FREAKS OBSCURE

The first album of this Detroit-based prog duo is appropriately titled indeed, being both sufficiently obscure as a super-rare cassette-only release by an already very niche band, and also certainly being a freak within both the Rascal Reporters' own discography and the wider music world. Released before they had built up a modest reputation for their impeccable intricately composed Canterbury-infused avant-prog, this debut claims a solid place in the wonderfully weird world of D.I.Y. avant-garde tape releases from the early 80s that were seemingly more influenced by the Residents or by Frank Zappa's very early tape experiments.

Hints of the Reporters' future style can be heard in select spots on Freaks Obscure, such as on the chamber-ish "There", the Art Bears-inspired vocal workout "He Is Home", and the excellent "Sent Flying" which manages to hold down a mean groove full of rhythm changes and complicated keyboard parts despite the amateurish production and the multi-tracking that just barely stays in sync. Unfortunately, these highlights are relatively brief and the longer tracks (longer as in five minutes instead of just one or two minutes) generally do not justify their running time, with the possible exception of "Lou's Guilt", a gloriously bleak synth march that is sadly stretched out for a bit too long without enough development. The quirky drum machine-led "Cure For Prohibition" and the messy screamy "Flo's Addiction" both wear out their welcome at varying speeds. The worst part however is how the amount of actual music on the album is balanced by pure nonsense: not-too-inventive sound collages ("Nightmare", "Plastic Natural") and drawn out passages of cartoony and distorted voices arguing with each other, chanting haunted nursery rhymes or just screaming obnoxiously (be sure to turn down your volume a notch before listening to "RIP Birth").

It's all over the place and yet in frustratingly few places, but in my personal opinion the bright spots combined with the endearing strangeness and singularity of this album make it worth experiencing at least once, even if it is probably the least essential entry in the wacky discography of this extraordinary group.