Album Review: Family Time Records 4-Way Split 7"


This four-way split 7” was announced forever ago, so I’m glad that it finally materialized. Pulling tracks from four artists—Kevin Greenspon, Reighnbeau, Light Light, and Torn Humorist—Family Time Records, another very small label based out of California, has curated an EP of songs that complement each other, by artists that are both like minded but also incredibly unique.

Greenspon, fresh from his split LP with Former Selves, opens up this 7” with something slightly uncharacteristic of his sound thus far. “Probably Tomorrow” is a bit playful, structured around rollicking synth and organ tones, along with various other odds and ends, all filing in before the first minute is up. It’s a hypnotic rhythm that bounces along—a far cry from the heartbreaking ambient guitar and harsh feedback found on Betrayed by The Angels.

“Water,” Reighbeau’s contribution, is also incredibly different from their most recent recorded work—earlier in the year, via Greenspons’s own Bridgetown imprint, they reissued a cassette of very sparse, acoustic material. “Water” is a complete 180—80’s sounding drum machines, and incredibly dense layers of synthesizers, along with shimmery guitar work—it all comes together to create something that is both nostalgic for the reflection of neon lights off the hood of a Delorean, while maintaining an incredibly modern sense of menace via the whispered male/female split vocals.



I unfortunately don't know a ton about Light Light—the internet certainly isn't helping either. The 7”’s press release said “newcomer Light Light,” and nothing else. Facebook’s search only provided me with information about a band from the Netherlands of the same name—and “Light Light,” is, you know, kind of an un-Googleable name. “Morning” is a slow burning track—incredibly wet, springy reverbed guitar drive the song forward, along with some plaintive, almost pleading vocals. Light Light may be a mystery, but it’s a promising mystery at that, and starting the second side of this EP off with a guitar-heavy track is an interesting choice to switch up the pacing slightly.

The final track comes from Brent Mitzner’s fascinating new project, Torn Humorist. Mitzner, the former frontman for the now defunct dream-pop outfit Trudgers, has traded in the guitar for just about every other instrument—viola, drum machines, and an array of synthesizers. Continuing to build on the overall sound he’s been crafting over the last year, on “Rabbit Paw,” Mitzner’s reverb-soaked vocals are buried deep within the mix, while a cacophony of various beeps and boops, snare fills and string echoes.


“Pop” music is the cohesive idea that ties these four individual tracks together. Each song is relatively short, incredibly palatable, and they all adhere, for the most part, to a somewhat traditional song structure. It’s an interesting conceit to use when bringing this many artists together for a split 7.”

For a listener who is not familiar with the tightly knit community of cassette labels and DIY house show performers, these songs—specifically the tracks from the A side, are not indicative of the rest of the artist’s respective canons. They are strong tracks, showing what great lengths in maturation and experimentation an artist working on their own time is capable of taking.

This 7" single is available now, via Family Time.