Creative Writing

I mentioned this one a little while back, but it’s time for a deeper exploration of the debut from MA/VT alt ‘ indie explorers Creative Writing. The band lays things bare with the title, True 90s, and the cassette serves as a nod to the decade with a bit of a hangover from the late 80s college contingent holding on as well, swerving through SST, Homestead, and Matador catalogs like a shopping list. Filling its ranks from some favorite Northeast corners, with members of Luxor Rentals, Jeanines, Estrogen Highs, Huevos II, and Sore Eros on board, the band extends the ethos of quite a few of their past outings, feeling like particular kindred spirits to the Huevos crew. Like that band’s oft-overlooked EP, the release licks at jangles more than the seething grunge of the era. The band brings an affinity for Pavement on the title track, balancing the band’s slight country swagger from the Wowee Zowee days, a feeling that surfaces more than a few times on the tape.

The band’s not settling into one place, though, and they bring a little amp fry on “Kill Yr TV” and a shredded post-punk tension to “Karl Marx At The Gig,” the latter of which sounds like an Embarrassment outtake that might have found its way into the bonus bins or been peeled off for b-sides. As they slip into the second side the band flips the dial through YLT and Meat Puppets territory as well. There’s an unmistakable aura of reverence for the past without repeating it wholesale. Just a bit of an itch in the background that gives the songs a feeling of familiarity. It’s an excellent opener from the band and a name I hope sticks around for a bit.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.