Vicious Pop

SUMMER TAPES

Skeleton Warriors "LUVSIC" cassette (SAFG)
Okay so Skeleton Warriors are like Front 242 and all that Belgian shit plus some of the bubbling homemade synth charm of proto-NRG Patrick Cowley recordings, with a post-Rap appreciation for Roland drum machines. Dramatic and over-the-top vocal performances draw lyrical inspiration from topics like dating the elderly and theme songs about children of the porno generation. After all, they ARE from Florida, a weird nexus where scenes as diverse as Death Metal, Industrial, Pop Punk and Miami Bass have all thrived. The drive to write anthems that all of those art forms share is apparent when all of these weird elements start mixing. I definitely give these dudes props for trying to carve out their own little world of sound in between the cracks of so many oddly complimentary influences. Would love to hear these dudes do something super pop and "sell-out" like a remix 12" or a Scott Storch collabo.

Jimmy Sanchez and his Crystal Balls cassette (SAFG)
Jimmy from Skeleton Warriors gave me his solo tape last time they were in town. It's toned down a notch from Skeleton Warriors super tornado of sequencing, sparser and stripped of much of the sonic chaos. It lets the weirdness creep out a little slower. I like this tape, it's chill and gurgley.

Viking Fuck "Virgins" cassette (self-released)
Met these guys back in April when Possible Fathers and Catacombz visited their home turf of Iowa City. Three piece includes lead singer in cut-off jean shorts, no shirt, drummer with only a tom and cymbal who stands up when he plays, and an organist. We played in their basement where they were practicing earlier in the day when we arrived. Pretty appealing, sweaty, out-of-control... I wanna say synth punk but technically it's organ punk? Anyways, I'm a sucker for a properly executed "96 Tears" cover. Generally somewhere between New York No Wave and San Diego-style Spazz Punk legends like Le Shok and XBXRX, rounded out with a new millennium sense of psychedelia. Put that in your fucking one sheet, assholes. Anyways, grabbed this tape when Big Fun 4ever and Catacombz went to East Moline and played with them at Nitetrotter Fest. Where they proceeded to play another blazing, brief set. Even though I've long been sick of both Viking and Pirate imagery, it's worth overlooking for Viking Fuck.

Was gonna post the Catacombz and BZYBODIES tapes too but I haven't gotten them yet. Same with the iiEYES tour tape.