Up the Middle Down the Sides, by Storm Bugs

Up the Middle Down the Sides

by Storm Bugs

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£5 GBP or more
Full Digital Discography

37

releases

Get all 37 Snatch Tapes releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Gift, Sea Swell, Osaka by Night, Carriage Return, The Infinite Amiss, Seal Pool Sounds (2005), Reprint, A Safe Substitute, and 29 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

£77.50 GBP or more (50% OFF)

	1.	Side A 17:03	info	buy track
	2.	Side B 18:43	info	buy track

about

Review by Ed Pinsent from the Sound Projector magazien 14th issue.

Assembled by our good friend Chris Freeman for the Fusetron Label this is a compilation LP of the work of this UK cassette band, featuring some of tlteir 'vintage sonic musings' from 1978-1981. This issue follows in a chain of releases and reissues that have been emerging from the time when Philip Sanderson and Steven Ball's work was being 'rediscovered'

in 2000; from that date onwards, various releases from the Snatch Tapes archive have followed, including the Reprint CD on Anomalous, originally released as a cassette purporting to have been performed by two girls. This comp works overtime to convince you of the sheer depth and breadth of the variety in Storm Bugs output; it veers from poppy electronic tunes with drum machine beats, to insane long drones and distorted voice-based pieces. The LP is short but intense; every moment counts, packed with imagination, ideas and innovation.

Many good qualities shine forth, and it's not simply nostalgia for the home-made tape scene; these guys had serious talent. There's a lot of invention in evidence, including spontaneous ct'eations made out of rewired radio sets, old vinyl records, and the wreckage of smashed and deconstructed guitars. Plus the trusty VCS3 and WASP synths are

forced to work double-time. Never once did the pair fall into the trap of making unrestrained 'table' noise with loads of effects pedals, nor follow the post-Throbbing Gristle 'industrial' route towards that dead-end of ghastly noise trotted out in support of sick imagery. Storm Bugs music was extremely thoughtful, well-considered. There's one tape-loop piece near the end of side A that is simply glorious (can't tell you what it's called, as track titles are only printed on front cover in an unreadable spiral layout) - it's a messy splurge of semi-controlled noise, a maelstrom spinning layers of aural detritus around in a hypnotic mandala of discarded trash. Listen, and a mild form of delirium will take hold of you. This piece alone, in its unassuming way, touches on greatness; I've heard few things quite like it.

Besides the enthusiasm that accompanies their genuine sense of excitement as they make each new discovery, these young chaps also exhibit a remarkable assurance; there's no mad rush to tryout everything they can do, nor a frenetic race to prove they're much more far-out than anyone else. Instead, there's a measured sense of working it through, proceeding with each new experiment in a thorough way, learning from it. A lot of home-made DIY music (both then and now) lacks this discipline; many hopeful performers try and make up for that lack through expending lots of kinetic, but pointless, energy. With Storm Bugs, nothing went to waste; they kept their batteries charged up, and used their power wisely.

A fine document from a time when 'Io-n' was a genuinely challenging aesthetic for artists to work with, unlike today when it's merely one more lifestyle option for bored rock stars. David Jackman, a fellow Snatch Tapes artiste, guests on one track. Absolutely splendid release.

ED PINSENT 19/09/2005

credits

released April 4, 2005

For music credits see individual sides. The cover shows an anamorphic image. Use a tubular mirror to decipher the image or see the bonus jpeg.

license

about

Snatch Tapes London, UK

This is the 'new' Snatch Tapes page incorporating content from the old Storm Bugs page into one super site.

Facebook

contact / help

Contact Snatch Tapes

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Up the Middle Down the Sides, you may also like:

VA - Au Delà
by meakusma

supported by 4 fans who also own “Up the Middle Down the Sides”

Compilation à l'unité singulière qui sonne, étonnamment autant qu'agréablement, comme l’œuvre d'une seule personne ! Lumineux. À écouter un jour de solstice par temps de pluie. kagemushette
go to album
No era sólida
by Lucrecia Dalt

supported by 4 fans who also own “Up the Middle Down the Sides”

wonderful spooky different unique Deni Double
go to album
FRÜHE JAHRE
by C-Schulz

supported by 4 fans who also own “Up the Middle Down the Sides”

Wow, what an amazing, diverse mind bender of a record. Thanks for making this available. tsundoku23
go to album
Langue - EP
by K.Board & The Skreens

K.Board & The Skreens, from Italy, turn pop inside-out on these four tracks; the hooks are there to be sure, but they’re gloriously mutated. Bandcamp New & Notable May 4, 2020
go to album
Des Rêves Étranges [EP]
by Galatée

Pretty, Lush-inspired dream pop has a gentle touch, with whispered spoken-sung French vocals drifting lightly over shimmering guitars. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 24, 2019
go to album
Suicide Disco Vol. 2
by Years of Denial

The latest from Years of Denial is hauntingly captivating—pulsing and severe EBM at its absolute finest. Bandcamp New & Notable May 20, 2023
go to album
Boing!
by Bex Burch & Leafcutter John

Pioneering electronic artist Leafcutter John and gyil player Bex Burch come together for an exuberant, largely improvised jazz-fusion set. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 10, 2021
go to album