Cassette Review // Vlimmer "XIIII" (Blackjack Illuminist)

€4 //
Edition of 15 //
https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/xiiii //

Perhaps one of the most fun parts for me of listening to Vlimmer is hearing how the music changes.   I don't like to compare music with other mediums (yes I do) but I like to think of this music as being like food in some ways.   I, for one, am a huge fan of tacos.   And I can go to a number of different restaurants and eat tacos there and find them all to be delicious.   It's that idea of the taco- the concept and layout for it- but then imagined by different restaurants. 

Vlimmer has that rooted recipe for each of their EPs but sometimes the way the ingredients are mixed changes.    This EP starts off with this wild electronic circle which reminds me more of the 1990's than the 1980's.   Drum machines come in and so do big echoing vocals.    This isn't quite NIN or Stabbing Westward, but it could be along those lines.   There is perhaps some Muse in here as well.   It gets a little bit screamy and this is all just within the first song.

The next song has a steady drum rhythm and makes me feel more like New Order.   There is a nice groove to this though and it has dance number written all over it.   Dark back and forth tones now bring the end of the first side with that darkness.

On the flip side we open up with some cross of The Killers and Flock of Seagulls.   It's that 1980's type of new wave vibe with something more modern, like back when The Bravery were on the radio.   This cassette is just so much fun but it's also dark.   You don't think of something as being dark like this and fun- it's usually more all dressed in black and sad, but I'm having fun here with this one.

Dramatic tones start the next song and then the drum machines kick in to bring the dance.   This lone drum beat feels haunted.  Then, once again, we dance.   It's a little bit like Panic! At The Disco, but it's also just how I felt when hearing PATD for the first time as well.   I overall just tend to enjoy that idea of happy songs with dark messages and if you can describe music as dark-dancing then Vlimmer should be a part of your conversation as this one is completely that.