FREE CHOICE/SUPER STAR ‘ Green’ Split cassette

If one pulled a carrot that resembled a man from one’s garden in the 1600’s it was quite a worry, and the one sure way out of the mess was to mumble the Lord’s prayer for over and over for hours on end. Repetition, drones, and loops figure large in human social process – we like to go to the same pub and drink the same drink. I used to think it was because we were lazy bastards but there’s more to it than that – repetition is somehow, some kind of thing we human critters need.
Music, which describes time, requires repeat listens to really get to the depths of it, and so it took a while for this cassette to really get its worm into my head, but it did succeed, downloading a spiral of beaten metal that hummed me into another world – yes, this ideal in a bath, except that it’s a tape and you have to keep turning it over. Prick of thing, but I totally understand why all these hip kids are loving outdated mediums – because the fuckers are racing to the bottom for the oldest synth on the block. Makes perfect sense to me. I love analog styles.
Track by track, if I must – there’s two here and one is Free Choice, which is Jarrod Zladic of Australian miracles Fabulous Diamonds. I dig the Fab D’s a whole lot, but I was relieved to find this was Jarrod going of on a tangent – “Aztec Horse Hat” is one big minimal riff that builds over twelve minutes from a tanging sprung noise propelled by a scrutting beat into some kind of hilarious, chuckling bleepfest. It’s a good track and lives well with repeat play – Jarrod seems to understand the importance of extending into the infinite, in a somewhat Terry Riley tinged way, which is no bad thing. Give people synths and they will do this, and why the hell shouldn’t they?

The Superstar cut “wandering frond” has more a festering aspect to it but mages to make a sensible choice about adding layers – horns that moan in some kind of supernatural fashion, heckled by the most primitive of guitar pickings make perfect sense when arranged with some sense of art and destiny. Like the aforementioned carrot, this disturbs with half-formed things that remind one of something else when it should really just be boiled, but when asked to view through other lenses, one should never shy in fear – carrots don’t really bite and this track delivers something quite engaging – like a muttered incantation, I swear it will deliver me from something.

These days, Free Choice is largely a duo and may be found at
www.myspace.com/freechoicemusic
Whilst Superstar hang over this way:
www.myspace.com/superandstar

I believe this tape itself is sold out, (check me with my rarity) but both acts have other gear worth pursuing.