Dynasty At Ghost Town - Bathetic Records

Surely if you're someone who takes a look at this page every so often, then you're aware of this. Massive 11 tape set from Bathetic Records, compiled under the name Dynasty At Ghost Town. I'm about half way through this haul and have yet to find something I don't love, and I assume the rest will follow suit. Plenty of names you'll recognize; William Cody Watson, Planning For Burial, Lee Noble, High Aura'd, Panabrite, Aquarelle, Zac Nelson, Ekin Fil, Padang Food Tigers, M. Geddes Gengras, and my favorite thus far an achingly beautiful drone take on Primitive Americana from Scott Tuma.

Art from Simon Fowler that runs in vertical line connecting all 11 in order (an order I failed to capture in my photo). Beautiful design throughout, from the stock to the font choices to the shell colors. It's a pretty stunning achievement, and at 50 bucks for the set, it's less than 5 dollars a tape. You might be able to find a few individual copies floating around on artist pages and Bandcamp, but I highly recommend you grab the whole thing direct from Bathetic.

Padang Food Tigers - Ready Country Nimbus

Simple, delicate, vignettes drenched in piano and strings from Padang Food Tigers with Ready Country Nimbus on Bathetic Records. Each of the fifteen tracks plays in my mind like an unfinished painting. Raw pieces of guitar, untreated keys, unexplained bits of static and field noise. As if each track is an elegant canvas onto which you must imbue your own images. Powerfully nostalgic and poignant beyond description. I found the second half particularly captivating as the tracks For Esme, and Hey, Relaxer close the album with a gentle sigh.

A patient and evolving listen without a single misstep. Available directly from Bathetic, housed in a glossy single sleeve on elegant black vinyl. Great pressing, clear clean backgrounds.