Lillerne Tapes – ‘Lillerne Compilation #2′

Jul 31, 2012 by Pasta Primavera    2 Comments    Posted under: Sounds  

This is how it starts… iridescent synths whirlpooling into echoes into melody. Slacked out, low fidelity guitar strums sipping on neon sodas. The wise computer spinning his dark faded memories. A call to action, stomping with hands and kicking with snares… I could go on. I should go on really. Chicago’s Lillerne Tapes has just released their second compilation, Lillerne Compilation #2, and its probably the best collection of lo-fi beauty that I’ve heard in a very long time. Each track is vastly different from the other, yet they all tie in together. It’s available as a free download via Bandcamp as well as a fabulous $4 cassette (pictured below).  Some of the folks I’m familiar with like CVLTS, Gelatin Kids, Grape Soda, and Free Weed, but most I’m hearing for the first time and they all bleed golden thumbs ups. Gabe Holcombe, the man behind LT, had this to say about Lillerne Tapes and this new comp:

Lillerne started in 2006 as a way for me to file my zines and bedroom recordings under one catalog name. In 2007, I started putting out releases for my friends under the “Lillerne Tape Club” banner. That same year, I put out a cassette compilation featuring a lot of bands that were really doing it at the time in Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City, where I was living. A year later, I moved to Chicago and continued Lillerne Tapes here. Fast forward five years, and I guess I was ready to do another compilation. It’s less of an urgent document of a current scene or genre, but more of a checklist of the bands that I like, and friends whose music I support because it’s great. There’s a healthy amount of bands from the Chicago DIY scene, as well as people from every facet of the universe that I’ve met while traveling or through other friends. Either way, it’s 100% homies and my favorite music happening right now.