In a music world rife with gimmicks, the Brooklyn by way of Brattleboro, Vermont label OSR Tapes has spent a decade sticking to the simple notion of releasing profound, purposeful music with no expectation of making a cent. Originally standing for nothing, the label’s acronym came to represent “open session rock,” which founder ZachPhillips has explained as “a psycho-spiritual orientation toward songwriting and music production temporally open to continual re-signification.” That’s a highbrow way of saying that OSR Tapes values music that engages with bizarre experiments, visceral emotionality, and fractured rhythms. Their releases are about as diverse as they come: reissues of home recordings discovered at liquidations, one of the Roche sisters, and a 19-musician Japanese ensemble.
OSR’s unusually eclectic lineup is met by a staunchly independent, not-for-profit ethos. At times they’ve even shunned contemporary modes of sales: They had a brief fling with offline distribution in 2014, which meant that all purchases were done over phone or through a physical catalogue. The break “worked wonders emotionally and terrors economically,” but OSR returned to the internet in 2016 for what would be its final full year. They’ll close for good on April 30, 2017, with no future orders and a “considerably diminished” Bandcamp presence after that. Here’s a guide to seven of our favorites among OSR Tapes’ 86 releases, most of which you can *currently* download as a bundle on Bandcamp for the low price of $15.98.
Chris Weisman’s Monet in the 90’s (2014)
Though this sweet collection didn’t see the light of day until 2014, mysterious guitar guru Chris Weisman originally recorded it in late 2008 while playing in the garage pop trio Happy Birthday alongside King Tuff’s Kyle Thomas and Ruth Garbus. Monet in the 90’s forsakes Happy Birthday’s fuzz-drenched bubblegum, instead allowing complex acoustic arrangements and inverted tuning shine on their own. From the Beatles-y pop opener “Working on My Skateboarding” to the squiggly “Son of Country,” any perceived simplicity here is squarely the result of experimentation. A devout jazz fan, Weisman has said that his improvisational playing allows him to approach music in an “intuitive and non-cerebral” way. “I don’t want to just make weird theoretical ideas that only super-advanced people [can play and understand],” Weisman told Tiny Mix Tapes. “I want to make radical art that is accessible to the beginner.” Monet in the 90’s—sold out on vinyl but still available via digital download—makes a great entry point into Weisman’s intriguing work.
Ruth Garbus’ Joule EP (2014)
Formerly of the psych-folk outfit Feathers, Ruth Garbus is known these days for the considerably less pastoral music she creates under her own name. After dropping out of the Rhode Island School of Design, Garbus moved to Brattleboro, Vermont, where her sister Merrill (yes, tUne-yArDs) lived. Ruth quickly found the artsy town to be a welcoming environment for her experimentation, building on a solo output that started with 2006’s delightful Ruthie’s Requests. Bookended by 2010’s Rendezvous with Rama and 2016’s Hello Everybody 7” is her best work, 2014’s JouleEP. Over five barebones lo-fi pop tunes, Garbus and her warm electric guitar paint dreamy and abstract images. On “Certain Kind,” Garbus sings, “Stopped at Walmart just to buy a bong/Crystal bridges over poverty slums/Purple gum,” nailing the strange mundanities of travelling. To bring it back to the compact energy its title suggests, the effort it takes to listen to Garbus’ EP is minimal but the reward is huge.
Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s Hello New York (2016)
Japanese ensemble Maher Shalal Hash Baz are a rare beast. Over their 30+ year career, the folk/psychedelic/free-jazz group spearheaded by Tori Kudo have mined improvisation and polyphonous playing for bits of accidental harmony. Though their name comes from a verse in the Book of Isaiah that translates roughly to “plunder quickly” or “hasten to the spoils,” the group never seems rushed. Most recent album Hello New York is a great example of this: over the course of 34 songs, 19 musicians (eight of which are guitar players) create some truly freaky though incredibly charming noise, including one disconcerting cover of Pharrell’s “Happy.” Hello New York is appropriately avant-garde in a Warholian way—there’s even a cover of “Sweet Jane” (known as “Dulce Juana” here).
Palberta’s Shitheads in the Ditch (2014)
Perhaps the youngest band on OSR, Palberta have been making rambling anarchic noise since forming in 2013 at Bard College. Their second full-length, 2014’s Shitheads in the Ditch, recalls the erratic compositions of the Raincoats or Liliput, the childlike wonder of Beat Happening, and the subterranean evils of Pharmakon. Songs squelch along at bumpy tempos, race against the clock, and slam against walls with certitude. To listen to Palberta is to rediscover the multitudes of language: every word has its own delicious sound, cherished by each singer in round-robin-like fashion. And in a somewhat meta move, all three members of Palberta—Nina Ryser, Lily Konigsberg, and Anina Ivry-Block—recently contributed to an OSR covers compilation.
CE Schneider Topical’s Antifree (2016)
On the second CE Schneider Topical record, the duo comprised of Christina Schneider and OSR founder Zach Phillips craft funky, otherworldly sensations without any computers or synthesizers—a detail they make a point of noting. That all these bizarre sounds are organic adds another layer of kaleidoscopic wonder to already magical music. With sudden glass-shattering shrieks interrupting its lackadaisical psychedelia, the title track could soundtrack a nightmarish carnival. Meanwhile, “Wrestle Anthem” is a dreamy and surreal look at the sport as metaphor, while “Female in Images” finds Schneider satirizes gender tropes in art. “When I am a singer I obey the band/I sing lyrics I don’t understand/When I make it all up I sound like a man,” she sings in a purposefully high-pitched voice.
Hartley C. White’s This Is Not What You Expect (2014)
In 2014, OSR compiled the first four albums (over the span of 25 years) from this Queens-via-Kingston musician as This Is Not What You Expect, a title that at least attempts to prepare you for the unpredictable. A devout student of the martial arts since the mid-’60s, White has developed a style called “who-pa-zoo-tic,” which is inspired by Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do practice. Whopazootic pulls from the martial art by “utilizing a broken rhythm, and not adhering to any specific musical form… but by using whatever works for any particular song or musical creation.” As such, This Is Not What You Expect displays a deliberate asymmetry. Its slapping basslines, gnarly rhythms, and repetitive arrangements are deeply rooted to its mantra-like lyrics about the meaning of music and under-the-radar existence.
Blanche Blanche Blanche’s Wink with Both Eyes (2012 original/2015 reissue)
While OSR’s main man Zach Phillips plays in the current CE Schneider Topical incarnation Jepeto Solutions, his enduring project remains Blanche Blanche Blanche. After forming in 2007 while living in Brattleboro, Phillips and Sarah Smith released nine albums before entering an extended hiatus in 2014 (according to their website, a 10th record is in the works). Like CE Schneider, Blanche Blanche Blanche forgo samplers to create experimental, free-flowing synth-pop that could soundtrack an alien comedy. The bass clashes against the vocals, which sound more like monotone warbles than human singing. Noises snap out like jack-in-the-boxes, disappearing as quickly as they arrive. Overall, Wink with Both Eyes proves that Blanche Blanche Blanche contemplate and ultimately push the confines of pop music—much like their parent label.