Science Man - Demo Cassette

More Power Tapes (2018)

OK, as I clean up the tape backlog, I cannot fathom how I have one from 2018 still hanging around.  Seriously, this is almost three years old?  I sure feel like a scumbag for never listening to it until now.  Not that I probably would have had much to say about it three years ago that differs from what I think about it now.

It's all right for the most part.  The production is pretty solid and it sounds better than your typical demo tape that has a skull on the cover.  The guitars are kind of sludgy on purpose and the vocals have a harsh edge to them that kind of vary back and forth between growling, changing and yelling.  There's something about the song "Science Monster" that feels like it could have been a noise B side to a Beck Mellow Gold era release, but not one of the ones I'd listen to all that much.

The band appears to have gone on to put out two full length records and a 7" since this tape came out.  Maybe it'll be a collector's item someday.  I don't know that I would have expected them to go on to great things based on this tape, but it's not anywhere near as bad as some of the others I've listened to over the years.

Science Man - Demo:

https://scienceman.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Third Year Freshman - Demo Cassette

Self Released (Probably 1995 or 1996)

So, here we have a change.  A tape I bought on purpose.  This is a demo tape by the band Third Year Freshman from West Chester, PA.  The poppy punk scene in northern NJ that I was hanging around in when I first started college in 95/96 was a ton of fun.  But it also wasn't made up exclusively by bands from NJ.  Weston, Plow United and Third Year Freshman were a big part of that scene and would come up from PA all the time to play shows.  I'm going to paraphrase something that I heard a person say once: m"You always love your weirdest kid the most."  That was Third Year Freshman.

And they were my favorite local band in that little scene.  Fronted by Tom Martin, armed with an acoustic guitar and a bevy of crazy ass songs, it was impossible to not love them.  Mid 90s pop punk was pretty goofy as a whole, but Tom & crew always took it to the next level.  I have so many great memories seeing them play our local shows and always pulling off something crazy.  

My strongest memory was when they played at Flipside records, opening up for a Mr. T Experience in store.  Except the Mr. T Experience got lost and never showed up.  Third Year Freshman played for a while that day trying to fill time as we tried to figure out what was going on (this is 1996, so not real cell phones or GPS to speak of back then).  They made up songs about some of the people who randomly came in to shop and I remember a song about a patron in a red sweatshirt that was particularly excellent.

This tape is from my favorite era of the band, when their drummer only played a snare drum and just stood up next to the other two members of the band.  I saw them with a full on drummer a bunch too, but there was something magical about that snare only line up.  The first thing that's interesting about this tape is that it contains some songs from the band's only CD, Senior Year.  But most of the versions on this tape are completely different and feature the snare only version of the band, whereas the CD has a full drummer.  Maybe they were taking these songs for another spin once the lineup changed.  I'm extremely certain the CD with the full drummer came before they switched to the snare only line up.

It also features "Disneyland." Arguably one of my favorite songs of theirs that ended up coming out on their split 7" with Wally.  That 7" is the record that I think really captured the band at their peak (and their magnum opus "Two Days Ago I Turned Punk Rock" from the Dad, I Can't Breathe compilation).  But this tape is such a fun nostalgic listen for me and I'm pretty psyched one popped up on Discogs last year.

The Illiterates - Demo Cassette

Poop Stick (2019)

Ugh, another tape from 2019.  Where did these all come from and how have they been buried for two years?  I'm still trying to get through them all, but man, I don't really like listening to tapes.  Anyway, next up is The Illiterates. They were freshman in high school when they recorded this.  The good news is that even though it took me two years to listen to this, they haven't graduated yet.  So, bonus.

Where do I start.  This sounds like a high school band.  The recording is super rudimentary and is fuzzy and blown out.  The songwriting doesn't really do anything for me and there's nothing particularly interesting going on.  You could have said a lot worse about me my freshman year.  What I will say is at least one of the guitarists is obviously very talented.  If he can figure out how to harness those powers for the forces of good, there's potential there.

I don't want to be super negative about this.  It's not something that I'd ever listen to much and since I'm about thirty years older than these guys, I'm not really their demographic anyway.  But I will say that I'm really happy and excited to see that there's still a subset of kids in school that want to play instruments and be in a band.  They could have just as easily ended up listening to shitty music and being super stoked on cryptocurrency.  I'll take kids playing bad punk rock over that any day of the week.

The Illiterates - Demo:
https://poopstick.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Alligator Gun - Alligator Gun Cassette

1991 (Self Released)

My love of Alligator Gun is well documented on Twitter where I call for the release of Onehundredpercentfreak on vinyl several times a year.  It's one of my top three albums that i think is just begging for a vinyl release.  I don't know anyone will ever release it, but if I win the lottery, you can bet PopKid will come knocking.

Back to reality.  This tape was the only Alligator Gun release I didn't already have (Though I am looking to upgrade my Smirk CD as the one I got a year or so ago has a corner cut off of the cover art).  I was surprised to see the tape pop up on Discogs and was even happier to see it's sub-ten dollar price tag.  It was an easy and instant buy.

Is it this sort of era defining classic as Onehundredpercentfreak?  No, of course not.  This is a super early tape released by a band that was just getting started.  It's actually great for what it is, with solid hooks and punchy guitar riffs.  In particular "Theory of Independent Feet" feels like a harbinger of what could come from this band.  But in this instance, you don't have to take my word for it.  The wonderful MKE Punk website has this tape and all of Aligator Gun's releases available to download, so go check them out!

Alligator Gun - Alligator Gun Tape:
http://www.mkepunk.com/releases/pop-punk/alligator-gun-3-song-ep/

Armchair Martian - S/T Demo Tape

Snappy Little Numbers (2019)

I vividly remember Armchair Martian popping up in 1996.  I bought their first 7" at Flipside in Pompton Lakes NJ.  I really dug it and that's good news for this cassette as all three songs from that 7" are also on this reissue of Armchair Martian's first demo tape.  Of the other two songs, one of them appeared on the first AM full length and I believe the last one, "Dumb," is exclusive to this tape.

Armchair Martian were always a solid band.  They lean towards the melodic side of pop punk and like Brown Lobster Tank from earlier in the week, they have a lot in common with the Cruz style sound that was a fun thing back in the 90s.  You can hear some of the Big Drill Car sound, particularly in the guitar tone and big chunky riffs that make up the backbone of these songs.  These songs do hold up really well, though it probably helps matters that three of them are ones I've been pretty familiar with for quite some time.

It's a neat thing to have this cassette reissued and it's a cool thing to add to the collection.  But if Snappy Little Numbers really wants to blow some minds, let's get a vinyl reissue of the first Armchair Martian LP.  That's something my collection could really use.

Armchair Martian - S/T Demo Tape:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/demo-reissue

Doo Rag - Barber Shop Cassette

Self Released (1995)

Doo Rag is one of those bands that I have just loved ever since the moment I first heard them.  The two times I saw them live rank as some of the more memorable shows I have ever seen and I adore  their records, particularly their second album, What We Do.  I've been on the lookout for this cassette for quite some time.  It was self released and sold at shows in 1995, the year before their second full length album was released.

Of the six songs on this tape, five of them would end up on What We Do, but on this cassette every one of them is a different version than the one that would end up on the full length.  We get early takes on some of my favorites like "Kick Walkin," "Mop Down" and "Rectifier."  There's also one song that is only available on this tape, "Barn Pornstar."  That one is more midtempo with a vibe somewhat similar to their song "Crooked," but not as blown out and wild sounding.  "Barn Pornstar" is strong and I'm not sure why it never ended up on anything else.

While Bob Log III has definitely put out some fun releases over the years since Doo Rag disbanded, I've always thought that there was a special magic when he was still playing with Thermos Malling in Doo Rag.  That's the 90s reunion that I want to see.  Someone make it happen.

Doo Rag - Barbershop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdsZWzvdMWs

2 Sick Worry - Demo CD

Self Released (2017)

I was really excited when Kazu from Waterslide Records told me he had the 2 Sick Worry demo CD for me.  They were one of the bands that played the Waterslide/PopKid show that I got to go to when I was in Tokyo at the very beginning of 2017.  2 Sick Worry were one of the highlights of that show, so I've been looking forward to finally hearing more from them.

This demo CD contains three songs, two of which are just incredible, though criminally short. The first song is "Drawn" starts off at a million miles an hour until they reach the breakdown right before the chorus that emphasizes the incredible hook they've managed to cram in here.  The other highlight is the third song "Change Of Rain."  This one has a slightly (and I do mean slightly) slower tempo, but conjures the very best of bands like Navel or Skimmer.  I'm particularly reminded of those bands when it comes to the vocals.

While the second song on this CD, "Heartache" doesn't soar quite as high as the other two, I'm really curious to see what 2 Sick Worry come up with as they keep writing and recording.  After all, this is just a demo and the fact that they're so good already makes me thing great things are coming in the future.

2 Sick Worry - Demo:
https://2sickworry.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2017

Blackender - Demo CD

Self Released (2015)

I have to admit, I don't remember where I got this CD.  I may have picked it up record shopping in Tokyo, though it's equally possible it was recommended to me as part of a mailorder spree from this past year.  No matter how it ended up in the collection, I'm pretty glad it did.  From the looks of the artwork, you'd think that there might be some metal going on here, but fear not.  Blackender is another in the seemingly never ending line of excellent, poppy Japanese punk bands.

There's only two songs on this CD and boy do I wish there were more.  Particularly because of how great the first track, "Try To Find," is.  It seems like such a throwback to the nineties, in the best possible way.  There's a little bit of that Husking Bee pop mastery mixed in with the more punk leaning energy of Blew.  It's an incredible song that I can't say enough good things about.

The second song, "Bravado," doesn't soar quite as high, but it's still a pretty good showing.  The verse is a little darker with slightly fuzzy vocals, but once again the band shows that they know how to write a chorus that's destined to get stuck in your head.  I don't think there's anything else available from these guys, but if there is, someone please let me know where I can get it.

Blackender - "Try To Find":

https://blackendersendai.bandcamp.com/releases

Color TV - Demo 7"

Drunken Sailor (2016)

This 7" is the vinyl pressing of a demo tape I reviewed about a year and a half ago.  I'm pleased it was released on vinyl as I can only take so many cassettes in my life.  Although I did miss the colored variant, I was able to pick this up through a US distro.  Sometimes you have to weigh postage vs. colored wax I guess.  Postage won this battle.

The reason Color TV first came across my radar was because I was trying to find more information about the band W.H. Walker.  Sadly, they had split up, but Color TV is carrying on the tradition of creating good music, even though it's not particularly similar to WH Walker.  Color TV is a much more straightforward catchy punk band.  They remind me a bit of the Marked Men, but with a heavier lean on garage-y sounds and guitar leads.

The four songs on this 7" are all strong, with lots of fast paced, downstroke heavy riffs and upbeat choruses.  I'll admit to missing the party vide of W.H Walker, but judged on their own merits, Color TV is a tight little combo cranking out some big tunes.

Color TV - Demo 7":

https://drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/demo-7

Color T.V. - Demo 2015 Cassette

Self Released (2015)

I'll be honest, right about now I'm getting sick of reviewing tapes.  Even though the last few (including today's) are ones that I actually bought myself, give me a slab of wax or even a CD any day over these dumb little things. Despite my cassette fatigue, this demo tape from Color T.V. is enough to shake some of my blues away.

I hunted down these guys while trying to find out what happened to the band W.H Walker.  Those guys released a perfect LP and then just seemed to vanish.  My quest (eventually) led me to the Color T.V. Bandcamp page where you can listen to the three songs on this release and order a copy of the tape.  Never one to be satisfied with only having digital copies of songs, I of course plunked down for the cassette.

While Color T.V. doesn't quite have the same kind of free wheeling, house party stomp, good time vibe of W.H Walker, they have still managed to crank out three songs that I think are pretty incredible.  The infectious vibe of W.H. Walker still exists in these songs, but they are a little more straight forward.  You have a similar downstroke guitar action like The Marked Men or Chinese Telephones, but the hooks are filtered through a completely different lens.

I really, really dig this release and am hopeful to hear more from these guys as soon as possible.  Someone should jump on Color T.V. and get some vinyl out ASAP.

Color T.V. - Demo 2015:

https://colorteevee.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2015