ALBUM: Tape Deck Mountain - Secret Serf EP

It Goes Down
Not to sound too much like Special Agent Dale Cooper, but lately at P-HORSE we've been using our clairvoyance during REM-dream states in order to figure out what music we should pay closer attention to. This involves a delicate balance of the following elements consumed just before bedtime:
- a moderate-to-heavy dose of sleep aid
- Δ⁹-THC mixed with loose leaf tobacco
- approximately 1/3 of an Olde English 40oz
- odd-numbered episodes of 1990's cult TV show Twin Peaks on mute
Then, with iPhone speakers placed 2-3 inches from the ear and a band's music set at full volume, sleep ensues. If somehow - bucking all chemical odds and defying laws of nature - brain activity during sleep still occurs, we revisit their music in a more conscious, sober state of mind.

The last few nights have led us repeatedly to Tape Deck Mountain, whose profile page at their record label's site offers this as an intro:

San Diego’s Tape Deck Mountain first made waves by releasing their debut EP Sparks on the unconventional (but quite fitting for their name) medium, our old friend the cassette tape. Frontman Travis Trevisan wants it to be made clear however, that he doesn’t want this to become a “thing” and that he will be working in all formats.
(via Lefse Records)

Tape Deck Mountain have been referred to as San Diego beach bums, but don't be fooled - there's really no trace of that lo-fi surf-rock trend in their music. And they don't sound like such laid back chillers as "bums" would imply, but rather like guys who would melt your face off with a wall of live sound. They are more likely to be classified along the lines of the West coast noise rock we've been loving so much recently. Matt from Lefse* sent over the new EP they released last week, Secret Serf, and we've playing it nonstop - in dreams AND waking life. You can pick it up from the Lefse here.

Trace your land line calls / Hide in bathroom stalls / You know / I know echoes the very powerful opening track "P.I.":

Tape Deck Mountain - "P.I"

Creepy, exhilarating, and haunting, the album starts out with a blast. The second track "Trevor" is an immediate comedown, retaining the creepy shadow cast by the private inspector and heavy reverb. As we get to the third song "It Goes Down," the pace picks back up a little. Though at first slow and slightly suspicious, looking back over our shoulder into the dark, we soon find ourselves at a run. And the squealing, tinnitus-inducing, MBV-esque guitar sound of "It Goes Down" makes it our favorite pick of the whole record:

Tape Deck Mountain - "It Goes Down"

Play loud.


* Look who is quoted on the front page of the Lefse site. It's ME! And they called us a "smart" blog, which makes YOU smart by association. Yeah that's right, we're all fucking geniuses up in here!