Cassette Review: SEX TOURISTS "SEX TOURISTS DEMO" (TRACKSIDE RECORDS)

[$6 AUD // Edition of 40 // https://tracksiderecords.bandcamp.com/album/sex-tourists-demo]

While I'm not entirely sure what a "Sex Tourist" is- because I can't imagine it as being someone who goes on sex tours but rather as someone who likes to take tours of sex, which, yes, are two completely different things- I'm not sure I want to know because the kids these days... I just don't really want to know, you know what I mean?   What you need to know is that in true demo cassette fashion SEX TOURISTS offer up three songs of racious rock n roll.

For the first few minutes of the cassette or so there is this weird tweaking sound that may or may not supposed to be there, but it adds something to the otherwise "Can't Hardly Wait" type of song.   Moments of video games come out as do the Smashing Pumpkins- only musically, and only for a moment or two- and then it turns to new wave though the video game type synth remains.    The second song has drum machine beats with video game tones and reminds me somewhat of something "Breakfast Club".   There is a quality where you can dance to it and then there are also random Mario 1-UP tones thrown in as well.

The final song is dreamy and has riffs that you just have to hear.    The drum machines just roll and overall I find the vocals on here to be somewhere between The Living End and Green Day though they do have their own sort of sound- as, you know, no two people really talk the same way anyway.    So to put this into a category would be hard and though my idea of "Breakfast Club" and "Can't Hardly Wait" isn't too far apart, I'd say it's part new wave, part punk and part video game even.   It's such a combination that I haven't heard before but, yes, it does work well together.

There's one thing about hearing a cassette this good just based upon the songs as you might hear them played in a similar manner to the Replacements, for instance, as a rock band.   Adding in the video game bits gives it an extra dimension I do so enjoy because you never really know what's going to come next.    As a demo this really pleases me because it means there will ultimately be more songs by SEX TOURISTS (Do they only have sex on tour?) and I can't think of those songs are being more of the same because no matter how they tackle them I am sure they will be amazing.