Defect Defect - Deefography Cassette

Snuffy Smiles (2015)

In the never ending quest to own all of the Snuffy Smiles releases, some tapes have been sneaking in over the last couple of years.  I don't know what spurred the label to begin releasing cassettes.  This is a pretty new phenomenon. There aren't really many cassettes released over the label's twenty-plus year history.  I'm also unsure why Snuffy Smiles releases so few CDs these days, but at the end of the day I'm always happy to support my favorite label in the world.

I'll admit that Defect Defect is not really a band I have paid too much attention to over the years.  They've had the occasional song pop up on my radar, most notably through other Snuffy Smiles 7"s, but they've never really grabbed me.  This cassette is supposed to be something of a discography release.  Poking around on Discogs, it does seem like this is almost everything they've released.  There's a few songs here and there that didn't make it on, most notably the ones from the band's recent 7", also on Snuffy Smiles.

The music itself is kind of hit and miss for me.  When the band is playing a bit slower and really lets that Wipers-esque downstroking be in the forefront, they churn out some pretty great songs.  These songs remind me a lot of the better moments of The Estranged.  But when Defect Defect really picks up the tempo and starts yelling, I tend to lose interest.  There's a wide range of songs here, but the ones that I seem to like the most are the cluster that made up the band's only LP.  

I don't know if I like Defect Defect enough to actually go pick up that album on vinyl, but it's certainly an OK listen.  That being said, no matter what music was on this tape, it's an automatic buy for me as I need to keep the Snuffy Smiles collection complete.

Defect Defect - Self Titled LP (About half the songs on this cassette are on this LP):

https://takenbysurpriserecords.bandcamp.com/album/defect-defect-lp

Defect Defect - My Life Is Like Death 7"

Snuffy Smiles / Dirt Cult (2015)

From reading the little description for this 7" on the Dirt Cult Bandcamp page, it looks like these songs were the result of one last recording session before Defect Defect called it a day.  The reason?  Seems that the band was asked by Snuffy Smiles to tour Japan.  I can absolutely see how that will make you delay your break-up for a bit.  I would do the same.  Heck, I'd join Defect Defect for a chance like that.

Snuffy Smiles is a co-conspirator on this 7" along with Dirt Cult.  I can't say that I love this 7".  It's alright for a band that leans towards the hardcore punk rock spectrum of things; they don't scream nearly as much as a lot of bands do.  There's some gruff, angry sounding vocals, but it never breaks down into unintelligible yelling.  So that's a plus from my point of few.

The other side to the coin is like a lot of hardcore leaning bands they seem a bit trapped in a box.  The guitars are playing their chords, the drumming is intense and powerful and the bass is thumping along, but it never really feels inspired and the songs are all a little predictable.  More than anything it just sounds kind of old to me.  I realize that probably sounds like some major league bullshit coming from the guy so obviously obsessive of the rock and roll sounds of the 90's.  Defect Defect seems to be throwing back to a time earlier than those golden years.  I guess that's a time and a sound I'm just not as enthralled with.

Defect Defect - My Life Is Like Death 7":

https://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/my-life-is-like-death