Protodemo by Situation Taboo (Review)

Industrial funk-rock. Meat Beat Manifesto with a rock band. Both are fairly accurate descriptions of what you’ll find on Situation Taboo’s Protodemo. Originally released as an indie cassette in 1993, it’s now out on CD thanks to Flying Tart Records.

The other big difference between the tape version and this is improved production quality, with credit here going to the Dassing boys from Mentallo & The Fixer. Clocking in at well under half an hour, length is the biggest negative about this release. There are actually only five full-length songs here.

Other than that, I was really happy with this CD. The vocals often sound a little raw, but the music is strong. A couple songs (“$2 Champion” and “Badge of Honor”) were catchy enough to stick in my head all day, but it was one of the instrumental fillers, “Jerry’s Hooptie,” that really grabbed me. Very cool.

Written by Carson Pierce. This review originally appeared on the Flaming Fish Music website.