Yuasa-Exide Information and Culture + Naturally Reoccurring cassette
The lo-fi bedroom jangle of YUASA-EXIDE finally lands on hardcopy! From the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Douglas Busson and a close group of contributors have been making music under this band name since 2006, releasing albums directly to Bandcamp on Busson’s Ape Sanctuary label, with over twenty-five singles, EPs, and LPs on offer. YUASA-EXIDE’s latest two recordings (Naturally Reoccuring and Information and Culture, both from 2024), are packed on this Round Bale two-album cassette. The first releases of the band, nearly twenty years ago, are much more experimental, sparse, and noise-focused, featuring solo guitar instrumentals, distorted vocals, and mechanical grating. After undergoing spinal surgery from a 2021 injury, Busson could only play guitar lying in bed, where he proceeded to record the majority of his work under YUASA-EXIDE and where he developed something closer to the bedroom sound we hear on this cassette. That said, the experimental and noisy roots are not forgotten—songs like “Fuck You Duracell” feature ringing feedback and bleak, groaning vocals pushing out a bleaker-still subject matter, with lines like “When I say petrochemical / What does that call to mind? / It recalls to mine / The acidic slime.” Whether you’re an ardent fan or coming by with passing interest, this Twin Pax cassette offers a great take on the prolific YUASA-EXIDE.