Historical Review: March 15, 2012
Once, when I was a little kid, I found a cassette in the mud, next to a fallen tree trunk, in the woods near my old house. At the time, I figured that it fell out of some asshole teenager’s pocket while he and his friends sat drinking a bunch of shitty beer. I know now that that I was probably right. I picked up the cassette and took it home with me. It was some sort of mix tape and I was curious what was on it… so I put it into my parents’ tape deck and pressed the play button. The tape deck broke. And I only heard a moment of the tape, a filthy, distorted rock and roll song, just before it destroyed the deck and my mom yelled at me. It sounded exactly like you’d imagine a tape buried in mud would sound like. I am sure that you are saying to yourself right now… “Oh… I get it. Medication sounds like that tape, Right?” Wrong. Medication does not sound like that tape. They sound filthier… but in a good way.
Medication’s “Judgment day” was written and recorded by Danbury’s (at the time New Milford’s) very own reclusive-rocker: Mikey Hyde, and released by Sacred Bones Records. Mikey recorded the entire thing on a four-track. A lot of lo-fi enthusiasts are likely enthralled by this idea. Well, I have realized, over the years, that just because you record something on a shitty medium, it’s not gonna always sound cool. There is an art to recording on four-track—The Microphones could do it; Medication definitely can. “Judgment Day” is certainly a lo-fi gem.
Every track on this record is good. The album has a haunting darkness, veiled in an intrinsic gloom, which changes the rather standard rock songs into weird and unearthly hymns. Each song is peppered with that kind of dulled grief, which only gets worse with the years. The title track, however, stands out. “Judgment Day” is dark, and has said sadness to it, yet there is a youthful hopefulness peeking through the gloom—just a little bit. The murky guitars and attitude-filled vocals ride upon a thumping, common-timed, rhythm, giving the track a danceable feel to it.
The album is definitely worth your time and effort. Keep an eye out for Medication; I’m certain Mikey will be releasing something new soon.