I haven't had anything up for the weekend for the past few weeks, despite best intentions, but I couldn't resist. An overlooked album of late last year, this "latest" favourite by Omaha avante-garage rockers Digital Leather, Sponge, is an absolute blast. Shawn Foree's outfit have always dug into the lowest fidelity nether regions of music, procuring some filthy rocking tunes as a result, yet Sponge is a culmination of a seismic shift in their approach which has slowly come through over their last few releases. The stronger influence of synth to the mix has mellowed out these songs, so though rather there being a focus on balls to the wall batshit crazy garage rock, we see more cohesion and depth. And in my opinion, with such an approach Digital Leather has created its most consistently fun album to date. There are still some great rollicking tracks such as 'Deliver', but on tracks like 'Thrill Is Gone' or 'Chakras' what is offered is something more akin to early Guided By Voices if played on a Casio in a dumpster. There isn't much substance here, but that is the point. Its a fun album that jumps around a lot, yet strangely offering Digital Leather the direction in which they need to travel next.
Crash Symbols put Sponge lovely out on cassette, yet it is now sold out. However you can grab it digitally here.
Digital Leather - Thrill Is Gone
Digital Leather - Deliver
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