So, last Friday was #RecordStoreDay which evidently is a twice-yearly thing now – one in June and one in November, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, all the better to capitalize on the consumer feeding frenzy known as Black Friday.
Normally, I avoid #RecordStoreDay like the plague, so to speak; standing in line to for an hour or so to paw through a bin of over-priced reissues of classic rock records just isn’t my idea of a good time. But this year’s roster of #RSD offerings featured a vinyl reissue of a Dave van Ronk record, Hear Me Howl, that I could not resist. It’s an amazing record, and one I’ve wanted for a long time, so off I went.
And it was worth it. Helluva record. Glad I got it.
The real treat, though, was waiting for me in my mailbox when I got home: the latest release from Portland’s own pyschedelic powerpop outfit, Snake Lips: a 6-song, lathe-cut 7″ EP on clear plastic.
I’d ordered my copy via the Snake Lips Bandcamp page a few days earlier, so I had digital access to two tracks before the disc itself arrived, and those two tracks — Melt The Sun and Nothin’ To Say — rocked.
Both tracks are standouts, but Nothin’ To Say is something special. Clocking in at a bit more than a minute and half, the track is short but exceedingly sweet, a damn-near jangly powerpop tune with a punkster edge that sticks in your ear like nobody’s business.
I also was fortunate enough to catch them at their record release party at the Repeating Cloud studio the week before, where they ripped through the six tunes on the record before an eager audience, so I knew a bit about what to expect when I ripped the mailer open.
That said, I was still blown away when I dropped the needle on that disc for the first time — this record rocks from start to finish. Lush production and tightly crafted tunes, powerpop hooks and swirling psychedelic guitar play, it’s all there, folks. I’ve spun this thing at least a dozen times now in the home studio, and it’s gonna stay in heavy rotation for a while here, no question.
And when I make my year-end Best of ThatPortlandSound mix tape, Nothin’ To Say is gonna be the track that makes the cut, ayuh. That tune alone is worth the price of admission.
Because it’s a lathe-cut disc, the record’s available in a very small run, but it looks like there might be few copies left over at Bandcamp. Do yourself a favor and grab one before they’re gone. You’ll be glad you did.
And tell ’em ThatPortlandSound sent you.
ThatPortlandSound 