Spllit: Spllit Sides 12"
Spllit: Spllit Sides 12"

Spllit: Spllit Sides 12"


Tags: · 20s · hcpmf · melodic · post-punk · psych · weird
Regular price
$17.00
Sale price
$17.00

Somewhere out there, a new sound known as Next Level Music exists.
The hot and humid Amite River basin of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the unlikely, albeit natural inflection point for such a sound - created by a duo with a driving penchant for originality, known as SPLLIT. The story of Spllit begins with a fun challenge of sorts: to write and record split sides of an album in under a day's time. Enter Urq and Marance, and their arsenal of odd-shaped guitars, synthesizers, glass and metal percussive gadgets, marimbas, and so-on.
"Spllit Sides" slowly rises from a cacophony of tape splicing into clear and concrete Next Level Music. Like an acid tableaux vivant ~ a swirling sonic whirlwind of loose and odd time signatures come into play along with the occasional pop sensibility. Originality remains key in Spllit's formula, but let's establish some sonic kinship - maybe a Devolved, Deep South version of The Flying Lizards. Or a deep fried Eno sitting in with The Magic Band. This Heat from a place that's actually hot and has quietly housed eccentrics like The Zoomers for decades.
Freaky shit from a fun(ky) new cloud. Spllit's first album features seven brand new cuts and a fresh coat of ether applied to their previous "Spllit Together" cassette, with a vibrant mastering job courtesy of Caufield Schnug (Sweeping Promises).


Our take: Feel It Records has been on a hot streak, and this debut vinyl from New Orleans’ Spllit stands out even from that strong pack. Spllit Sides reminds me of one of my favorite records of the past several years, the World’s Reddish 12” EP. Like the World, Spllit shares a lot with the artier end of the Rough Trade Records spectrum: Vivien Goldman, Essential Logic, the Fall. However, Spllit doesn’t sound as retro as a lot of contemporary bands in this style; in fact, it isn’t so much that they sound like the aforementioned artists; rather, that they share an approach to music that’s instrumentally and tonally eclectic (almost, but not quite, to the point of being deliberately weird), emphasizes rhythm and groove, has smart, surreal, and self-aware lyrics, yet isn’t afraid of strong vocal melodies. In contrast to many bands who are into the Fall, for instance, the songs on Spllit Sides are shorter and more ornately arranged, and there are quite a lot of them (16!). This is smart, ambitious, and memorable music, and I’ve been reaching for it constantly, partly just to hear the songs again and partly because I hear new things every time I listen. If you’re a fan of bands like Janitor Scum and the World, this is a must-listen, but this is so killer that I think it’s gonna play well with a lot more than just the egg punks. My only issue is that I can’t decide which track to choose for my Best of 2021 mix.