Cassette Review: That Yellow Bastard "That Yellow Bastard" (Already Dead Tapes)

$ 5 //
Edition of 60 //
https://alreadydeadtapes.bandcamp.com/album/ad265-that-yellow-bastard-that-yellow-bastard //

Of all of the Sin City characters, That Yellow Bastard is one of my favorites.   You have to imagine, here is a world created by Frank Miller in black & white with a character who has a color in his name.   Though it'd be out of place, if there was a character for example named "The Red Ninja" he'd feel just as important because this name went out of its way to let you know something you might not otherwise know about him.  Plus, you know, he just doesn't have a typical name like Frank or Marv.

This self-titled cassette is a collection of the five songs on That Yellow Bastard's EP from 2006 and a song called "Spychips" makes its way on here as well.    It may feel odd this EP being released onto cassette some ten years later but I feel like great music is timeless and so whether it was released last week or last century it can still be worth listening to if you enjoy it.    But if you want to get a full sense of this cassette you need to think about what you were doing back in 2006.

In 2006, I had been barely living in Texas for two years.   I had been slowly making the transition from writing about music in Connecticut to writing about music there, which was quite the change because Texas is so much bigger and Houston is so diverse.   At the time, I feel like I was listening to a lot of music which That Yellow Bastard would've fit in with well.  The Houston scene being guided by The Jonbenet, a band I instantly fell in love with because of their Nirvana covers and being told once that a credible magazine wouldn't review them simply because of their name.

For some reason I also really remember trying to go to this house show back when I lived in Houston and I believe it was to see Daughters.  At the time though, I didn't know anyone there which made it rather awkward.  I also showed up early so I spent a lot of time just standing around looking confused and awkward.   I feel like a lot of people in music either go to shows because they're friends with someone playing in one of the bands or in a band themselves so they go show support that way and, yeah, as a writer I've always kind of felt like an outsider (And to be fair, some musicians do truly despise writers, even ones like me)

I always think of my love of hardcore music as being split into three different stages.   When I first got into punk, I would listen to bands like Sick Of It All.   Later on, closer to the 21st Century, I started to listening to bands like Evergreen Terrace, On Broken Wings, Fight Paris and From Autumn To Ashes.    After that it was where That Yellow Bastard would have fit in perfectly.   Daughters, Some Girls... I mean, I'm in the midst of also doing this review right now of all these Deathwish Inc. CDs I got and this would have fit in perfectly with them.

Through the screaming, through the grinding, through the balls to the wall music which keeps it fast and to the point, That Yellow Bastard has a musical style which leaves little to be questioned.   It's like being shot at point blank range.   But at the same time, it makes me think of a time when I was going to see bands like That Yellow Bastard and when there was more of a scene like this (Which, sadly, I feel has faded a lot) and being able to take you back in time is just one of the wonders of music.   If I was still living in CT in 2006 I bet I would've seen That Yellow Bastard at some point and I'm kind of bummed I never did.