I had a conversation about old tapes a few days ago, and someone asked me if I had any particular tapes that were really good that no one really knows about. Not necessarily "cool" tapes, or collectible tapes, or desirable tapes, or rare tapes...just quality tunes that exist in a vacuum. And I thought immediately of THE LUMPS OF MERDE. I first shared this in the infancy of Terminal Escape and, while I'm just as into now as I was then (more so?), I question some of my descriptors from that June 2009 post. Listening today, these four cuts are indeed somewhat amateurish in delivery, though the compositions themselves and the way the guitars play with the rest of the band suggests a band with a vision greater than their skill set allows. The vocals are drab, a distinct anarcho-come lately spoken/shouted determination, while hints of early ALARM (particularly on "Temperary (sic) Escape") sneak through some of the hooks and its clear that these kids would have evolved into a genuine force had they continued past this 1986 recording. Worth noting the drums...the classic UK anarcho straight forward plod, but some mental engineer tweaked the toms with overcompressed '80s pop triggers so that it sounds normal on the straight beats and then it's as if WHAM! pops in awkwardly just for the fills and rolls. It's awkward to be sure, but it's also part of what makes this tape so unique and so great.
Physical cassette is pretty tortured, and was never exactly quality to start with, but when you reach down under the radar sometimes you get what you get....
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