shep and me - spring creeper - cabin floor esoterica - cass - 7$
Minnesota's Matthew Himes, of the fantastic Lighten Up Sounds label, has carried Shep & Me through a revolving door of sounds, places, people and time. The sounds found here span five states, six other folks lending a hand, and seven years of recording, but you would never guess it with how well this flows as a whole. Like an old car radio, things crackle and split across the dial from crooked hayloft sing-alongs to smoky low-fidelity transistor radio drones. You never quite know what you're hearing in between - the hum of a midnight motor, a voice crooning from another room, or a dirty '45 spinning just a little too slow. A perfect blend of straight-forward songs and far-out mixups of sound. In an edition of 50 tapes in cardstock sleeves with an insert.
"Endless (perveyor of the wonderful Earjerk, member of Drunjus and Second Family Band) really knows how to scratch up a tape. The sounds of a tape recorder left on long after the music has ended. The whip of the wind over a built-in-mic, the pocket rustle and the panning hum of a car passing by. A walk through the woods picking up trash and banging out rythms on rust and paper cups. Riffing in a melodica found under the moss. Edition of 50 tapes in sewn burlap pouches with a cardstock insert."
-cfe