Record of the Week: Tarantula: The Very Best of Sex and Violence 7"

Tarantula: The Very Best of Sex and Violence 7” (Deranged) We’re now at the third Tarantula 7” and I worry that my descriptions are getting redundant, but that’s no indication that the music is! That being said if you liked the first two Tarantula 7”s you’re guaranteed to like this one too. This 7” sounds a lot like the members’ old band Cülo, but it still has all the things that make Tarantula, in my opinion at least, the far superior band. There’s bass, which you wouldn’t think would make a huge difference but it does, and the songs are more fleshed out and well developed. Geza X once again has a hand in the production (though I’m not sure if he mixed it, mastered it, or both), and whatever process Tarantula used to come up with this 7” I hope they keep repeating again and again because this totally rules. The songs are all catchy and memorable, and each track seems to have at least one little quirk or move that makes it stand out from the pack, whether it’s a cool guitar lick, a catchy vocal line, or a memorable drum part. As on their previous 7”s, Tarantula are the masters of adding just enough melody and catchiness to their songs to make them stand out from the pack and stick to your ribs without ever sounding like they’re trying to hard or accidentally sliding into pop-punk. I’d be happy if Tarantula just kept these 7”s coming, but I wouldn’t be upset if someone comped them all onto one 12” for more convenient listening, and I’d be even more pleased if their next record is the mind-melting full-length that the world wants and needs. So let’s have it!