1. Sneakers "Children Into People" 7" (Permanent Records, 2009)Lo-fi bands are sort of dying out at the moment, or at least there aren't many new ones out there, and it seems like Sneakers are the only recently formed lo-fi band that has great musicianship, talent, and even originality. "The Daze" is the first song on this 6-song EP and it is a bit repetitive and it sounds like an old 70's punk song; clean-ish guitars, the mildly hissy fidelity, and just the overall tone and sound of the recording is just laden with reminiscent of those old funky cop movies. "I Am The Disease" is I guess what you would call the "single" of the EP (it got some radio and blog play) but it doesn't outshine everything else on Children Into People. Again another dancey 70's-esque sound, but this time, the vocals are more prominent and easy to hear. But then again, there's no point in trying to hear the vocals because they're pretty much incomprehensible due to the odd reverberated tone of them. This all ends with "Nudes", which doesn't really end the album very well, in fact it's pretty abrupt, but it makes sense in Sneakers' case.
2. Frat Dad 7" (Underwater Peoples, 2009)Frat Dad is one of the later lo-fi bands and from what I've studied, this is their only release. It's not bad, but it's very predictable and you can tell from the start. Reverberated vocals, loud guitars, standard 4/4 time drums. Nothing really catches your eye here, but say if you were in the mood for some childish lo-fi punk that has catchy tendencies, then sure, totally put this on your turntable. It even comes on clear vinyl with a bonus CD-R!
3. Sagas "Root Structures and Private Dementias" c58 (Stunned Records, 2009)Sagas are not your average experimental band. It's a one-man-band, as usual, but if a listener were to hear Root Structures and Private Dementias without knowing anything about Sagas, this would sound very much so as if it were being performed by multiple people. Side A of the tape, I'm talking about every single song, takes a while to get used to. The songs are sort of like krautrock songs with Middle Eastern vibes to them. But the only problem is that the songs don't really build because they spend more time meandering than actually adding on. Side B is what'll really make you give the tape a second chance with the song "Murdstone Road"; it's just some very melodic guitar playing over light drone (a bit reminiscent of Daniel Higgs' "Plays The Mirror of the Apocalypse") that does build, but it's hard to catch on to. It sounds a lot like the song "Esoterica of Abyssynia" by Sun City Girls. After hearing that song, it's best to go back over the tape and take a bit more of a deeper listen, because it's really a grower. Overall, the tape is really good, though I feel it could've shown more build, but then again, it's a one-man-band so how much further could've he gone?
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