It’s hard to define exactly when summer has arrived but you usually come across a realisation at some point during the season. There’s a way summer memories seem to linger in our mind and be remembered. It’s well represented by the cover of Isolation Tape Night: a hazy image with striking colours, melding into another as the ever present blinding sun catches beads of moisture as it keeps us from picking up on exact details.
Joseph Zucco, the name behind the Teenage Reverb moniker, also captures this feeling of half-remembered moments in the sun pretty much spot on with the song “Dust.” Hazy guitars fall into a simple little jam as Zucco imagines his perfect summer, complete with “sun-kissed memories.” Half way through though it comes to a stop, like he’s pausing in real-time as he tries to remember what part of the dream comes next. Instead he changes and sings of “love eaten by the sun”. In the end all you really remember is the sun.
Considering Zucco is still in the middle of his teenage years and managed to put this all together in less than two months, he come up with a remarkably well-balanced EP that displays definite talent and potential. What’s most delightful is the range offered up: “Weekends” is a commendable and concise little pop song without being in your face, “Damp For A Good While” will rightfully get its shoegaze tag with it feedback laden crescendos while “Under the Weather” is a sort of underwater funk jam that sounds like an unfinished cut from The Samps’ self-titled EP.
The EP doesn’t ever really falter but there are moments when you’re left with the feeling that you’re listening to something not quite complete. “Ghostgaze” is the main culprit here. Because the drums are mixed right to the front and everything is else buried beneath it ends up feeling like nothing more than an enjoyable little jam session that’s half-baked. “Point of Tangency” and “Bear Fear” are interesting sonic experiments and I like to wonder where Zucco might take them if he gave himself a bigger palette but they don’t offer much replay value in themselves but are welcome when you’re playing through the EP as a whole.
And because of its short length you’ll likely find yourself coming familiar with the songs here relatively quickly. While that has obvious benefits it also has a downside in that all that needs to be found can be found efficiently. Nonetheless, even though the best moments here have their obvious charm, there’s also a fine amount of attention paid to nuance whether it be the way the solo comes into the picture in “Weekends” or the gorgeous transition between “Dust” and “Ghostgaze.” And you know, even the little things can be satisfying enough reminders of great summers past. All I’m left wondering now is what else Zucco might half-remember.
