Various Artists, “Cheap Beer” LP

cover-cheap-beerThe debut release from Replay Records is the compilation Cheap Beer. Comprised of local acts from the Lawrence and Kansas City area, this is a primer for anyone wondering what’s worth checking out in Kansas. While acts like Mouthbreathers and Dark Ages have seen releases earlier this year on In the Red and Sorry State, respectively, others such as Fag Cop and Rooftop Vigilantes are probably only known to those who troll the TermBo forums.

Hopefully, though, those four bands will hopefully draw some attention to Der Todesking’s angular post-punk or Spook Light’s garage rockabilly, allowing the lesser-known bands to make an impression outside the Midwest.

The recording quality on all of these tracks is pretty lo-fi, save a couple exceptions, but it’s received a stellar mastering job. Paul Gold takes the work of basement studios and makes it sound great. Bonus: the liner notes are screen-printed (as is most of artists Leslie Kay’s work) on a PBR box. This also comes with a download card, saving you the trouble of hooking up your turntable and recording this off. You’ll want to take a listen to this somewhere away from your stereo, and often.

For more info on how the compilation came to be, check out my feature, “Cheap Beer at the Replay Lounge,” in last week’s Pitch.

MP3: the Spook Lights, “Summertime Confidential”