Bastro - Rode Hard And Put Up Wet ep

Year: 1998

Label: Homestead

James Joyce carries with him a mysterious and terrible sway over my psyche, and his biddings are my only will. If he requests more Bastro, I have but no other recourse than to immediately post more Bastro. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

So here you are, the first Bastro release, an ep recorded as a duo, utilizing the teutonic services of a drum machine (oh, by the way, Big Black called...) and practicing the ebb and flow of early math rock. Like I said in the previous post, this band started out much more raw, aggresive, and clearly in awe of Big Black.

Back to James Joyce for a moment. If you have any interest in the history of contemporary music in Atlanta (i.e. late 80's and forward) check out his blog, chances are there are some bands on there that you either new from a house show in your old college town, or had no idea were from Atlanta.

http://beyondfailure.blogspot.com/

* Link fixed 11.24.09

DL

Bastro - Sing The Troubled Beast

Year: 1990

Label: Homestead

Everything everyone ever says about Bastro goes something like this; "David Grubs...post Squirrel Bait...Washington D.C....Bitch Magnet...pre Gastr Del Sol...drummer for Tortoise and Sea and Cake...math rock". So that's pretty much it. You know what you need to know in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not you will pilfer this download. Goodnight and god bless.

I will say this one other thing before I leave you to the music. Bastro started as one type of band (an extension of the mathmatical pounding practiced by Squirrel Bait [who also offered up Slint as it's other offspring]) and ended as something else entirely (the more restrained and dynamic melancholy of the future Gastr Del Sol), and this record was the transition between the two. Yeah, it's still a "math rock" record, but as the album progresses you begin to hear a wider palette of sounds, and dare I say, melody. Drag City repackaged his album with it's predecessor Bastro Diablo Guapo on one cd a few years ago, but that first album was more abrasive and more...how do you say..."Chicago" in it's approach, so I think presenting Sing The Troubled Beast on it's own merits is more interesting.  

DL