[$12 // Edition of 75 // https://suite309.bandcamp.com/album/in-stereo]
There aren't too many really good double albums out there. I know I've reviewed some in my time, but what is a really good double album that stands the test of time? in my lifetime I'd say that there were really only two double albums that come to mind as standing the test of time right off the top of my head and they are by Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails. (I was born after the Beatles-- I'm old, but I'm not that old) I feel like Pearl Jam should have done a double album and maybe it just escapes my mind right now, but double albums are something you don't usually see because sometimes it can be hard enough to get through one album and other times no matter how good something is it might be difficult to listen to *that* much of it.
That being said, I think that this double cassette set- "In Stereo"- by Tiger Village is going to go overlooked by music critics and fans alike for quite some time simply because it is on a total of two ninety minute cassettes. I'm not the first one to go, "Oh boy! A C90!" so you can tell my thoughts on not one but TWO of them are far from eager but once you do press play on this one it goes by like it isn't nearly as long as it is. And I think that's one of the biggest factors in any piece of music trying to tackle a length that most movies these days don't even try to hold our attention for: you have to make it feel like it is less than it actually is and Tiger Village does that.
The music on here is electronic. Through steady, tapping beats come lightsaber synths, celestial bliss, windchimes and just a whole lot of loops. It seems like a lot of what you might expect from an electronic cassette would come out here at one point or another, but it keeps a nice flow to it and it never seems to overstay its welcome. I tend to listen to music the most during the day and I can usually tell how long I've been listening to something for based upon what time it is and that all comes into lunch time. If I start to feel hungry for lunch, I think it's usually between noon and 1pm, I know I'm in trouble. But the really good cassettes are the ones I can listen to without looking at the clock, hear that cassette click for the end and think to myself, "Wow! It's over already?" and Tiger Village does just that.
An overwhelming Atari feel can come out in these songs as well. At first I thought it was just going to be that I heard the Atari game "M*A*S*H" in here and, admittedly, I played perhaps too much of that as a kid, but still I think it stands as a solid reference point before I hear the less specific Atari pinball game sound. From X-Files to Doctor Who this also isn't afraid to verge onto those television and movie references that I like to use so often. As it progresses though, I can begin to hear Mario jumps and so it is worth noting that as it goes on the technology on a video game level seems to increase.
As much as I enjoy this double cassette by Tiger Village I still feel as if people are simply going to pass on it because of the nearly three hour length. It might just seem like too much for people. But people will always ask me how long I take to review a piece of music and my answer is always the same- as long as it takes. If I get a cassette somehow that is only five minutes long I don't listen to it a hundred times, so it doesn't make sense for me to listen to this only once since it's so long because I still like to be able to hear this a variety of ways and in different situations. For me, that can be rather time consuming but it's just the opposite of a really short cassette so I see no harm in it.
Most people though will probably not want to listen to this through more than once because starting it can be a task that our generation living in the world of instant gratification and distractions simply is not prepared for anymore. You know, my real point here is that I don't think this cassette by Tiger Village is going to get the credit that it deserves right now because the majority of people out there want what they want and they want it right now. I think that in time- and I can't say when- that will change and people might go away from the electronic devices and even start using snail mail more because they'd be willing to wait for something to come.
You know, right now we don't wait and so I think one day people will appreciate waiting again. As a kid growing up, I didn't have a cell phone and so if I was going to use a phone I had to be home. I believe parents will become so annoyed by their children on their cell phones they'll go back to that "only talking on the phone at home" idea. When we take the time to slow down and not suffer from A.D.D. then this double cassette will truly be appreciated. It is just too good to describe and most people just won't even ever know.
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