] ‘Objective’ … becomes a slowly sequenced funeral beat with the addition of a haunting cornet and a drifting voice extolling the virtues of beans.” Originally released by Snatch Tapes in 1980. Red vinyl. Edition of 250
Supplementary Benefit
(Vinyl on Demand - VOD44) Used LP $30.00
Side one consists of full length versions of the first two Storm Bugs’ now infamous post-punk DIY singles (the five-track Table Matters EP (1980) and Metamorphose (1981)). With their use of scratched vinyl, disemboweled radios and home made electronics, these tracks have appeared on compilations before, but this is the first time they are presented in their entirety. The tracks on side two were made exclusively with the VCS3 synthesizer; these complex feedback loops and unexpected modulations (“Hodge,” “Slip Slap” and “Hiemal (And She Blew)” are all taken from original Snatch Tapes cassette releases. This is the first time most have appeared on vinyl.