Cassette Review: The Pleasure Holes "Downer" (Custom Made Music)

[$8 // http://custommademusicva.com/release/downder-cassette/]

"Downer" is a collection of five songs which can be heard on both sides of this cassette.    What begins as a seemingly straight forward cassette takes some turns and then comes back though for one of the more complex EPs I've ever heard and it has me once again thinking about how some artists are able to craft EPs which are better and seemingly have more layers than other artists make and call entire albums.

At first, the sounds of The Pleasure Holes comes through as a fast paced rock n roll.   It has that post-punk feel to it while I'd consider it to be somewhere between The Replacements and Superdrag as well.    It can be hypnotic and yet beautiful, something only the best of artists (such as Cage the Elephant) can pull off and a little bit of They Might Be Giants can come out as well.  

One of the best comparisons I can make for the music though comes from the lyrics.    As the words come out about rainfall, I can only imagine the music as being similar.    On one hand, there is something soothing- something peaceful- about the rain.   I find that I tend to sleep better knowing it is raining so if I could live in a place where it rained all night then that would be ideal.    But the rain can also be violent when it comes down hard enough, yet at other times- such as this past weekend for me- it even felt refreshing.    I just imagine the notes of these songs coming out like the drops of rain on pavement.

The Pleasure Holes take us next into a sea of ambient whirrs and drum machines.    It is interesting to hear this instrumental stretch come through on this cassette as it isn't really a bridge or a interlude in any way.   At first it does kind of seem like it might just be that calm between the other songs, but then the drum machine beats make me feel otherwise and it just feels like a song which might seem out of place otherwise but somehow holds this EP together rather well.

Before the end of "Downer" we have more of that dreamy psych singing that is somewhere between a slower version of High Pop and Spacehog.    The music should feel more down tempo and perhaps depressing since it has that post punk quality and is titled as such, but maybe I'm just too immune to such things now.    Others might find themselves lost in the void of this cassette- floating around with a sense of hopelessness- while I just find it all to be rather relaxing when my mind is not filled with thoughts of kicking over drum kits.