VCSR - Summer 1979

 Released: June 12

Summer 1979 is something of an oddity as far as its current existence. The album was originally recorded all the way back in the summer 1979 (which explains the title) and sat on a tape among many others in a box for decades. The tape was discovered in 2017 and continued to sit in obscurity for several more years until a connection could be made to the original artist Bil Vermette and finally received a proper release on Isohyet Records in June of this year. The album itself feels like a time capsule in some ways but also timeless and current in others. The mood is very much an ambient and rather cosmic affair as we listen to pure analog tones rise, fall, waver, wobble, and shine along with the ever present and dusty tone of a tape recorded with a four track reel-to-reel recorder. 

Each track bears the name of the album with a small variation that vaguely describes a certain aspect of that track.  The descriptions feel intentionally blurry, giving only a slight hint at what we may expect, with the slight exception of the album’s fifth track “…(Whales).” This is the longest track on the album at almost 30 minutes, which makes it comes across as more of a guided meditation rather than a flowery composition. The synths slowly rise and fall over and over the entire time with small little pieces of additive noises showing up small variations throughout. The slow moving nature of it feels wam and inviting, carrying the same spacey and cosmic energy of the rest of the album in an uninterrupted format. 

What stands out thematically is the contention between the music and the presentation. The music is a space-faring bit of psychedelia while the visual presentation comes across as something more grounded and tangible. It feels particularly poignant considering the improvisational nature of the compositions and their more ambiguous format. Regardless, the juxtaposition fits beautifully, exemplifying the tension between the spontaneity of the original performances and the commitment of them to a recorded medium so that they could be recovered and brought to us today.