Audio By Carbonatix
Northwest label Off Tempo has got something of a Phoenix-minded heart. The imprint has released records by French Quarter (2011’s exquisite Desert Wasn’t Welcome, featuring New Times contributor Chase Kamp) and a charming single by Mesa-via-Portland band iji. Label head Kenneth Piekarski has his own sounds, too, in the form of Slashed Tires, a taut, disorienting dance outfit. On the Assure cassette, he mines spacey dub echo, off-kilter bass, and minimalist pop-funk to great success, creating the sort of thing you could meditate to or dance to or both — because why shouldn’t those things happen at the same time? “Half Try” is hypnotic, with Piekarski’s vocals sliding between keys, like Alan Vega fronting the Talking Heads, while tracks like “Weather” aim for more overt pleasure, like a Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam record stuck in the cassette deck of your mom’s car, warped and melted but still beguiling. Oh, and don’t worry — the cassette features all the trombones you could ask for.
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