Treepeople - Actual Re-Enactment LP - Orange Vinyl (/250)

Gravy Lane (2018. Reissue)

After the bang-up job Gravy Lane did on the Stuntman LP they rereleased a little while back, I was extremely excited to hear that they were going to put out this Treepeople album on vinyl.  Actual Re-Enactment originally came out on C/Z records in 1994, but was only out on CD and cassette.  This left a gigantic hole in the Treepeople vinyl discography and thankfully that omission has finally been rectified.

Actual Re-Enactment is a post-Doug Martsch Treepeople album, but in my eyes it's just as dynamic and listenable as anything that came out while he was still a member.  Actual Re-Enactment still has heaps of the dynamic guitar interplay that I always felt was the most distinguishing trait that the band brought to the table.  It's a unique balancing act between noisy chaos and catchy riffs and this is a balance few bands ever pulled off as successfully as Treepeople.

Just take a listen to "Slept Through Mind."  It's my favorite song on the album, mostly for the way the band perfectly places sludgy guitar drone right smack in the middle of an otherwise chill pop song.  On paper it shouldn't work as well as it does, but leave it to Treepeople to not only make it work, but make it a highlight of the album.  The vinyl version Gravy Lane released has been remastered for vinyl and the album pops even more brightly than the CD I've been carrying around for the past few decades.  I'm quite thankful to the label for helping me finally add this record to my collection.

Treepeople - "Slept Through Mine":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwtWVPnb-7E

Treepeople - "Boot Straps":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c5NRLTdU3s

Stuntman - S/T LP

Gravy Lane (2017, Reissue)

I'm not exactly sure why, but I was pretty surprised to see that the first Stuntman album was being released on vinyl for the first time this year.  Don't get me wrong, I was pleased as punch, but something told me this may not be as sought after a reissue for some.   Stuntman wasn't exactly a household name back in the mid 90's. 

I think the best chance most have for knowing these guys is from their split 7" with Knapsack that came out on Alias.  Some others may know them as being the other band that splintered off from Treepeople that wasn't Built To Spill.  Regardless, Stuntman certainly deserves more recognition than they receive and maybe this LP is the start of that.  It's difficult to not be impressed with this gem of an album.  From the blown out bass sound that lurches into the guitar blast of opener "Bleed" to the gentle, but kind of weird, acoustic fade out to album closer "Good Enough," this is an album that grabs your attention and never lets go.

This is a quintessential 1990's indie rock record.  I don't think it could have been made at any other time.  There's just something very comforting to me about the way the guitar is both intricate and somewhat sludgy at the same time, not to mention the scattershot rhythms and rough vocal yelps.  It's got an imaginative streak to it that seems missing from much of today's music.  Plus these guys have the chops to pull of the chaotic guitar solos that inevitably creep into a large chunk of the songs.

I wouldn't go so far as to call the first Stuntman record a forgotten masterpiece; but it's a great record and certainly one that deserves to be remembered more than I think it in.  Oh and this vinyl reissue was limited to 273 copies, so you may want to grab it before it's gone.

Stuntman - S/T:

https://stuntman1.bandcamp.com/album/stuntman