Strange Neighbors “Party of None” cassette
I dig the sound of vintage equipment, for instance the warmth and fullness of my 1977 Dual C 939 cassette player. It’s a top loader, and I prefer it to the sound of my Nakamichi RX-202 and my AKAI GX-75Mk II, though in Hifi circles the Dual is rather sneered on, although it cost 1.050,- Deutschmarks way back then.
Of course, the cassette players need to be fed, so I ordered a copy of Party of None by Strange Neighbors via Bandcamp. The package took some time to arrive, but when I finally received it, it didn’t only include the cassette (in a nice paper sleeve) but also 2 different Strange Neighbors buttons, a Strange Neighbors bumper sticker and a band postcard with the autographs of the band members and the message “Thanks for supporting physical media”. Wonderful.
Strange Neighbors play ringing Power Pop, intensely dense and finely crafted. The cassette features five band compositions only, but they are really unique. The band performance is on par with the tunes and Zach’s guitar playing is sometimes going direction psychedelia. Great! Yep, five tracks only, but occasionally less is more. And these songs grow on you with each playing. So repeat, repeat, repeat!
I guess I’ll be following this band, as their intellectual Power Pop and Indie Rock just has it: the punch, the burning guitar sound, the beautiful voice of Aidan and an adequate production. If this quartet stays together long enough, they will go somewhere – yeah, forget all the hype about Wet Leg.
I remember the days fondly when cars were fitted out with cassette players and you could ride to the sound of your friend’s mix tape. Now they don’t even have CD players any longer – if you love music, modern cars are useless. So you’d better stay at home and play the Strange Neighbors cassette, which - by the way - has the same tracks in the same order in demo form on Side B. They sound a tad rougher, but it is obvious that proper production has just made them that tiny bit better.
