5 out of 5

Label: Africantape

Produced by: Various

Grrdamn.  It’s free.  It’s awesome.  The end.

Look: I was hesitating listening to this, despite recognizing (and digging) some of the names featured – The Conformists, Big’N, Chevreuil – because, in my infinite indie music asshole judgment, I had brushed off the label as a wankfest*.  The reasoning on this is murky, but when I was shopping for new stuff by Battles – who, despite my appreciation of their music are definitely pretty wanky – something something they’d put out maybe shares distribution with Africantape, and the African influence on Battles’ then recent plus the label name somehow had me assuming that their releases would all be Damon Albarn Mali Music-like inspirations, amped to douche extremes via Battles aspirations.  Yes, feel free to roll your eyes at the amazing leaps in (lacking) logic.  My brain has to filter out music SOMEHOW, otherwise shit like what’s just happened after listening to this compilation has happened: that I’m now plunking down dollars to buy up the whole label, because grrdamn.  I was so wrong.  Do you like instrumental math-y jams patched through no-wave herky jerks?  Maybe you like Dazzling Killmen, and wish Skin Graft Records was your dad?  Yes, you and I may be music soulmates, and you – if you’re not already – should be buying Africantape releases and definitely downloading their slew of free samplers.

Here’s the main detail I missed: Africantape is run by one of the dudes from Chevreuil.  Sure, he’s French, but toss aside your memories of Air and take a listen to any release by that band.  If you’ve tapped your toe once or twice, and had some good music memories of seeing Steve Albini’s name attached to production, you’re on board.  Groups here will recall bits and pieces of others – Conformists are a less shouty but equally abrasive Dazzling Killmen, lo Monade Stanca have 31Knots’ prog moves down, and Chevignon are a less screechy Ex-Models – but these are not soundalikes, just equally creative minds that have arrived at similar sounds.

The recording quality / mixing of the songs here of course varies, some louder than others, some annoyingly lacking punch (Oxes, as usual – no idea why they can’t synch up with a producer who brings their live sound to record), but overall everything sounds appropriate for its style.  There’s also a smart sequencing of instrumental to vocals, or, barring that, between hardcore and less hardcore.  Even the oddball tracks (which are honestly only a few) have their merits – Alexis Gideon’s glitch hop should be annoying, but the dude keeps his flow pretty tight and the song concise, and Extra Life come close to sounding too sweet to roll with the pack, but they’ve got Colin Marston at the board giving them credit, and after a few listens the depth of their track becomes apparent.  And The Cesarians’ nigh-ska ‘Dethstar’ wears its nerd badge with a teeth-kicking exuberance.  And if you don’t like those, there are 16 other tracks.  That are awesome.  And free.  And Grrdamn.

*Saddle Creek, or anticon-.  Reflexively, I become a wankfest when deeming things wankfests.