drive

DZ15 is on its way down I-95 courtesy of Baltimore duo Romantic States, who continue their minimalist approach to writing and recording, while integrating dynamic shifts not explored in earlier work. The result is a collection of raw, sparse, and skeletal lo-fi rock songs that are sincere, vulnerable, and haunting. Jim and Ilenia's newest works have been compiled for release on a self-titled album out February 6 and the band will be touring the East Coast throughout the month.

Special thanks to Spanish magazine Shook Down for their kind words about the album and for premiering "Back Pain" on their site. Look out for an interview with the band in the next physical copy of their magazine, and check out the track below for your first sneak peak at DZ15:

"9 canciones honestas, cristalinas y eso, minimalistas, una propuesta de corazón lo-fi que desprende honestidad, la misma que habían desfilado en algunos de sus trabajos anteriores" - Shook Down

"Romantic States are a minimalist experimental rock band from Baltimore, emphasizing rhythm and melody over instrumental complexity. Their sound is spectral, with live drums and drum machines combined to provide a back beat for reverby guitars and washed out, dream-like vocals in their own version of deconstructed pop/rock songs." - The Modern Folk Music Of America

Tapes are available for pre-order in the merch store, along with a limited number of older cassettes unearthed during my move, including releases by Wavepool Abortion, Ghostandthesong / Chris Rehm, Terror Bird, Adam Torres, Pool Holograph, and Birkwin Jersey, plus one last copy of DYVNZMBR2.

Additionally, Tape School in Tokyo is now stocking some more recent releases - Big Hush, Hazey Jane, Easily Suede, The Sweets, and Seabright all safely made the trip across the globe.

Stay tuned for more updates on DZ15, including new tracks and event info, coming very soon...

foulbrood

Since the release of their debut full-length Bad Brother last year, Two Inch Astronaut have been melting the minds of DIY show-goers here in DC and along the East Coast, but nowhere more-so than at the Dougout. Their new album Foulbrood, out now on Exploding In Sound Records, showcases just how much the band's sound is expanding to become exceedingly more complex while retaining its accessibility, like a rubix cube with shades of post-punk, post-hardcore, and everything in between.

It's been a pleasure to watch the band grow over time, so I'm proud to announce DZ TAPES will be hosting the official album release show, featuring support from some top-notch East Coast talent. Check out the rest of the bands below and click the flyer to RSVP for the show on December 7.

※ BIG UPS (NY) fearsome tough love punctual post-punk
※ ※ MANNEQUIN PUSSY (PHL) razor sharp shitpunk like bats trapped in a tent
※ ※ ※ WASHER (NY) stripped-down punk with melodic distortion
※ ※ ※ ※ JAIL SOLIDARITY (DC) fuck the man post-hardcore noise rock sludge

In other news, the Big Hush cassette release show almost went off without a hitch until the apex of Chris Forsyth's finale, in which a crucial surge protector was knocked loose from its outlet causing the entire build up to come crashing down in a deafening silence.


Notwithstanding this minor calamity, the show was a great success thanks to great music from the aforementioned lovelies as well as the Anthony Pirog Trio and Golden Triangle. Just before the show, Brightest Young Things had some great things to say about Big Hush in an interview piece conducted with co-singer/songwriter Owen Wuerker.

"Big Hush shucks the limitations of the shoegaze sound, pushing vocal melodies and lyricism to the forefront and using their noisy instrumental texture as support rather than the center of the song. The result is a huge step forward for the band; their loudest tendencies now affect the emotive character of the compositions, and showcase their deft songwriting."

You can read the full interview here.

Hazey Jane also received some love recently from Unrecorded, calling DZ13 "a great collection of off-kilter beats composed of odd samples, drum machines, and guitar."

And last but certainly not least, folk freaks in Chicago should be on the look out for Adam Torres, who makes his Windy City debut on December 13 to accompany a preview screening of A Good Person, presented by the Logan Square International Film Series. Click here to RSVP and get more information about the movie.

petrichor

Production on DZ14 has begun to wrap up, and a cassette release show in DC is in the works. Stay thirsty with this Big Hush video for one of their classic tracks "Where I End":

Meanwhile, Pool Holograph have been staying busy in Chicago, keeping warm with fiery science experiments, like this new track "Crazy Lane". I was lucky enough to catch the premiere in person and think you all should take a listen:

Folks in Atlanta should make sure to check out Easily Suede and Narrator play in the Social Synth public art installation built into a dumpster:

It Is Rain In My Face. plays live at the Palisades in Brooklyn on Monday, October 27:

In Austin, Adam Torres has a string of shows coming up in late October and early November:

Belgian blog Cutting Edge had some nice things to say in Dutch about Hazey Jane:

"Bij het horen van het krakerige (en naar het einde toe licht vervormde) 'Being in mint condition' en het treffend getitelde 'Outside it's good' waanden wij ons immers meteen in een zonovergoten parkje op een zorgeloze zomerdag: héérlijk gevoel."

Which loosely translates to:

"Upon hearing the crackling (and towards the end slightly distorted) 'Being in mint condition' and the aptly titled "Outside it's good" we thought we were, after all, once in a sunlit park on a carefree summer day: wonderful feeling."

And finally, some photos from the last show at the Dougout, featuring Romantic States, Halfsour, Thee Lolitas, and Foul Swoops, all courtesy of Ron Akins:

Romantic States

Halfsour

Thee Lolitas

Foul Swoops

being in mint condition

DZ13 showcases the work of Hazey Jane, the serene sample-based folktronic pop project of Jeroen de Meyer from Belgium, drawing from styles of artists like of Bibio, Baths, and Blithe Field. After self-releasing the Spring EP in 2010, his style evolved from more raw upbeat sound collage to the blissful snowy soundscapes heard on 2012’s Winter Walks. These days, Jeroen is recording with a laptop, guitar and SP 404, creating samples and loops with buoyant beats and vocal manipulations to arrange a distinct blend of wistful ambience.

Being In Mint Condition conjures up the type of melancholy summer memories that will ease your mind with breezy warm sentiment, coat your skin in glistening balmy glaze, and stir up your thirst for an ice-chilled glass of nostalgia. The album greets you with a woozy and warbled uncoiling of warped textures that hover like refracting heat waves on the horizon. Jovial melodies shine through fuzzy muffled wails and slow grating rhythms as the sun begins to peak. Aural anodyne flows like sand sifting down a synesthetic hourglass while the divine afternoon auras dissolve and make way for the otherworldly glow blown in by evening tides. Dusk fades to darkness, a shimmering hum resonates in the air and the firelight dwindles down to reveal a boundless black canvas speckled with of soft celestial tones. The hushed ambience envelopes you and your eyes grow heavy as the ocean withdraws back into itself.

The album was originally released for free on Jeroen’s bandcamp in late 2013, and is now available on pro-dubbed clear-translucent mint condition cassettes in the store. Not much else remains in the DZ inventory save for a few copies of Reliefs, but digital downloads are all free all the time.