dismal niche 2015, edition of 100
ongakubaka 2015, edition of 100
aptly titled debut full length from this argentinian stoner psych outfit, a confluence of the early sides of BLACK ANGELS and DEAD MEADOW with the surf flavored post punk of CRYSTAL STILTS and some heady motorik rhythms a la WOODEN SHJIPS, a real cool time, plenty of familiar sounds and vibes but KILL WEST do it better than most -- a curious dual label release with reportedly no affiliation or coordination, my source surmises that the band submitted SMOKE BEACH to multiple labels and just let it ride, which said source admits is probably a good thing all things considered since this tape seems to be gettin a lot of off-the-beaten-path acclaim and is sellin fast, sure to make a few big website "overlooked" year end lists
while i'm at it, i will break down both editions for anyone who might give a damn -- i'll start with the short story - i prefer the DISMAL NICHE tape but i am happy with both -- more details? well ok - packaging edge to DN, i prefer OB's spine (no title, just like my tapes) but i prefer DN's liner notes on the inside panel (OB has no liner notes) [EDIT: oops i took a closer look and OB has the same liner notes, but they are printed on the inside of the back panel, which i'm not a fan of, because i don't often bother to look there as i just demonstrated] and also i prefer labels to printed shells -- now regarding sonics, it looks like OB is chrome and DN is ferro - advantage OB - but this is fairly lo-fi stuff, i could not easily tell a difference in fidelity, but my DN tape plays very slightly slower than my OB tape, and if you ask me, it sounds better that way, it's not drastic but it's there and i dig it
so take all that in to account if you like, here's some side by side photos as well -- choose wisely, sooner than later because it probably won't last long at either source
