Labels: Bachelor
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I picked up a Dead Ghosts tape to listen to in the car. They play pretty stereotypical retro garage with distorted and dusty recording, like your record needle has worn out its welcome about 10 years ago. The first time I listened to the tape I was driving around a deserted Norwich on a hot summer night with the car window down and I thought I was cool as fuck. The music really suited that time of night. I have tried playing the tape at other times since then, and it simply doesn’t work. Dead Ghosts are too straight forward and predictable in their old fashioned ways, and whilst it makes for some decent music, it certainly doesn’t stand out from the crowd, particularly on this one tracker here.
Smith Westerns pile in on the other side with the same broken needle sound, maybe there really is a problem with my stylus after all. They do a similar thing, a rather sun drenched, fuzz on top of fuzz and more fuzz and distortion thing. It’s entirely enjoyable all told, nothing out of the ordinary and it slides its way merrily onwards. They compliment Dead Ghosts very well, and if you are a fool for the delinquent youths who are engaging in the very current, smashed up lo-fi garage sound, I reckon you’ll be more than happy with this split.