ST 37 - "Future Memories"
(Four/Four Records 2005, #202)
ST 37 - "Future Memories"
(Four/Four Records 2005, #202)
From Aural Innovations #32 (November 2005)
The latest from ST 37 is a 15 track, 71 minute collection of rarities and unreleased tracks spanning their nearly two decade history, including the band's first two 7" singles, cassette compilation tracks and radio broadcasts. ST 37 have incorporated multiple influences throughout their history - space rock, psychedelia, krautrock, punk, experimental music, and good old ass kickin' rock n roll.
Highlights include punked out psycho-delic Hawkwind/Chrome inspired space rock n roll tracks like "Sucking on the Family Tit", "Look at yr Chair", and "Eating Dirt". I love the dark and doomy but ultra cosmic space goth feel of "Egg People" and "Pumpkinface". "Taboo Down Under" and "(I Don't Need No) Hoodoo Woman" are excellent examples of the patented brand of ST 37 space-punk. And "Merlin Olsen's Crippled Mystical Benefactor" features the more experimental side of the band, being a freaked out sound collage glom of space electronics, tape loop madness and sound and voice samples.
Particularly tasty are two lengthy radio appearances. "Should I Get My Own Friends… a Whole New Ballgame" is a radio broadcast from 1998. At 9 minutes it's actually 2 tracks. The first is a haunting cosmic jam, punctuated by anguished, screaming metallic space guitars, followed by an equally dark and spaced out, ultra high tension atmospheric piece. And "Nature of Smoke" is an 11 minute unreleased outtake from 2000 that features ST 37 at their harsh and nasty free-improv space rock jamming best. Great stuff! And the set is rounded out by an acid-metal freakout cover of Motorhead's "Orgasmatron", and a bouncy space punk cover of David Bowie's "Speed of Life". Whoever selected the tracks for this set did a great job. Veteran ST 37 fans and anyone into heavy space rock will be delighted with this collection.
For more information you can visit the ST 37 web site at: http://www.st37.com, or http://www.myspace.com/st37.
Email at: scotttelles@yahoo.com.
Visit the Four/Four Records web site at: http://www.fourfourrecords.com.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz