Rare is it that you see formats outside the standard compact disc or even cherished wax vinyl. But cassettes seem to be popping up more and more as a cool retro item. With vinyl’s popularity, it seems this is the only place to go – reel to reel is out for obvious reasons, as is the 8-track. So that leaves cassette, a vestige in the vintage, a gleam of retro hope. Which brings us to today and Hometapes.

Here it is, a cassette from Hometapes, a little label whose name screams the outdated format. It’s a neat little holiday sampler from the folks that scattered their artists throughout my Best of 2009 list, including Bear In Heaven, Slaraffenland, and Megafaun.

Regarding this outdated format, could this really be the new vinyl? Sure, the experience isn’t quite as warm and welcoming as that of vinyl, but a return of the cassette would sure give the whole mix-tape thing a revitalization. And it would be that much better if it came with a digital copy (like this one), as now nearly standard with vinyl releases.

This little Hometapes sampler features non-exclusive tracks from select bands that released albums on the label in 2009 including the aforementioned, as well as All Tiny Creatures and CYNE. Here are a couple tracks from the sampler:

Megafaun: The Fade [mp3]

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CYNE: Pretty Apollo [mp3]

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