24 October 2018

SAVAGES


The folks at Contact recently turned me onto Loathed Sound Department, and I couldn't be more smitten. A "fan club" cassette label focused on jazz freak and avant garde nuggets, this gem from Sonny and Linda Sharrock's SAVAGES ensemble is a perfect example of what Loathed Sound is capable of. A live in studio recording from 1974, the Sharrocks are joined by a rhythm section that settles into a pocket and then spends a quarter hour kicking their feet up and making themselves at home. Sonny's guitar is relatively subdued (especially for Sonny) and comes off like a casual band leader while Linda's voice drops in occasionally to make sure things stay out there....way out there. The 8+ minute trance inducing "1953 Blue Boogie Children" makes Savages mandatory, while "Peaceful" and "Highlife" present a bizarre big city sonic take on island life, with added haunting psychedelia. Consider this an essential reissue from a crew of folks who appear to be doing it right...and for the right reasons. 



2 comments:

Blacktooth said...

LSD tapes one of the better things going out here in NYC since, I dunno, like this last summer of 2017 or something?? Can't remember when they 1st started popping up....

They keep putting out that mind-bending stuff. I don't know if anyone is making a profit off any of this. Exposing those strange and angular sounds from a variety of sources.

Kinda that perfect label where one occasionally fantasizes: "yeah, man, if I fucken won the lotto and didn't have to work the daily grind I would smoke fucken ice-bongs all day and start a cassette-only label of just my favorite recordings...."

But, some folks don't need the lottery or the ice-bongs: they just do it. So, all praises be....

I started seeing these at Acedemy Records last summer, and I started putting down my $5 bills. No questions.

At any rate, always worth the VERY low price of admission. And one of a very few basement/rooftop transmission stations keeping the good plastic tapes flowing....

Thanks for the post!!!!

Ape Mummy said...

I don't comment nearly often enough (or at all), so lemme rectify that by telling you that immediately after I read this entry, I went and spent $20 on LSD Tapes via their website. So tip of the cap for the suggestion via the Savages release. Some very, very good shit.