Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
Memory Tapes is the fusion of Dayve Hawk’s (“just some dude in southern New Jersey”; previously of Hail Social) previous musical output as Weird Tapes (psychedelic and trippy) and Memory Cassette (electro-poppier). Seek Magic, now available for vinyl pre-order and released on September 29th, makes for a strangely pleasant listening experience, evoking an unusual blend of both naturey, even oceanic, and danceable images and sensations. “Bicycle” is a beautiful, cinematic highlight here, while the melancholy, sparkly “Green Knight” is my personal favorite. Lovely to listen to as a soundtrack to your daily activities, as well as to put on in times of…chillin’. Hawk is on his way to becoming one of the electronic greats!
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Dennis Diken with Bell Sound - Late Music
Dennis Diken, drummer for New Jersey group the Smithereens since 1980, has collaborated with Pete DiBella, along with guests Andy Paley, The Honeys, Jason Falkner, and Wondermints members, on Late Music, due out on September 29th as a Cryptovision (where you van stream 5 of this album’s tracks) issue via Select-o-Hits. The comments in the press release are telling, as Diken said “There are melodies and lyric ideas that I just can’t get out of my head and some of them have been lodged there since I was five or six years old!”, and as this release coincides with the re-launch of Cryptovision, company chief Dave Amels said: “The goal of the new Cryptovision Records is to both reissue selections from the 1980s catalog in digital form and to release really great new music …music rooted in the deep American pop and rock ‘n’ roll traditions.” Late Music is a celebration of all the most funnest sunshiney bits of classic-era pop-rock, especially with “The Sun’s Gonna Shine in the Morning” and the dreamy, Beach Boys-esque “No One’s Listening” and “Fall into Your Arms”. My personal favorite “Don’t Let Me Sleep Too Long”, with proto-garage and beat elements, not to mention ridiculous catchiness that makes this an exceptional track even without the context of nostalgia and joy of making music that surrounds Late Music. I didn’t think they made ‘em like this anymore, but I’m glad that they do - pick it up!