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Our take: Robert’s Laffite compiles the recorded work of this mid-2010’s Texas punk group who released a handful of very limited cassettes while they were together. Sorry State carried a couple of those tapes, but they came and went before I could give them a close listen, so Robert’s Laffite feels new to me, as I’m sure it will to most of you. When I first sat down with Robert’s Laffite, I immediately felt like it evoked the pioneering early years of SST Records, not so much the Black Flag end of things as the Meat Puppets, Saccharine Trust, early Minutemen world. Some of that similarity is in the sound, as Blue Dolphin’s acid-fried country/rockabilly-type songs sound a bit like the Meat Puppets, and the singer’s sinister speak-sing style and cracked-up lyrical approach is a lot like Jack Brewer’s. More than just sonically, though, Blue Dolphin sounds like spiritual children of those SST bands, all three of whom seemed to be pushing fearlessly toward whatever artistic horizon lay ahead of them. However, while the SST groups generally worked at professional (if budget-priced) studios, Blue Dolphin’s production style is very lo-fi, evoking bedroom productions from the 80s UK DIY scene to the 90s US cassette underground and beyond. Like my favorite records from those eras, Blue Dolphin strikes a strong balance between traditional songcraft and more experimental approaches. In other words, if you have a record collection that includes groups like the Homosexuals, Desperate Bicycles, or even Sentridoh and Guided by Voices, you’re gonna be on board. Maybe I’m the rare case who has a deep appreciation for all that stuff, but I just love Robert’s Laffite, and if you share those frames of reference, I’m pretty sure you will too.