Friday, January 16, 2015

Cassette Review: HSV "mo' 002 HSV" (mo' tapes)


[€5 // Edition of 80 // https://mo-tapes.bandcamp.com/album/mo-002-hsv]

HSV's cassette begins with drumming beats and the sounds of waves crashing which gives it a sense of urgency.    A somewhat self-titled cassette, I try not to wonder what HSV could stand for because it's too close to HIV so I like to just think that it is the initials of the artist.    For the record, the "H" in "HIV" is for human much like the version for cats is "FIV" with the "F" standing for "feline".    This does make me think "HSV" is modified from "HIV" but I really don't want to know what the "s" could stand for in that instance.  (The Professor says: "Good news, everybody!  It's a supposatory!")

All joking and speculation aside this is a fine cassette.   It has an electronic feel to it with lasers crashing in a mechanical light saber fight scene.     Whirring undertones of drone take us into a distinctive song break on Side A and while there are two songs on each side it is worth noting that they have distinctive gaps for their breaks, something a lot of cassettes (whether noise or electronic) don't always have.     The next song starts up like a locomotive rhythm with sharp feedback progressing.    More space lasers begin fighting as I begin to think that the "S" in the name stands for "space" (Hectic Space Violence anyone?) and the side closes with mass amounts of distortion drone.

Side B opens with an eerie static void, which as I type it makes me realize that "static void" could be the last two words in the "HSV" name.   (Sorry, I know I said I wasn't going to think about the name but I just can't let it go.  My journalistic couriosity must know!)    Fast paced beats are added in and now I'm changing my guess on the name to Hectic Static Void or maybe even Harsh Static Void.  

The next song is either a bass sax or guitar to start but the notes sound like something out of "Pulp Fiction".    It's a groovy, smokey lounge in the rain with puddles splashing as cars drive by.    I'm not sure why but I want to call it "Her Skin Vanishes".   Return of the Jedi Atari bits at a slower pace turn into something that isn't quite Invader Zim but could be of that nature and could either be found within a video game or a DVD title sequence.

Through writing this review and the times I spent listening to this cassette, I did actually ponder what the name "HSV" stands for but I feel like looking it up or asking would spoil it somehow.   I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to know what HSV stands for any more than I want to know if I heard a saxaphone or guitar before.   I want to let my mind wander and imagine (and luckily the Bandcamp link doesn't spoil it for me) just as I like to let my mind do with the music.    Sometimes that is the best quality of all.






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