Overwhelming Colorfast - S/T LP - Clear w/ Yellow & Red Splatter Vinyl (/1000)

Org Music (2022, Reissue)

Releases for Record Store Day have typically been getting less and less interesting as the years go by.  In particular, the Black Friday version of the even essentially never has anything that I'm interested in.  This past year was an anomaly as one of the releases was this reissue of the first Overwhelming Colorfast album.

I'm not sure exactly how this one ended up on their list.  I find it difficult to believe that there was a huge clamoring from the general public for this album.  But for folks like me, this is on e of the more exciting records to be part of RSD in ages.

I first got into Overwhelming Colorfast through the band fluf.  I had heard favorable comparisons and fluf even covered the Overwhelming Colorfast song "Song in D" on one of their 7"s.  This album, their self titled debut, wasn't my entry point.  I had picked up Two Words prior to that and honestly, my absolute favorite record on theirs is Moonlight & Castanets.  But I have had the CD of this album forever and it's chock full of noisy, big guitar pop.

fluf is definitely a solid comparison and if that doesn't work for you, I would think pretty much anyone that likes Sugar or the more recent Bob Mould solo records would be happy to add this record to their collection.  I have seen it teased that the band is currently working on getting Two Words pressed on vinyl for the first time.  I can't wait for that one and am just keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get to my favorite, Moonlight & Castanets after that.

Overwhelming Colorfast - S/T:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n6By9tU1yg2tp80FCtkkkGUkrDpMyaNpU

Bart And The Brats - S/T LP

Big Neck (2022)

Bart and the Brats is a new venture from Bart De Vraantijk, known to some as being a member of bands like Wild Zeros and Teenage Hearts.  Though if I'm being honest, I'm not particularly familiar with his work, though I have at least heard of those two bands.  On this album, Bart is working solo, having recorded everything himself.  But don't worry, this isn't an acoustic, singer-songwriter adventure.  We've got the full complement of guitar/bass/drums at play.

This very much sounds like something that Ptrash would have put out in 2009 or so.  Fast and catchy garage guitar riffage with snarling vocals.  The simplicity of the Ramones with the energy of the Carbonas.  It's much catchier than a lot of other records of this ilk, so it's connecting with me way more than most.  I think if the vocals were a bit more melodic, I'd probably really dig it.  As is, I think it's pretty solid and something worth checking out if you dig on these type of fast and furious sounds.

Bart And The Brats - S/T:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Merger - S/T 12"

Impetus (2019)

I will be honest, I don't remember when I got this record.  It was sent to me for the purposes of reviewing on this site sometime last year, but it sort of vanished into the 'to do' pile.  I have not been able to buy many new records this year, and with the way things are deteriorating in the real world each day, it seems unlikely that I'll be buying many more in the short term.  The upside to that is that it gives me time to weed through the records that have been sitting around.  I guess if you want to send me a record to review, this is probably the best time to do that, just drop me an email first as the address on this site isn't going to be the best place to get a hold of me over the next month or so.

Back to Merger.  This is a six song 12" EP, which is my least favorite way to consume new music that isn't a cassette.  I'm always going to prefer a full length LP or a 7" for shorter endeavors.  That aside, the music itself is interesting.  While I can't really say that I like it or would be prone to listening to it very often, it's not bad.  There's a fuzzy chaos to it that I find endearing and there's solid energy behind the vocals.  The drummer is also particularly adept at keeping time amongst the various mood changes that take place during each song.

In my formative years when I was trying to find my way in punk rock, I ended up listening to a lot of Pacific Northwest bands like Karp, Unwound and Some Velvet Sidewalk.  I think that if I had heard this Merger LP back then, I'd probably have a different take on it than I do now.  This isn't for me, but there are likely folks out there that prefer the noisier side of the world that will be able to get down with this.

Merger - S/T 12":
https://merger.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Gleam Garden - S/T 10"

Snuffy Smiles (2016)

I've been sitting on this 10" for a really long time.  I don't know exactly why it's taken me so long to review it.  I think it has something to do with the fact that every time I pick it up to review, I try to figure out where all of the songs have come from before and that ends up taking up too much time so I just waiting until another day.

Well that other day is today.  I think I've finally figured it out.  Of the eight songs on this 10", five of them were previously released on a split cassette with Tony's Bite, two were released on a split 7" with Chestnut Road and one of them was on a split flexi with Car10.  I don't have that Car10 split, so if anyone knows where I can get one of those, please let me know.

I've been listening to Gleam Garden for years.  They are one of the best punk rock bands in Japan and the eight songs on this 10" just prove that even more.  These songs are poppy and straightforward and perhaps a bit less noisy than some of their older releases.  But don't worry that's actually a compliment as they've still managed to maintain the energy of the past records, with a tighter focus on hooks and vocal melodies.  These are some of the best songs they've released in my opinion.

I haven't heard much from these guys since this 10" came out, but rest assured I will continue to pick up everything they release.  Provided I know it has come out.  (Seriously, if anyone can get me that split flexi with Car10, I'm buying.)

Gleam Garden - S/T 10" (Four of the eight songs are on this Bandcamp page)
https://gleamgarden.bandcamp.com/album/gleam-garden-10

Turquoise Feeling - S/T LP

Heel Turn (2016)

If you know my taste in music, you know that in general I prefer when bands are a little rough around the edges, especially when it comes to recording.  I've always felt that when bands get a little too produced, it tends to gloss over some of the raw energy that they bring to the table.  Occasionally, things can go a bit too far in the other direction.  

What keeps coming to my mind when I listen to Turquoise Feeling is that I wish this album was recorded just a bit better.  I'm all for a little noise and some hiss, but in the case of this LP everything is so raw and overblown, you can't really hear anything that is going on.  The vocals are a bunch of ramblings that are completely buried in the mix and the instruments are just a jumbled pile of chaos.

It's a bit of a shame too, as most of the songs on the record are pretty good.  They're short, catchy bursts of garage fueled energy.  They are catchier than you'd think considering all of the noise you need to wade through.  If I could hear everything, I think I'd be singing a much different tune about this record.  I actually stumbled across a YouTube video of the Turquoise Feeling playing one of the songs from this record live.  It sounded so much better than the recorded version did.  It makes me wonder what could have been.

Turquoise Feeling - "Fever Few":

https://soundcloud.com/user-542431893/turquoise-feeling-feverfew

Turquoise Feeling - "Post Partum" (Live, not the LP version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_DWHMy3kiU