Cassette Review // Thee Reps "Minimal Surface" (Gold Bolus Recordings)

$8 //
https://goldbolus.bandcamp.com/merch/thee-reps-minimal-surface-tape //

We begin with this bass line, which adds keys and then the sax comes in and it just turns into this upbeat, walking type of jazz number.   You can hear those organ keys echo through as well as the best word to describe this is just boistering.    It just has this loop to it where they play this merry-go-round type of vibe and it just feels like so much fun.

Synth notes begin the second song.   Strings wind in and the drums give it this dreamy hip hop feel.    In some ways it reminds me of "Paranoid Android" but the strings and keys just add another level to it.   But I'd expect an equally trippy animated music video for this song if one were to exist.    If you could think of that particular Radiohead song being played by an orchestra you might be onto how this sounds.

The bass/guitars really pave the way as the strings shine and then we get into this more intense song which has a video game way about it.   It's this combination of traffic horns, a helicopter and something much more serious than all of those.   It really just lifts up and feels like it's going to take off with what sound like ohms behind it as well.

Longer, softer strings pave the way for something more calming and then it just kicks in much faster paced to the point where it almost feels like surf rock now but does have that instrumental math rock idea going for it as well.   The way the strings mix with what feel like banjo plucked strings just creates a sound not quite like it's coming from a symphony and not quite like it's coming from a swamp, but it's somewhere in between and it's a place worth visiting. 

On the flip side things start off a bit slower, almost like this winding country song before they really kick in and start banging.   It takes on this driving way with the strings, guitar, bass and percussion.    The beeping of the keys and motion created by the strings compliment each other perfectly.   This has an electro-jazz feel to it but it's just carving out a genre all its own.

We then begin to fall up and down with the organ sound and it really feels like a carousel ride.    The strings and keys take turns playing the same riff and we then shift into this softer bass line.   It feels like Smashing Pumpkins, like we're floating around on clouds.   Strings begin to slowly squeak on in behind this all.   It's so peaceful.

The percussion comes in like walking now, clacking to some extent, as the guitar strums along and the way the strings wind now definitely make me feel more like we're in a country song than at any other point on this cassette.     This all just culminates in such a huge way which loses the country and begins to feel more like space rock.    This all minimizes down to drum sticks hitting on a mat and it is just the perfect way for this to all come together and end.