Civic Mimic - "A Strip Of Tape To Convey Serenity"
The second album from Civic Mimic is bound to make you feel a certain way. Whether the fuzzy guitars induce memories of actually seeing people play fuzzy guitars in person or the lively vocal melodies remind you of when your life was once...well, full of living and shit like that.. the collection of DIY recordings will put a pep in your step... or help you remember a time when your steps were significantly peppier. Jeff Hersch (Glazer, ex-Decoration), the man behind Civic Mimic, clearly had something pent up inside of him when he wrote and recorded the songs on A Strip of Tape to Convey Serenity. After all, it’s a quarantine record, and being inside is getting to all of us.
The album’s frenetic garage-rock energy is present from the first note on the opening song, “Nails In A Blender,” a track with an earworm of a guitar melody that’ll have you bopping your head. The blistering guitars really start to kick on the second track, “Cheer Jerker,” a fuzz-filled tune with a hooky chord progression. Though there’s a good amount of distortion on these songs, Hersch definitely maintains a certain degree of pop sensibility, especially on songs like “Something To Itch” and the album closer, “Telvisied Opera.” Both feature some bright, up-tempo riffs, and Hersch’s vocals take on a kind of Parquet Courts styled deadpan sing-speak on the latter. The DIY nature of the recording also gives the songs an added charm. Hersh recorded them all at home with one microphone, a wonky bass, and a few guitars.
Get A Strip of Tape to Convey Serenity via Bandcamp! Today is another Bandcamp Friday, which means all proceeds from your purchases go directly to the artist! Hersch is graciously donating all sales of the album to Elijah’s Promise Community Kitchen. This central New Jersey organization provides an array of important services to the greater New Brunswick community, including food support, job training, community garden programming, social service assistance to individuals and families, community focused nutrition classes, social enterprise food businesses, and community food systems advocacy.
