snowbeast records – halloween compilation

I’ll start by saying ‘I want one of these’. a by all accounts limited cassette compilation put out by the snow beast imprint who based in Buffalo have to date put out three tape releases by the Camp Counselors, Seismograph and this their latest ‘Halloween compilation no.1 – rituals’ which gathers up eleven sinister sonic fates for your listening delight. Alas no information on the individual ensembles themselves but I dare say some qualified net searching should rustle up the necessary contact points. First up on the inspection block Cynthia’s Scream who do some nifty terror-phonic turns on the ice cold macabre that is ‘the good news is your dates are here, the bad news is they’re dead’ – not quite your hand holding carefree walk in the park rather more your oblique dread drilled industrial ambience coded in a darkening psyche of Landscape albeit as though flipped through the visor of Coil. We’ve pondered long and hard as to how exactly the camp counselors have so far managed to evade our ever watchful radar, ‘incantations’ is eerily carved in the most beguiling night sky spectacle of aural apparitions dissolving and dissipating dreamily in the cosmic ether amid myriads of murmuring electronic sirens. Those fancying your listening ear gear dimpled and coolly coded in dinky orbital pirouettes that sigh lovelorn at the outer markers of pop’s vast hinterland may well be advised to check out the desirably sumptuous ‘ghost toast’ by Hercules Baby while ‘la luz’ from Andy Miau and Mr Vampire is an ever so brief though sweetly enchanting slice of fog bound wood crafted psyche folk that hovers and shimmers teasingly like some siren-esque spell craft. Rounding up the compilation in fine style are psychic twin whose ‘never let it die’ sounds like its been time tripped from some pre pop golden age, sparsely coded and traced in ethereal twinkles, this sepia dipped torch soul beauty tugs delicately upon the heartstrings whilst simultaneously finding itself fashioned in a ghostly monochrome beauty that teases ever so subtly to an as were woozy waltz of Shakespeare Sister styled serenades – enchanting in short. ‘spooky moulder’ wasn’t that the weird dude out of X-files who saw conspiracy theories at every turn, we have them here in blighty they’re called UKIP – a political Euro sceptic party, led by a left winger with a French sounding name whose political agenda at varying levels appears somewhat cosied between bigotry and edged to the right – that’ll be inside right of the working class bashing privileged backsides sucking on silver spoons Tory party – even Rowan Atkinson couldn’t script this. What do you mean he has already. Anyway where were we – ‘spooky moulder / x files etc….etc…we preferred ‘Dark Skies’ any day. Back with it Field Mouse stump up ‘spooky moulder’ which is strangely alluring in an ice sculptured moment frozen type Ex Post Facto shimmied with the Cocteau Twins way, easily filed as spectral shoe gaze and something that admirers of the early 4ad catalogue ought to seek out. Drawn out of a ghostly half light ‘the fear’ by Seismograph is a shadow playing atmospheric beauty, tripping beats, dissolving riffs and the tingle of twinkling keys motifs gather together to conspire a deeply bewitching and fragile sonic canvas of understated majesty which reference wise calls to mind the declining winter in cahoots with tex la homa. Steeled upon the merest of purring opines cemeteries ‘sharpen your knives, sharpen your teeth’ is finitely cut from the same mallowy stuff that fixes the stars in the heaven’s sky, brushed and melancholia it drifts solemnly in a cosmic nothingness as though drawing together the dots joining together a mellowed and reflective grails with a super chilled and frost tweaked Church. Time for a teary moment, pseudo color disconsolately stumble in with the sorrowfully hymnal and head bowed n’ crestfallen ‘chance’ which ought to strike a regretful chord to those of you who never struck while the iron was hot in the fateful game of love – must admit though that should you be going through such a trial at the moment then avoid this like the plague or at least steer clear of kitchen drawers and sharp objects. must admit we are a tad bit smitten by Kreeps’ rollicking Ramones-a-rama 50’s high school bop a hula ‘vampire girls’ as it swaggers and swoons teased up in kiss curls all housed in the purring roar of a flying v v12 chassis. Rounding up the compilation in fine style are psychic twin whose ‘never let it die’ sounds like its been time tripped from some pre pop golden age, sparsely coded and traced in ethereal twinkles, this sepia dipped torch soul beauty tugs delicately upon the heartstrings whilst simultaneously finding itself fashioned in a ghostly monochrome beauty that teases ever so subtly to an as were woozy waltz of Shakespeare Sister styled serenades – enchanting in short. Best of the set by some distance all said is ‘séance’ by the Tender Bats whose spectral chime chamber torch pop is couched in an alluring soft 60’s psych hollowing that recalls the unworldly majesty of Broadcast refracted through the cinematic lens of Krzysztof Komeda to an immense overpowering chilling beauty. http://www.snowbeastrecords.bandcamp.com/album/halloween-compilation-no-1-rituals