James Fella
Weak Left Input [LP; Gilgongo]

It would be reductive to suggest the tape scene as a sort of training ground for eventual full-battle vinyl, but the trend of pressing formerly cassette-only releases onto wax continues unabated. From my experience, the process also works toward a thinning-out of the herd. If your CS48 sucks, it will disappear forever as it should once its 50-copy run manages to sell out; if it’s something special, there’s a decent chance a guy with a beard somewhere will pick it up and take it to a pressing plant. Or maybe you’ll do it yourself, like James Fella’s Gilgongo Records did when Weak Left Input sold out a few tape runs (I believe a CD also came out at some point last year, earlier than the vinyl version). It’s only logical to assume that success on one platform will lead to more plaudits on another, and so the format wars rage on, the listener a true benefactor. Weak Left Input fits the profile of a sturdy dronoise cassette, but its features emerge more highly defined on vinyl, the bass bobbing deeper underground and the treble snapping harder. The flipside (forgive me to skipping straight to it) in particular barks a lot more menacingly too, stacked with pitch-bent globs of guitar plucks (real high or low on the neck maybe? I can’t guarantee the veracity of this assumption) and several noise signifiers fighting with one another. It all retreats soon, leading you to believe it’s time to drift off into space, then SNAP>>>>>>>}{<<<<<<<<< BANG, NOISE-BREAK FOOL!!! Albeit in another dimension, buffalo grunts sucked into a solar vortex, accompanying us on our descent to a calm, forgiving heaven that won’t churn our bowels to sawdust; at least that’s what we’ve been promised. Was it worth it? Again, YES.

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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