Between running multiple record and tape labels and touring semi-regularly, new music comes through my hands incredibly frequently. I cannot remember to save my life how I came upon this release. Although its appearance and other aspects of this project remain a mystery to me, one thing that is certain is THE DOLPHINS have had a very busy couple years! This is their fifth release in only a year and a half, all of them full-length recordings except one that is a 4 song EP. I am not sure if it is a full-band or a solo-project, but THE DOLPHINS are from Lexington, Kentucky and mostly play minimalist bedroom pop mostly. Most songs are comprised of an acoustic guitar, various aux percussion instruments, and harmonized singing. While this style of music is mostly foreign to me and usually sounds more like white noise to me than anything else, THE DOLPHINS have a way of keeping your attention. My inclination is to draw comparisons to THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, and while there are oddly similarities between these two wildly different beastly titled projects, it honestly could be solely because I have a limited amount of acoustic projects of this ilk that I know of to even potentially reference. Nearing the end of the tape the band unexpectedly has an up-tempo driving track that’s all electric called “Unreality”. You can imagine that is my favorite on the tape, but there really are some beautiful, moving songs on this cassette. This tape and one of the bands earlier releases are both on a label just called ‘Synth Punk’. It is a very funny name for a label, especially one putting out acoustic bedroom pop, but the wildly ungoogleable label name certainly makes me curious to know more.

Label: Synth Punk (no online presence, any info appreciated)

Band: THE DOLPHINS