Trouble Is a Farm House...

At last I have acquired a copy of this self-released tape courtesy of my main man Seanzilla, who's been busy digitally ripping his collection of rare vinyl and cassettes. I still haven't found an elusive hard copy, so if you're reading this Ms. Murphy...
Hole Class is Beth from Times New Viking and Rob of the Hospitals/Gang Wizard/other Cali bands. They formed after meeting in '06 and recorded these tracks while living at the Lambsbread compound in Delaware, Ohio, amongst various farm animals, exotic birds and ample recording devices. A Glimpse of Hole Class is a compelling reflection of rural life for city dwellers, collecting ten brief, lo-fi ghost songs and one longer noise piece smacked in the middle for good measure. The songs are stark and more than a little bit deranged. Acid-tinged country and folk numbers accompanied by fuzzy bass leads, distorted acoustics, tape hiss and the strong vocal performances by both Rob and Beth. Think Lee and Nancy singing anthems for some future apocalyptic lonesome town, or the last third of Not in My Airforce played beside a campfire.
Standouts include the twangy "What Doesn't Kill You" (Rob sings: "What doesn't kill you, makes you want to die") and "I Don't Love You If...", which would fit perfectly somewhere on a Messthetics comp. But really, every track is superb in it's own unique way, and none of them wear out their welcome, as most of the songs hover around the ninety second mark. Fans of TNV and Rob's outfits should definitely seek this cassette out. Unfortunately, this may just be all we ever hear from Hole Class. Either way, I'd like to see this one put to wax (with a few edits it would fit perfectly on a 7"!) before A Glimpse fades away forever.