Cassette Review // Attic Ted "Kafka Dreaming" (Pecan Crazy)

$7 //
https://pecancrazy.bandcamp.com/album/attic-ted-kafka-dreaming //

From the moment I pressed play on this cassette I knew I was in love.   The music started off as something that you might have heard in the 1980's or early 1990's- during the birth of cassettes- and yet it still also has some kind of modern, strange way about it.  In some ways it's that sound of Talking Heads but perhaps with Fred Schneider in control.   One of those little things which impressed me, just within the first song, which perhaps I should not have been so impressed by is that the title of the song- "Skip To Lulu"- is being sung.

"Come Inside", which is the second song, comes out a bit dreamy and a little bit more like Pink Floyd.   It's not as fast paced as the previous song, but more of an unravelling, as it is slower and more deliberately drawn out.   This takes us into what can best be described as a wild carousel ride on the third song followed by a drum machine fueled song called "14 Hours" to end the first side.   Though, the way this song sounds I literally did put in my notes "Drum machine? More like FUN MACHINE!" and I stand by it.

On the flip side we begin with the titular track and to hold true to that name there is a line in here about being a cockroach.  This song is guitar chord heavy to start, as it can sound a little bit like surf rock.   "Should Have" comes on next with this Groovie Ghoulies way about it.  There are ultrasonic lasers being fired and it just reminds me most of something you would hear while Scooby Doo and the gang were running around on their wacky adventures, but also with a modern twist.

As we approach the end of the cassette the sound truly begins to break down and get even wilder than before (which as the listener I didn't feel was possible)   There are elements of ska in here, but in that way that a band like Gogol Bordello sounds.   It also reminds me a bit of Blue Meanies and then I imagine that particular band singing about wearing purple and it's kind of the sound of this song.   The final song feels like a polka, as modem sounds shoot through the background, and it all comes together with the crashing and banging of what could be something in the studio signaling the end.

I've always been a fan of that weirder, outsider rock because I feel like it's not quite what's on the radio but it's also still something someone who listens to the rock on the radio might listen to and enjoy.  During "Kafka Dreaming" there are moments of "Yeah, this is pop.  People who like that radio rock will like this" and then there are also moments of "Oh no, this will definitely be too weird for them"  As much as I enjoy music both for the masses and for no one, I feel like this combination of both is the most pleasing because in some ways everyone can feel like it's being made just for them.