Razorcake
This tape is the complete recordings of a Virginia band that existed between 1995 and 2000. It’s a lot of songs and you get to sort of see how they progressed through their tenure and (since certain songs are repeated in different sessions), you can also see how they developed certain ideas and focused their efforts as they matured. Projects like this are always kind of an either/or scenario, as in “Why would anyone care to have literally every song by this band in a format that runs everything together?” or, “Oh my god I am blown away by this amazing band I’ve never heard of!” While this band isn’t going to change your life, it does answer the first question by listing later projects of the individuals, which includes well-known bands such as Brainworms, City Of Caterpillar, and Municipal Waste. Knowing the later work of those involved, it’s cool to see how they played with their influences in a much younger incarnation and provides a nice window into how art develops with its creator. Musically, imagine bands like Charles Bronson or MK-Ultra with more of a noisy element akin to bands like Born Against or Heroin. All in all, it’s good stuff.