3 out of 5

Label: Sunwatcher Records

Produced by: Joel Hatstat (mastered by)

Once you know what you’re in for, Basement Apes is a worthwhile live collection of some old material, some then-forthcoming material, and some – I believe – unique tracks, with the latter kind of being the most contentious… but ultimately the best on the album. I mean, except the ending loop, but I’ll get to that.

I can’t tell much from the description, but some of these are definitely live tracks, while some may be demos / B-sides, etc.; there’s definitely a non-studio vibe throughout, with slightly rawer edges to the sound and a more clear vein of improvisation. The songs that were released by this point, from Sunwatchers I and II, fare best from the live material, but it’s somewhat flat and the guitar is lesser in the mix, making this sound way more like jazz skronk than the rock leanings found when fully produced. Obviously Sunwatchers is jazz at its core, but Jim McHugh tends to fortify that with some badass riffage, and it’s interesting to hear that when that’s mixed down… I dunno, things start to sound a bit too jam-bandy. But once you get used to the way things sound, you can vibe with the tunes, although a rough version of Illegal Moves’ Greeneyed Pigmen pales versus the more polished one.

I do say all of this recognizing the subjectivity, of course, but I love the way SW sounds in studio, so unless a live recording really does enhance things in some way, I’ll generally prefer those takes. “Enhance” is the subjective part, and I’ve already tipped my hand with a disdain for jam bands.

The unreleased stuff is probably make or break. I’ll go on record and say that I initially kind of hated this cassette, as the live cuts are middling, and the rest… is way outre or genre-y, starting with The Scaled Birch’s cinematic, more traditional jazz; and through The City Gates’ noisy Scottish folk; and The Brown Dream’s vaguely ragga psyche. Bear in mind these are all slow, drawn out tunes, going to 8+, 10+ and 12+ minutes, and… man, ‘Watchers certainly fiddle with this stuff, but I don’t know that we’ve had it all deposited on one album before. So my brain wasn’t adjusted. That the final track is 10-minute punk loop of someone screaming about diarrhea seemed like the ultimate Fuck You to the listener.

…And it still might be, though that’s on me for listening to all 10 minutes of that track.

After a revisit, though, with awareness of what was to come, these off-brand SW tracks turn out to be my favorite parts. Many moons ago, Sinister Luck Ensemble released a single album of this very slick, sinister jazz themes, and while I found it imperfect, it’s a sound I’ve also come to crave in various ways – and that’s The Scaled Birch, with what I realize was a missing element of cacophony. I’m also an ardent collector of VHF Records, who specialize in noisy folk and psyche bands, and Gates and Brown Dream could slot in on a Pelt album, or Vibracathedral Orchestra. It’s damn fine stuff, if, again, a little out of place here.

I’m still curious what the genesis of this collection is / was, and it doesn’t make my top Sunwatchers playlist, but I’m glad to own it, and get a kind of condensed sense of the different styles in which the band is able to operate.