16 September 2014

APOGEE SOUND CLUB // KAREN


These folks came up on the ride home tonight, and it occurred to me that I had this split Wade gave me some time ago primed and ready...so here you go. APOGEE SOUND CLUB was already an established thing in SF when we moved back here in 2008 and have continued their underground lurkings while writing consistently better songs. Wade's guitar (and the way he works it with the vocals) brings to mind legitimate heavyweights like MINUTEMEN and BIG BOYS, even though those comparisons are cheap and easy, just a little time spent with these recordings will bear them out. The subtle time change and the lumbering (instead of funky) bass in "The Lie," the feisty determination of "Out Of Joint," the entirety of "Protest Is Sex" - the kids are next level. There's a "members of" pedigree that'll make your head spin, but never mind that part and just know that real and genuine outcasts still crank out compelling music in the shadows of this increasingly inhospitable metropolis. Plus, there's stuff on the other side: KAREN are faster, way noisier, louder and throw their oddity right in your face from the start. Editing radio snippets and a mac keyboard volume button into your own live recording is genius but this is a harsher toke to be sure. Not a hook in sight, just challenging jerky fukkd weirdo punk....and I prefer the APOGEE side (but maybe I'm too old?).  This split is something I would never have sought out, but I'm glad it lives in my house and I'm happy for you to have it in yours. 

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