Straight To Tape

Hot on the heels of Leicester's dark synth/ ambient dystopia duo Smoke Test come Rentamax 2000, a retro- futuristic duo devoted to early 80s synth sounds and the humble c90 cassette, the most democratic if imperfect, music format of the 20th century. Rentamax are also railing against Spotify- the format wars may not be over yet! 

Leicester has a history of non- conformism and grass roots pop culture (see the Unglamorous Music Project, a wave of all female punk bands founded by local legend Ruth Miller before her death in October 2023). Rentamax 2000 come in that outsider, grass roots tradition. Their album Straight To Tape is available at Bandcamp where it can be bought digitally and on cassette, ten tracks in forty five minutes, inspired by the then futuristic sounds of the early 80s, tape experiments, synthesizers, Cold War paranoia, Tomorrow's World, TV rental shops, flickering graphics and worn out VHS recordings, the promise of a future that didn't arrive- or maybe it did but then swiftly departed. 

Stakeout is the sound of  a cop chase round a deserted warehouse, cars screeching on gravel and men in polyester trousers giving chase. Rumbelows is mutant instrumental synth pop, Fad Gadget in wind down mode. Tuesday am with synths is this year's most literal track title (I should have posted this yesterday though) and sounds like a New Order/ OMD rehearsal where everyone switched the machines on, went for a cigarette and came back to find a glorious, accidental, repetitious noise. Straight To Tape ends with Ignorance Is Bliss, a seven minute, slo mo, polyphonic synth playground, Kraftwerk's robots running out of juice and powering down. Rentamax 2000's Straight To Tape is here. Join the resistance. 

For some reason, Rentamax also make me think of this...

As mentioned above the Unglamorous Music Project has given birth to over a dozen all female punk bands, women the other side of fifty who to quote Alison Dunne/ Fish, has 'no fucks to give any more about what people think of me'. They write their own music and value prior musical experience less important than enthusiasm. Alison/ Fish's band Boilers is loud, shouty and have something to say, something by middle aged women, a group of people not normally afforded much time near microphones. 

Boilers EP We Are Boilers is at Bandcamp here, five songs recorded live 108 days after forming. Fellow Leciester punk band Bad Toaster are an all female three piece with two EPs of menopausal punk, Burnt Offerings and Sports Bra- shouty, punky, irreverent fun.