Cassette Review // Survival Tactics "Survival Tactics" (C/Site Recordings)

 https://csiterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/survival-tactics

The sound of Survival Tactics is interesting because you'll hear them and think "Oh, this sounds like this band I know" but then at some other point- maybe even within the same song- you'll hear something which makes you reconsider that idea.  A combination of hardcore, punk and good old fashioned rock n roll, Survival Tactics can feel at times like they are in a studio strumming a guitar or plucking a note just to warm up and get some levels, but then they can go into this really harsh and distorted sound that can make you think of a sound you've heard before.

Loud and clanky, some songs have words and others just repeat patterns of distorted bass and electronics to a point where it feels like this can almost become industrial.  Though the second song has these wild guitars like Hendrix freestyling at Woodstock, that isn't really the best way to think about this cassette because it does so much more.   The way it can not only switch styles but push the boundaries of what you think you heard.   This droning sound comes through now, which makes it feel both intense and relaxing at the same time somehow.   There is something soothing in how you can ride this as a wave, like surfing.

On the flip side, the sound begins immediately reminding me of The Clash but with The Dedication added in for good measure.   The bass drum is stomping, the guitars are loud and the vocals are rough but they draw you in.   The guitars go off and eventually this just dissolves into chaos.   The constant buzz now on the next song, as if a cable needs to be fully plugged in, and the strumming and singing reminds me of those Nirvana demos you can find out there.   The buzzing persists now as words are spoken and the rest of the sound forms destruction around it all.  This would definitely be an experience to see live.

After a 1-2-3-4 the buzzing has stopped and we're into this deep, almost hypnotic drone with guitar strumming and singing now.   Every time you think you have this sound figured out, something changes and I still wish there was a word for having that buzzing in your ears and then the sensation you feel when it stops.   This song does hit some high notes as well, then into some electric distorted sea of confusion.  Into more of those Hendrix-like guitar notes now.   Then we quiet it all down for an almost tribal drumming where the vocals can feel like chanting.  This turns into so much percussion it begins to feel like we're caught in a storm and we simply cannot escape.  

A slight pause in between and we're back to singing with the guitar strums in a very rough demo sounding way.   The guitars can hit the higher notes, which give more twang, but they can also hit these spots of distortion so hearing it go to one or the other can really mess with your sense of sound.   Slower, walking guitar chords now.  They go back and forth between crushing distortion and just feeling like they're cutting through at higher pitches.   This is how the cassette ends and it seems fitting because it's not too far out there but like the rest of this sound it is certainly out there.