Internet Forever - Old Recordings, Live Performances & Covers

Given the string DIY ethic that the band has fostered during its infancy, consistently experimenting and changing, it’s fitting that their first release of note is on the most humble of formats, the cassette. Unlike vinyl, there are very few people that yearn for a return to tape. It’s a clunky, awkward contraption, but with this release will surely add to its appeal. The black sheep of the music family, Tape Alarm have managed to make it a thing of beauty. The fact that you’re probably going to have to forage in your attic to get something that will play 20 minutes of music seems archaic now, but when it’s for a collection as exhilarating and unique as this, it’s well worth it.

Perhaps even more appropriate is the fact that it sounds very much like a greatest hits compilation record, bringing together various odds and ends to create something that truly shines with brilliance. Put out by singer Laura’s own Tape Alarm label, the cassette starts with the forthcoming single ‘Cover The Walls’ – a bouncy pop mess of extraordinary proportions, When not making your feet want to dance, it’s giving you moments of striking lyrical clarity (‘Freedom’s more like war anyway’, being a particular highlight). It carries on in a similar vein, powering through session tracks and live recordings, highlighting Internet Forever’s own brand of quirky synth-pop without the slightest pause for breath. Well, at least until you’ve got to turn over to side B.

A true show of the band’s strength comes in the form of the covers on the record. Whilst Dire Straits and Beat Happening may be the most unlikely of bedfellows, they’re all pulled off with the familiar warmth and charm that has earned the three-piece such a devoted following and make each one their own. It’s a pity that there isn’t simply an Internet Forever filter to put on mp3 players to make every song in your collection so enchanting.