HogBarber - The Beautifiul Nasty Laughtrack At The Portal To Hell

( HogBarber -  The Beautifiul Nasty Laughtrack At The Portal To Hell )

HogBarber (Aka Doctor Ew) is Drew Blankenship based out of DC and is an artist who potentially holds the key to understanding modern ambient lo-fi.  With just one long .wav file on soundcloud available, it actually makes for a very convenient listening experience.  Here are the song titles:

1) 1st Portal
2) Common cuckoo

3) An Elves Work Space
4. 4) Too late
5) Pull up ( can’t come down)
6) Acquire a hang gun
7) Let it all out
8) Something I can’t focus on

9) Slow street
10) Dance party (smashing around)
11) Shoved-under-the-rug-bug being shoved around
12) Riverlude
13) Waking up the birds
14) Portal #2
15) Roach clips theme
16) Late dinner
17) Credits rolling
18) Underneath the floors
19) Sleeping
20) Third portal
21) Drunk acid funk
22) What time is it? Old times
23) Sassy shack
24) Ice cream cone
25) With the morning coming soon
26) We can
27) Warbly
28) All these things in my life
29) Ethereal mural

The songs go in and out of shoe-gaze influenced transcendental smoothness to a more gritty lo-fi radio swelling type experience.  This has a very homemade feel to it which will delight people familiar with the underground cassette tape trade.  The rhythms are organic and the vocals are almost reminiscent of Damon Albarn.  The mixing is what really stands out in this album and ability to be completely honest in not trying to hide any imperfections which are far and few.  The sounds float long and bring you to very nostalgic states almost as if teleported directly into a video game soundtrack.  This journey will keep you questing till the end. 

I recommend giving this album a listen. 

8.8 out of 10 stars

Written by Alroy Mellor  

( HogBarber )

2019  _______________  Echo Options Label  ______________ Official Review

Reptile Tile - Reptile Tile vs Human Man

( Reptile Tile vs Human Man )

If you're a fan of inter-dimensional genre-moshing this is the right place for you.  Strap yourself in for a ride of a lifetime.  This is a unique synthesis of musical prowess which will make you question which plane of existence you have entered.  Not to say you will feel alienated in anyway, you'll find a new home in your species and awareness of how good this group operates, apparently in perfect cohesion and sync.  Truly unlike any other work by these incredible and critically underrated artists.  

You don't have to be a reptile to appreciate how the album starts with an instant banger called 'Drink the Potion' and immediately satisfies the thirst for high-quality riff-heavy lo-fi psyche-pop which morphs into a mystical odyssey to titillate the imagination, full of magical themes and commentaries on visceral realities.  It sets the tonal precedent for how the rest of the album will unfold.  

These guys know how to capture the purity of light upbeat rock and roll jammers with songs like Lemon Meringue, Judy Boon, Ecoterrorist, Mystery Friend, The First Call to contrast with the clean-shimmers and polished pop ballads which glimmer like beautiful dreams, such as: 3 A.M. Meteor Shower, Bridgette Midnight, The Party is Cancelled, To Daniel and Phantom of Time.  But it's not all rock and pop, getting into the experimental jazz and avant-garde/post-psychedelic punk sensibilities has to be what makes this one of the most cosmically-manifested albums in contemporary American musical history, with tracks like:  Split Spirit, Crimes of the Times, Perfect, Puffins, Blue Pocket, Use the Honey Sweetie, Sex Club Nazi and Shinto Weather Station.

Bull in a China Shop was a good track which actually reminded me of my ex. 

Obvious standout is We Are Not A Cult which features an inspiring music video with Mandek Penha.  

Word from our sponsors:

Exclusive Reptile Tile tracks will be featured on an endless loop for the only show on Finality Radio a collaborative experimental noise radio platform based in Philadelphia, PA 

"Everyday is the Same Day". 

10 out of 10 Stars

Written by Alroy Mellor

( Reptile Tile )

2019      ____________   ECHO OPTIONS REVIEW ________________ ( Official )

Cop Jokes​/​Hallucinogenic Bulb - Split (2018)

Cop Jokes / Hallucinogenic Bulb - Split (2018)

Two on two.

Two incredibly talented noise artists:  Hallucinogenic Bulb & Cop Jokes have come together to create an immensely stacked sonic experience in the hearts and minds of all listeners.  It's really quite a cinematic experience with this unique soundscape which will test your abilities in visualization and auditory processing, leaving you needing to hear it again and again.  With only 4 tracks, this split finds a happy medium between both artists sound pallets arriving at a balanced and cohesive ambience with a side order of original cacophony.  

With a straight to the point track title giving you a taste of literal vs abstract interpretation of what's going on behind-the-scenes called '200 Whooshing Noises Played At The Same Time' Dave Peterson has brought new awareness to the simplicity of arranging noise to create actually very complex results in the delivery and presentation of the piece.  'Resynchronization' takes you to the peak of industrialized sound structures and drops you straight into the gears and gizmos of a harsh noise factory that happens to sit by an ocean of chaos; a wispy hiss, a hissy wisp which unites the whole with whispers from beyond our sense of time and space.  Truly a hallucinogenic experience and lives up to the name.  

There's nothing funny about Cop Jokes.  In all seriousness, Dan Getty showcases a very organic quality and dedication to nostalgia with the track 'Sidewinder' that could very well be one of the best ambient noise tracks of 2018.  Get ready to hold on for dear life after 'Blood Gulch' which works very well as the opening track and helps set the precedent for what's to come.  It's an explosive piece that will affect you viscerally and take you deep within the realm of harsh noise sensibilities like a log flume ride that got renovated into a tower of actual blood soaked terror, or maybe the white water rapids just got replaced with kool-aid (Jim Jones brand).  Not that this will make you contemplate ending your life via mass-suicide, in the best way your life will have already ended before the split is over and you will have been reborn, re-assembled in the human biology factory to make you into a better person who also happens to be a highly seasoned noise-aficionado.  

In the end, it's well worth the time downloading the free digital download and I highly recommend spending some time with these two and their four amazing tracks.  

9 out of 10 stars

{Cop Jokes is Dan Getty}

{Hallucinogenic Bulb is Dave Petersen}

Written by Alroy Mellor

Echo Options - 2018 - Review

Botched Executions - 23 Years

{Botched Executions - 23 Years}

This is fucking intense.  

A debut of the latest side-project of Eric Tomillon which will leave you trembling after it cures what ale's ya deep within.  

Written by Alroy Mellor

9 out of 10 stars

Echo Options - 2018 - Review

Shambolic Neuromancers by TRASH GODZ

{Shambolic Neuromancers by TRASH GODZ}

A constant source of surprise and delight, TRASH GODZ delivers something far sweeter than any found material on the side of the road, though one can't be entirely sure until you've examined every single street on every single trash night ever.  This 6 track album is like plugging in something you initially thought was broken and it turns out to work better than you could have ever imagined.  

What stands out are the levels and a carefully mixed set of solid rhythms complimented by background vocals which tease the listener to listen closer to hear what's being said.  The lyrics are pure poetry which tap into and out of different modes of psychedelic sub-consciousness.  At times sounding like a mad scientist trying to explain the mysteries of life while on a heady trip into another dimension, the vocals give the tracks a new life and take the listener on a tour of a sonically rad-trip that you can appreciate as if put into a Zoo where the animals are actually scientific instruments monitoring your experience from within.  Hard to explain how cinematic the soundscapes are in 'Shambolic Neuromancers' but you can see for yourself in your minds-eye as you listen to this, the depth is ever-expanding.  Reading the 'Neuromancer' isn't a prerequisite to appreciate the dynamics of this album but I'm sure it's worth checking out when you get a chance (the book).  

If you can appreciate the falling-into-a-rabbit-hole-like chaos you'll be happy to find a comfort zone in this beautiful abyss.  

Written by:  Alroy Mellor

 (Thanks for letting me take a year off of writing reviews my loyal followers... the hiatus/rest was well-deserved!)  

{TRASH GODZ}

9.3 out of 10 

Echo Options - 2018 - Review

Hot Tropic by Reptile Tile

{Hot Tropic by Reptile Tile}

Reptile Tile has done it again!  This time it's even more power-pumped.  

           134 tracks clocking in at 7 hours worth of material, Reptile Tile has set new boundaries to cross into long term relationships with music.  This isn't your average jam band going-on-and-on with no sense of tasteful limits, this is carefully coordinated compositions which explore the eternal mystery almost as accurately as a science.  Beautiful psychedelic bliss like this could only be expressed in a vast and constantly expanding environment that still makes you feel at home and comfortable while still busy questioning how these master-craftspersons have manifested such a glorious big-bellied ship to carry us to a new promised land.  

         Setting the framework for a new conception of album consumption, this masterwork requires a long sit or a powerful standing grounding stance rooted in the positive vibrations from tracks like 'Snake Oil' which make you nostalgic for the old days.  You will be wondering how such kind human beings could have ever made all of this wealth available to the masses with such care and consideration for the listener and their experience.  You will feel lifted and exposed to the inner world which will be visited by the new breed of reptilian rockers.  If you want to know how it feels to have deep space-time distortions which lead to the most inspiring internal dialogues then this is the right album for you.  Sit back & relax and enjoy the show and the most epically glorious noises ever generated by molecular life in this dimension.  Crossing over into so many different genres may disorient some but for the initiated few they will understand the deep references and feel the justice these tracks to in service to their honor.   

        Without spoiling too many surprises, I will leave it up to you to experience the ride yourself.

Written by: Alroy Mellor

{Reptile Tile}

10 out of 10

Echo Options -  2016 -  Review

*MIDNIGHTERS~* by Pond Scum

{*MIDNIGHTERS~*  by Pond Scum}

1.  margaret jane

2.  themes of neoplatonism, platonihilism, plates of steel rhythm, and the gestapo

3.  the gfsf 

4.  freeze the clock

5.  aries

6.  am too

7.  head lopper

8.  incompatible genetalia 

9.  temptress

10.  i can no longer think in guitars

11.  drama club!  

12.  digitalis

13.  sexual betrayal

14.  ghost

15.  grow pretty or beautiful

16.  shopping whore / starmen

                   Get ready to listen to the sounds of the approaching summertime of your soul.  Rise and shine, these are quality electro-pop songs which are clearly better than the greats of the older generations.  Pond Scum has created something really worth listening to here.  You'll be dancing and clapping hearing these tracks while wondering how these time travelers have managed to find you in time to calm your wild heart and reassure you there are good people making amazing music all the time and here it is.

                   Behold a masterwork of glorious pop and, at sporadic but appropriate times, ambient joy noise and other escapades of sonic delights.  There are countless moments where this album completely takes over your consciousness leaving you comfortably in the hands of those who know how to guide you to an ultimate climax of enjoyment through tonal manifestations and psychic phenomena.  Keep this album close to your top 10 most played songs on your iTunes.  Without spoiling any surprises, I recommend hearing it for yourself and experiencing the magic.    

Written by:  Alroy Mellor

{Pond Scum, VA}

Echo Options -  Review -  2016

10 out of 10 stars