Thursday 8 September 2022

Ghost Factory - Hello My Name Is Ghost Factory (2013)

We're not sure why we didn't already have a copy of this tape from local acoustic screaming punks Ghost Factory. Rob Gruszecki co-leads the weekly punk rock singalong at the Ship and Anchor (and also sits in with Chixdiggit these days), and this tape sees him shouting his own words, which are very good. "Have You Heard Of Arson?" is an indispensable Calgary song for its rousing chorus of "We're burning down the Balzac mall." 

  Tapes aren't available on the Ghost Factory bandcamp, but the download is!

Wednesday 7 September 2022

CCPS Miscellany: Cindy Lee - Tatlashea (2012)

 

We weren't going to post this tape, but since we invoked the name of Women yesterday - and considering the legacy of that band in our city - we figured we might as well go for it. This is the first release from Patrick Flegel's Cindy Lee - a project we've seen called "confrontation pop," which is an amazingly apt description. The songs on here veer between noisy experiments and quiet, understated beauty - an approach that Flegel has been perfecting since this came out.

You can stream this over on the Realistik soundcloud.

Tuesday 6 September 2022

Temps - Mid Cycle (2022)

We posted a tape by David Lavoie last year, and somehow totally missed that he was a member of the excellently-named Telstar Drugs. Well, he's back in the indie rock saddle with Temps, a band which very much carries on their tradition of angular guitars and stop-stutter drums - we can't help compare them to a jazzier version of Women, slightly parallel to bands like Body Lens (but not as arty) and Fitness (and not as frantic). 

Get it via the Temps bandcamp.

Monday 5 September 2022

Selci - A Soft Place (2020)

One of the complications of the shutdown/reopening/shutdown/reopening cycle of the past couple of years is that it's been harder to get our hands on some tapes. Or we've missed that they've come out... like this second release from local electropop chanteuse Selci. This tape sees Selci honing in on her blend of r&b and electopop... and it's pretty great. Of course, by the time we got this she had already jumped ahead of that to her upcoming Fallen Woman release... and her live shows have picked up a backing band including electronic drums, bass, and - most remarkably - harmony vocals that make her songs pop all the more.

But this tape, even though a bit older, is still quite good - and you can get it at Selci's bandcamp.

Sunday 4 September 2022

Bitter Fictions - Full Spite (2021)


Big thanks to Devin Friesen for passing us a copy of the Bitter Fictions tape he put out last year. This collection of tracks are based around more percussive elements, rather than the guitar drones of his last tape. Friesen isn't afraid to try new things within his one-person, guitar-based experimental music. It gets pretty gritty at the midpoint with a some squelching feedback and then resolves into more a peaceful, harmonious closing number, perhaps appropriately entitled "Respite."

Get it via the Shaking Box Music bandcamp.


Saturday 3 September 2022

Hairnet - The Complete Peel Sessions (2022)



Well, here's a fun thing from one of our favourite local punks. Arielle McCuaig and her pals in Hairnet have a new-ish tape out - and since everything McCuaig is in is pretty terrific, we had to grab this. We weren't disappointed - this is the band's live set that was recorded as part of Sled Island's 2021 mini-festival. Sure, you can watch the set on youtube, but wouldn't you rather have the tape?


If you can catch Hairnet, you might be able to score a copy of this tape... and have the best of both worlds! 

Friday 2 September 2022

Ghostkeeper - Multidimensional Culture (2022)


This tape is one that we're really amazed by. Ghostkeeper has always been a favourite of ours, but this album is... well, spectacular. With Lorrie Matheson as producer, this set of songs is Ghostkeeper's finest statement yet, blending elements of psych, folk, soul, experimental music, and indie rock - a sonic underpinning that accentuates the a strong cultural and political statement that Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle present in their lyrics. Just as there are hard questions for the listener, there's also joy - and lots to keep you coming back for repeated listens.


Thursday 1 September 2022

Forbidden Dimension - A Cool Sound Outta Hell (2022)/The Golden Age Of Lasers (2022)



Well, here's a pair of good things, courtesy of the fine folks at Wasted Wax Records. In their quest to ensure the Forbidden Dimension catalog is available on all formats (except 8-track and MiniDisc), 
they've reissued FD's 2007 and 2012 releases, the recordings that saw Tom Bagley first joining forces with FD über-fan Casey Lewis in his Echo Base studios - and reuniting with Color Me Psycho drummer Mark Igglesden (sorry, that should be P.T. Bonham). This was really the revitalization of FD, after their hiatus following Widow's Walk. 

These are both beefy-sounding releases, forever linked with our own memories of seeing the band countless times at Broken City. Considering they were originally released on LP by the excellent Saved by Vinyl, did we absolutely need a cassette reissue? Maybe not, but we cherish it anyways.

Get these via Wasted Wax Records.