One never gets the impression that Erlend Oye will ever top the releases from his past, namely that from the duo Kings Of Convenience. But with each subsequent release, first under his own name and now under the moniker The Whitest Boy Alive, he always seems to deliver. And while Rules took a few listens to catch on, it is no exception.

Seattle’s TacocaT brings back the riot grrrl sound full force while channeling a substantial Bratmobile sound, as correctly noted to me by Finest Kiss. In my opinion, there’s even a little punked-up B-52s sound in there. Their debut LP, Shame Spiral is out now on Don’t Stop Believin’ Records, the label responsible for giving us releases by See Me River, The Pharmacy and Your Heart Breaks.

This is, undoubtedly, the most metal side of Death Cab For Cutie you will ever see. Released around the turn of the century puts this unique 7-inch closer to the group’s beginning than today, and was pre-dated (in Barsuk standards) only by Something About Airplanes, though the single was released in March 2000 to coincide with the release of We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes.

Long a favorite, this split single wasn’t released until after Bunkbed‘s Keith Krate had passed away. The 7-inch features two songs, one which finds Xiu Xiu covering Bunkbed, and vice versa. “Fallen Angel II” is a Xiu Xiu original re-crafted by Bunkbed; it is one of the most moving and touching melodies one can have the honor of hearing.

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.

I’ve been contemplating this for some time, and I think it has finally come down to a simple fact: doing a Cover Art post each week has proven quite difficult. So, to lighten the load, I’m going to re-post each item here and thus form a new column here for all future Cover Art posts. The original page will remain, but all Cover Art posts will also find a home here. We will begin with my favorite compilation from 2009: The Hydeaway CD Newsletter Issue #1.