Compiling the band’s singles, recorded and transferred from various vintage formats such as four-tracks, eight-tracks and even VHS tapes - though never before released on LP, ‘Release’ manages to be both musically stronger and more cohesive than its predecessor, the rather self-indulgent jazz fusion effort that was 2013’s ‘Threace’.
‘Butthash’ comes on exactly as its mix version suggests: harshmellow. The tripped-out looping bass groove and wig-out Hammond are welded to an insistent beat while occasionally the guitars break out big. It’s segued into the uptempo driving blues rock of ‘Bobby’s Hash’ and if there’s a theme beginning to emerge, it’s every bit as psychey as you might imagine.
‘JIM’ sounds more like a shoegaze-infused Krautrock rendition of Pavement’s ‘Box Elder’ than anything else, and ‘Boneyard’ is nothing short of a blistering explosion of guitars over a relentlessly hypnotic rhythm that’s immersive.
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You can’t accuse these guys of playing it safe, especially as this compilation forges very much an album of two halves.
‘The Ride’ is the first track of the second half, and is the first track to get all bleepy, a post-rock / dance crossover that’s one hell of a spacey trip and propelled by some beefy drumming. The dancey vibe continues into ‘Party Legs’, which does get a shade monotonous. The jittery rhythms step up again on ‘Thai I Am’.
They bring it round on the noodlesome Krautrock closer, ‘Machines and Muscle’, which pads along nicely under a synth swirl to wrap it all up nicely. A bit of an odd one, but by no means a bad album and with some very nice moments indeed.
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