MP3 REVIEW: The Illegal Wiretaps “Colonizing the Mines Volume 1: Unreleased Tracks 02/23/1997”

The Illegal Wiretaps “Colonizing the Mines Volume 1: Unreleased Tracks 02/23/1997”

http://theillegalwiretaps1.bandcamp.com/album/colonizing-the-mines-volume-i-unreleased-tracks-02-23-1997

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<1> “Your Mistake Is Your Perfection” – This song is starting in almost a shoegaze way.   It says these are from ’97 but this song sounds like ’87.   And as I’m listening to this, I’m reading the liner notes on the Band Camp page and this was actually recorded by four guys who made up a band called Desoxyn Dog Ensemble, half of which would go on to become The Illegal Wiretaps.  So, oddly, this isn’t as much a release of the Wiretaps as it is a prequel to that band and not in a shitty Star Wars way either.   This song could be shoegaze.  It could be post rock.   Hell, it could be FNL.   But it isn’t like The Illegal Wiretaps and though it reminds me of a lot of bands I review these days, you have to wonder who else was making this type of music back then.   When this was recorded Kurt Cobain had been dead for three years and I was listening to punk rock.    Wow this makes me feel old. 

<2> “Furniture Polish and Sleeping Pills” – This song has a fun sort of burping sound with a marching drum beat behind it.   Fun fact: In 1997, I got my first credit card and proceeded to order the bulk of the releases in the Nitro Records catalog.  Man, I loved Guttermouth.   This is still a pretty amazing song, even by today’s standards.  I wonder if shoegazers have written off The Illegal Wiretaps for their other music and that has caused them to miss this masterpiece.   I bet shoegazers would love this album. 

<3> “Meeting Daniel Johnston for the First Time” – This song starts with a slower, quieter synth part.  It’s like Stabbing Westward or what the modern kids would call Bloody Knives.   Might I also note, as this static kicks in, that I thought this was going to be a rusty acoustic song at first, based on the name, but then when I saw the length and it being almost sixteen minutes I had a feeling it might be sound bytes of them meeting Daniel Johnston set to some beats and synth.   Yes, my mind has way over thought this song before even listening to it.   It sounded like it tried to end, but it is coming back.   The write up on the Band Camp page says this should sound like the band is playing against each other more than together, but they do sound pretty tight together.   I don’t hear the whole “versus themselves” aspect in these songs yet. 

<4> “Cherry Pop Tarts” – This falls somewhere between rev rev rev and Nirvana for me.  I also really don’t like the taste of cherries any more after cherry cough syrup.  One time I bought a case of Mountain Dew Code Red and could barely get through a can without feeling sick.

<5> “Being Removed from the World Still Means You’re A Part of It” – The drums to start this sound like knocking.   And here comes the guitar riff.  I’d say this sounds like U2, but I don’t like U2.   And here come some vocals, whoa.   The vocals are kind of high pitched and get higher during the chorus.   This is almost like some trippy classic rock mixed with modern shoegaze.   This is a sound I never really expected to hear on The Illegal Wiretaps Band Camp page. 

<6> “Pull the Shade, Baby, and Don’t Let the Light In” – This is starting off a bit slower and quieter than the previous song, but it still has the vocals from the previous track.   It reminds me of Hum right now.    And that ended rather abruptly.   Hmm.