Available
Kath
1 + Unreleased (2cd)
Not many albums can get you in the mood to blow out your speakers quite like Kath, a band that evolved from local
Maryland 1960s band Badge. This is an authentic lo-fi DIY effort, recorded in the home of the band's leader (and, yes,
actually dedicated to his pet monkey and his girlfriend!), originally released in 1974 in a micro edition of 60
hand-made copies, and later reconfigured for a legendary Rockadeliclabel LP version. Truth to tell, the Kath album is
full of well written melodic songs with loose, semi-ramshackle, lo-fi/no-fi production values. Nothing gets down and
dirty quite like 'Say What You Feel', with its blown out bass, killer guitar and drums, echoed vocals and sound effects;
well, actually, ,Love Me Down' is equally potent. The band also had a fondness for tape experimentation ('Seagulls') and
simply screwing around ('Toilet Theme'). As Patrick the Lama said in Acid Archives, "Obscure and impressive melodic
basement garage/psych excursion with a lo-fi atmosphere that would have most purveyors flip out, hits the Ampex
two-track echo & tinny drum sound dead on.... At times the vibe is almost like Mystery Meat or Index, and that's not
something you run across every day. A totally outsider private garage/psych LP that feels as personally projected as
those Michael Yonkers sides. Nuts lo-fi recording quality and impossible-to-figure production values gives this a nicely
zonked almost real-people vibe. Keyboards, fuzz, heaps of amateur avant spirit and a cover of 'Norwegian Wood' that
ranks up there as one of the few listenable Beatles covers ever cut by teens with brains." The label also included
Badge's excellent 1978 five-track EP as a bonus. And since too far is never far enough for Lion Productions, they've
also added an entire second disc of outtakes from the Kath recording sessions, plus other related home recordings. This
140-minute double disc set comes with twenty pages of extensive liner notes by Kath (and Badge) leader and creative
force Val Rogolino, and a plethora of photos from his personal stash.
Price
€ 11.95
Genre
Format
CD - 2 disk
Release
30-09-2012
Label
Item-nr
376998
EAN
0778578065126
Availability
Not in stock