Ataque de Caspa Supongamos por Ejemplo 12″
Once-forgotten demos recorded by this Spanish quintet in 1985 in hopes of snagging a record deal, but when one never materialized, ATAQUE DE CASPA slipped into the cracks of time, with the band’s members shifting their focus away from music in favor of less precarious pursuits (like finishing their university studies in medicine and engineering). Their meshing of dark but dreamy post-punk with starry-eyed primitive pop was met with renewed interest in the late ’00s/early ’10s, when the likes of VIVIAN GIRLS, VERONICA FALLS, et al. had revived a very similar punky/jangly sound and the abandoned Supongamos por Ejemplo tracks started circulating online amongst younger disciples, eventually leading to ATAQUE DE CASPA reuniting and releasing new music in 2014. The band’s songs were apparently always constructed from the bass line up, and the focus on rhythm—the frenetic yet melodic CURE-ish bass bobbing and weaving in “Nigeria,” or the shambolic disco beats clattering through “Crónica China”—lends a certain urgency to their fairly skeletal proto-C86 template of chiming guitar, soft-focus keys, and vocalist Carmen Álvarez’s unassumingly sweet (but not saccharine) delivery. “Viaje a Egipto” casts a shadow like the best Heather-sung BEAT HAPPENING numbers, with sparse drums and a sing-song, almost playground chant-like melody, while “Lalala” and “La Pesca” hint at the gloomier, less buzzsaw pop side of their Swiss contemporaries CHIN CHIN. ATAQUE DE CASPA is every bit as charming as the aforementioned groups; may these songs never fall back into obscurity.