Cassette Review // Ursula's Cartridges "Invitation to the Ice Queen's Prom" (Ingrown Records)

 https://ingrown.bandcamp.com/album/invitation-to-the-ice-queens-prom

We begin with this magical sound that echoes, as if we are hearing clouds being formed.  A horn, perhaps a trumpet, comes in behind this and a voice says "Bahm bahm bahm".   Percussion joins in now and it's going at its own pace.   The percussions seems to have settled now and as they felt like they were out of place at first- as if there were two competing sounds- they have molded together now.  It's smooth and relaxing, despite the way that it can be faster paced.  The vocals fade out and we go into the next song.

An audio clip starts the next song, which sounds like an announcement over the speakers at an airport about a plane being boarded.  A little bit of harshness turns into some dark beats but then it's like flipping a switch and we're into more upbeat percussion which could be used to do any sort of physical activity or even just get yourself psyched up.   This can feel tribal but also just a lot of fun to move with, as the drone comes in behind it like a dark cloud over the city.   Very ominous.   The beats fade in and out through all of this.  Sharpness has entered the chat now.

Giant beats begin the next song as it feels like we're floating around underwater.   That beat hits like the Tell-Tale Heart while the water and other sounds make you wonder what else is happening, as we could be part of a film like "JAWS".  We get these tones cutting through like ice and it just feels like we're in some kind of sci-fi / fantasy film from the 1990's and we're about to meet an ice wizard.    An air now which makes it feel as if the magic has been released.  I'm somewhere between "Masters of the Universe" and "Legend" on this one.  The beats are slowly coming back now.

We drop off now into these synth tones which move slowly and there are blasts like thunder.  This feels like something out of a late 1990's Lord of the Rings computer-based game, as there is just this overall video game feel to this but not in the 8bit way.  The synth just makes me think of Dungeons and Dragons somehow, like we're going into a cave and are about to fight a dragon (or steal its treasure) but there is also that idea of this being the sound on a fantasy type of Playstation game's loading screen.  This feels both triumphant and chill, as the wind takes it to and end.  

Tones are slowly building up now and then come ringing through.  This definitely feels like it has something to do with elves and goblins.   The way the tones echo like glass makes me think now that we are about to go into a kung fu movie, which does change the vibes a little, but can you imagine a film like Lord of the Rings only instead of Frodo being the main character it's Bruce Lee?  These tones can also feel like a clock ticking, which makes me think of the Old West, and if you could somehow have this Western type showdown between Bruce Lee and some Orcs, you might just stumble into the greatest film of all-time.  

On the flip side we open with quieter frequencies, as it sounds like we're broadcasting our position from space.   Static electricity comes through next and then it gets wavy.   Tones come in now between X-Files and Doctor Who and we're on quite the journey here.   This takes us into the next song which has this back and forth type like an alarm.   We go from different sounds of synths to these pinball type feeling ones and this whole thing just feels like we're time-traveling through space.   Pianos come in big now.  A sound like a bouncing ball as well.  

We go splashing and make these moan-type sounds that can almost sound like a cat.   Everything gets quieter now, feeling somewhat haunted.  Deeper sort of moaning horn sounds come through now, as we're still intergalactic but now it feels like we've awakened a beast or are trying to summon one.  The synths are coming through more like a triumph now with lasers.   Sharper light comes through now and it feels as if we might be hurting the ears of dogs but also letting out a big blast to win this entire war.  

Some sharpness dings in like a cash register now and it feels like we're rustling in the leaves as well.  We're floating around in this all now, as if it is a memory, and we can still hear the other sounds but it's just all coming together in a way now which feels reflective.  Little by little, the song and cassette fades out, one leaf crunching sound at a time, until it feels as if we have remembered it all.