This is a tough lil’ titty of a review for me to write because the odds are SO STACKED AGAINST anything but an insanely flattering review. Baro is a great label whose principles operate with the utmost integrity (not to mention enthusiasm and, surprisingly in this day and age, thicker skin than the average tape-shitting duck); HKE and Telepath テレパシー能力者 seem to be bulletproof at this point, talked about by all the right people and ignored by all the people folks like you and I (ahhhh, TMT is my warm bubble-baaaaath) disdain; and the type of music found within Gateway アセンション is, in a lot of ways, snuggly in-the-pocket where a lot of vaporware stereotypes are concerned (night-drive YouTizzles, etc.). It all adds up to a situation where good ol’ Gumshoe often feels pressure to conform and confirm the tastes of others, often unnecessarily, and of course I never hesitate to nunchuck a fool right in the teeth if I feel that I’m being cornered by the underground powers-that-be-trippin’. But Gateway アセンション is a wonderful voyage. HKE and Telepath テレパシー能力者 should not only be proud of their accomplishment but also aware that it could be tough to top, as it seems to have been created on the run and captured like a rogue firefly in a brain jar. It’s also, apparently, a sample-free recording, which doesn’t impress me either way, and yet I respect that this crack duo wanted to go au-natural. I know I already mentioned those damn night-drive videos but GOOD GOD all I wanna do when I pop this in is jump in my wife’s recently purchased Toyota Camry and make some bad decisions while bumping the dogshit out of this bad boy. There’s no kitsch here to cause your deeply knit sense of listener integrity (I mean c’mon, you read the most indie section on the most indie site out there; you deserve love!) to falter, not that I’ve ever busied myself with such concerns, and of course above all Gateway アセンション simply refuses to be contained, even as it coasts on a fume-heavy beat that might just nod on forever, in your skull, if you let it. I always wanted more Release the Bats artists to go where these boys go, do what they’ve done, express what they’re expressing, as there’s a warmth here scarcely found in the dirty forgotten basement that is/was the noise boom. The /100 of this is long-gone but you can still get the variant they made 200 of, and I would love it if you did and told Baro Records I sent ya. I’ve literally never said anything like that in a review but fuggit, time to live a little, spread the joy that I feel every time a new tape/LP arrives (and frankly it’s been a little slow so far this year; don’t y’all want some a’ this?).
More about: HKE* / Telepath テレパシー能力者*
