The retro futurist in me

Recently my roommate encouraged me to do some home rearranging, with the supreme idea of putting a record player front and center in my living/dining room off my kitchen. This room gets the most use in my house and having a way to play vinyl more conveniently made a whole lot of sense. So, now vinyl is getting spun on a daily basis at my house and it has been a musical reawakening around here. All kinds of stuff that has been too long neglected has found the light of day and I've been realizing how good a lot music is that I only have on vinyl, and how I need to listen to it more often.

This brings me to my next point, the importance of the Retro Futurist record subscription I had for two years. If you haven't heard of Retro Futurist records, it's worth looking up. A lot of the music they sent me as part of the subscription didn't grip me initially, but I tried to pay attention to their philosophy of signing talented bands... regardless of genre. The members of Kylesa could have been assumed to only sign metal bands, specifically those that fit their own stylings. They did more and I appreciate it, especially now as I'm revisiting all these gems from my music collection. The bands that Retro Futurist signed, in my opinion/from what I can tell, are still not getting the exposure they deserve. So, I'm gonna mention em' here and if you read about something that sounds interesting to you, go seek it out. You can find most (if not all) these bands on bandcamp, anyway.


These bands...

Sierra - Pslip: This Canadian rock band did grip me instantly when I put it on. It reminded me of some of the other bands I've been into (Mastodon's Crack the Sky, Baroness). This was the first record I received from Retro Futurist and I played it a lot for a few weeks. It is doomy, yet with good instrumentation and interesting riffs. When Sierra came out with their next album (72), I picked it up instantly.

Jagged Vision - Harvest Earth: This band has a punk/metal blend, with an almost serene guitar tone. The vocals are harsh, but not too in your face. They're appreciated, rather than abrasive. I would love to see Jagged Vision tour with a band like Toxic Holocaust or 3 Inches of Blood (RIP).

Burnt Books - Where There's Ashes There's Fire: This album immediately captured my attention when I opened the box, it looked like somebody hand made the record jacket in a basement. It reminded me of zines from my high school days. Listening to the album, it's dark and heavy, downtempo and growly. At first I was not into it, but it has grown on my tremendously. It is more approachable than bands like Indian or early Neurosis, but reminds me of them.

Dark Entries - The Make Believe: I listen to Dark Entries and then I want to put on a Dimu Borgir album afterwards, then go back to Dark Entries. My only challenge with this album is that I wish it was longer. They truly have a good thing going. The songwriting is good and the band is solid. When I initially listened to it I thought it was too mediocre. But, I wasn't paying attention. Eventually I listened to it more closely and made sure to focus a bit more... made sure I was free of distractions. Time flew by.

Caustic Casanova - Breaks: This might be the favorite of all the albums I got from the record subscription. Caustic Casanova, from DC, is mostly a rock band, but not your typical rock band. They get weird sometimes, in the best way possible. The songwriting surprises me because it's predictable only until it is not. I went online and ordered all their older albums and a t-shirt after hearing Breaks.

Crazy Bag Lady - Hunks: This album took a while to grow on me. I think that's because I couldn't find a category to put it in. It's sort of punk and sort of just loud, and sort of metal. Honestly, this one was the hardest to like. With that said, I put it on quite often now I feel like I've gotten to know it better. Also, when friends come over, I've a few times found myself asking what they think of it and it gets a pretty darn positive response.

So, there you have it, some of my thoughts on some of the albums I got from the Retro Futurist record subscription. Maybe you'll go on bandcamp, or someplace, and listen for yourself. Or, better yet, maybe one of these bands will come through your town and you'll get to see a show first hand. I'm appreciative that these bands have helped to expand my musical horizon and find more new music to enjoy.

Rock on.

-Jason