Cassette Review // TONGUE DEPRESSOR "From The Crypt" (Handmade Birds)

https://tonguedepressor.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-crypt

What starts off sounding like these sharp string notes comes through with this amount of echoing that makes it feel almost as if it is a distress signal coming from inside of a cave.   This turns into where you can feel like it's strings now being played in a rather dramatic sense, as it brings in those tones that make this just feel like a suspenseful film score, something along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock.  

In some ways, this also just gives off that vibe of being like Chris Isaak or Porno for Pyros, where it's those twisty guitar notes and it somehow feels like we're wandering through the heat of the desert at the same time.   Tones come into this sound as well, which feel somewhat like church tones and they just drone behind the strings.   As the strings and sounds twist now it begins to feel like a cat crying to some extent but not quite as sharp.

The sound now drops off into this deeper feeling where it's almost like the ringing in your ears.  It's minimal, but it's slowly creeping back in as well.   There is a quiet almost beeping sound coming in and I feel like this somehow sounds both defeated and triumphant at the same time.   There is also something very spiritual within these sounds, as it feels like it's coming through in touch with nature now.

Everything comes across so loud now and not sharp in a harsh sense but this is on a frequency which would upset dogs.   It does fade out and take us to the end of the first side of the cassette, but that also has that affect on my ears where you take the headphones off and there is that weird adjustment period for your hearing again.

A slightly sharp church organ drone sound starts off the second side.   This gets wavy but also feels a bit magical.   As much as this sound, this ringing within it as well, might hurt some ears it is rather beautiful.  This also very much has a way of creating this gothic sound, such as you might find in an old black and white film about Dracula.   At times it can feel like it's staggering, but it's still strong as hell.

The organ tones come through even stronger now, and the strings join in with some drama and this makes it all feel much more like we are in some kind of monster hour program on television.   At any moment, I expect Elvira to come on the screen and introduce a movie to us.   It's neat how those church-like organs can quickly change to feel more like The Phantom of The Opera and that sort of haunted/frightening vibe.

Though this can change in the way it comes out, it can still feel like droning as much as just riding that wave of sound, like we're out lost at sea with no hope of survival.   This might not really leave the whole mood of the cassette as optimistic when it comes to the end, but there is a sort of finality to it that brings it to a rather distinct end.