(Bridgetown #72) Kevin Greenspon – ‘Maroon Bells’ C20/CDr $6
In support of two comprehensive USA tours this year and on the heels of splits with Former Selves, Sky Stadium and Trudgers, Greenspon has finally offered his first official follow-up album to 2010’s Unveiling album on Monorail Trespassing and Common Objects 12″ LP. Greenspon effortlessly transforms gentle progressions of soothing guitar notes into a graceful choir of blurry tape collage. The six pieces on Maroon Bells are concise recollections of a very specific set of personal memories: those first times you had dreams of disappearing, seeing a city from the mountains, being dwarfed by the skeleton of a skyscraper, and the deafening railroad tracks that threaten the hope of sleeping to dream once again. Limited to 100 chrome cassettes dubbed in real-time with full-color, doublesided glossy cardstock inserts and 100 stamped CDrs in full-color printed jackets.
(Bridgetown #70) Chasms – ‘The Science of Consciousness’ C14 $5
Cody Kirkendall’s recent releases as Chasms showcase a very refined take on contemporary synth composition. His craftsmanship of briskly paced sci-fi miniatures are brief but highly personal doses of kosmische electronica. These documents place the inner self under a microscope, revealing a wide spectrum of fine details that flicker in and out of focus for mere seconds at a time. While much of the current crop of sci-fi synth obsesses over the infinite bounds of outer space, Kirkendall’s work serves as a reminder that there is more to us than meets the eye, and that perhaps our exploration of the cosmos should begin inside ourselves. Limited to 100 chrome cassettes dubbed in real-time with full-color, doublesided glossy cardstock inserts.
(Bridgetown #69) Aurland Gruvan – ‘mixtape #2: Emerald Ocean’ C30 $5
Based in Gothenburg and Oslo, Aurland Gruvan dismantles the core components of electronic songs in house, trance and other club-friendly genres without the use of key/beatmatching or automated DJ software. His ongoing mixtape series serves as a calculated exercise in using manual and hands on editing/mixing techniques to reassemble their beats, frequencies, vocal patterns and structures. Gruvan avoids the petty indulgence to include tracks found on pedestrian dancefloors or to experiment with free-form ideas, opting for a more refined mix with mainstream production values. Limited to 90 chrome cassettes dubbed in real-time with full-color, doublesided cardstock inserts.
(Bridgetown #68) N.M. C10 $5
Crashing onto the Los Angeles noise scene while still in his teens, Nial Morgan’s explosive live performances and sporadic output as Wrong Hole are a prime example of how to raise the bar and then proceed to destroy it multiple times… all before even graduating from high school. Morgan’s raw approach molds vintage styles into a youthful vessel, beckoning a much-needed renaissance of harsh textures and attitudes in classic form. These two side-long pieces are the real deal: menacing, energetic and unforgiving doses of contact mic punishment committed to tape. Limited to 50 chrome cassettes dubbed in real-time with full-color, doublesided cardstock inserts.
(Bridgetown #12) Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk – ‘Jam Packed Full of Awesome’ C30 $6
Hazy indie rock tunes bridged by a smooth veneer of ambient and experimental instrumentation. Recorded years ago in Kansas at the onset of Chomp Womp fever, BBDDM are now nomads roaming the country from rural California, the Midwest and East coast. This is a long overdue reissue of their first album, just in time for the Freak City All-Stars Bridgetown label showcase tour. Third edition of 60 chrome cassettes dubbed in real-time with full-color, double-sided cardstock inserts.