Until recently, the choice of medium for physical album releases was likely made based on equal parts technology and demographic. Many reasons have been given for declining CD sales. And I’m not talking about the large-scale decline, like, say, Best Buy or Amazon sales. I’m referring to merch tables at basement shows. When was the last time you saw a CD there? So, a lot of people are releasing tapes now for no other reason then because they sell. But occasionally you may come across a band (or entire label) putting their music to tape as a conscious, aesthetic choice, not at all based on available technology, funds, or demographic, as if the music couldn’t exist properly in any other medium. Listening to the Bandcamp stream doesn’t even feel right.
Tapes decay. Or tapes, decay. It’s like a short list of tags or an entire statement for Montgomery Word’s new album, TELEPHONE. Made up of 16 tracks of beats sounding pulled from what’s left of a variety of decaying electronics, the album is like shaking the last few drops of wine from the bottle before you toss it in the recycling bin. And the tape itself serves as the physical representation of the album, rather than just the chosen medium to sell it.
I imagine Madlib remixing what’s left of the decimated soundscapes of Tim Hecker’s Ravedeath, 1972. Or maybe “It’s tha Disintegration Loop Diggah!”
Listen to all 16 tracks below, and pre-order the tape over at the Montgomery Word bandcamp page.
• Montgomery Word: http://montgomeryword.bandcamp.com
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