4 out of 5

Label: Adult Fantasy Records

Produced by: Tim Green, Captain Tripsballsington (recorded by)

Adult Fantasy Records, now seemingly dormant, had a hot, fun streak of throwback rock in its stable, much of it stemming from (in my inner narrative, at least) connections made from one band to another around a particular scene in Olympia, Washington. While some bands floated through to other releases / labels, we ended up with a smile pile of friends-of-friends type releases: stuff that was probably only locally available, then gathered up onto cassette or LP for our listening pleasures. 

…And yeah, I’m up and down with throwback rock, because some of it can rely too much on shtick for me (going all-in on a glam or crass persona), or maybe be fun, though not bring much new to the table. 

In trying to figure out the background of Black Virgin II – and you’ll forgive me for not knowing much metal history – I came to suspect their name was a riff on 80s metallers Black Virgin, which frankly put me into the skeptics camp, as this seemed like a pretty indicative move of a shtick band. 

But no: this is one of AFR’s most badass and defined releases, despite the material being cobbled together from multiple sessions over a few years. The throwback, 80s New York trashy rock / metal core is intact, except BVII successfully deepen and modernize it without losing the raw, loose aspects of the influence. The A-side of this cassette is a brilliant wash of sludgey, moody rock, peaking in an extended epic – the self-name checking Black Virgin parts one and two – which expands into atmospheric post rock territory, slowing things down and letting the intensity build and build. Leading into this, it’s headbanging and standard time sequences, but the lyrics – if topically somewhat stale, being all about relationships and girls – have a very illustrative, poetic edge that’s unusual for this stuff, and every song pushes its template into surprising territory, allowing in a sense of darkness that goes against the no-care rock ‘n’ roller m.o. 

The first few tracks on the B-side, recorded separately, aren’t nearly as dense, and see the band trying on some different looks: southern folk rock; Stones boogey. The lyrics take a bit of hit in terms of becoming more simple-minded, but we still hear BVII finding their own approach to these things: additions of crazy horn solos and odd percussion give each of these variants some bite. 

And right after we go back to more experimental territory, as the appropriately named The West Coast Pill-Form Drug embraces psychedelic touches (very dark again, though) and then a tweaked reprise of a song from the A-side leaves us wanting more. 

…Which, due to the nature of these AF releases, we’ll never get. But it makes one realize how much good music must be out there, sitting on that one cassette recorded and handed out to friends.