OK, I'm giving this one another shot.
.
![Posted Image]()
Even if you didn't read my old review (and I don't blame you), y'all know who TheRazorEdge is. Youchew regular, acclaimed tenniser, fan of lo-fi indie values, maker of good vids.
.
He put an album out earlier this year, and I reviewed it. The review was surface-skimming and I pretty much typed it out while listening to the album for the first time, which was a dumb move. Since then, I've given it more listens, and I finally have some actual opinions on it.
.
First opinion of all: this album bears a striking resemblance to a certain indie film cult hit.
.
![Posted Image]()
Sorry you had to see this.
.
If you've never heard of Trash Humpers before, it... it basically is what it says it is. On a surface level, it basically consists of indie film auteur Harmony Korine and his buddies dressing up like burn victims, roaming the streets of Nashville and shagging binbags and refuse. There are themes of rebellion and counter-cultural ideals beneath the surface, but basically it consists of trash humpers humping trash.
.
I've never seen anything that more accurately resembles a fever dream in my entire life. That includes my involvement in the world of Youtube Poop.
.
Which is funny, really, because Headache From Sharpie Fumes is a pretty perfect recreation of a fever dream too! The only difference is the medium: one's a film, the other's an album. Seriously, the resemblance is insane:
.
~both boast thoroughly lo-fi values. Trash Humpers was very noticeably shot on VHS tape, using a hand-held camera. Large segments of Headache From Sharpie Fumes are seemingly in MP3 quality, in some cases warped further by pitch shifts, reverb and other forms of audio wrangling. Both choices have a kind of beautiful effect: the VHS quality lends an unsettlingly "real" feel to Humpers, while the MP3 quality makes Headache cosy and inviting, especially on the track Every other day, which envelopes the listener in a fuzzy sonic blanket. The limitations of the respective formats totally work in the favour of both of these pieces of work.
~both can be painful to take in at times. Humpers has moments that really give your brain a good teabagging: near the end of the film, the female Humper appears in a sudden close up. Her leathery, burnt plastic snout of a face is the film's way of opening your brain up Hannibal Lecter-style and dipping its nutsack right in. It is jarring. Headache's equivalent is the start of Angels that add to ninety degrees, a heavily abrasive synth line which effectively drives a hefty lance into each of your ears. Make it past these moments, and you might just make it out the other side in one piece.
~both are fascinating. Like Trash Humpers or hate it, you'll never forget the bizarre chants of the titular Humpers, or the scene where a naked man is found lying in a ditch (is he dead? Is he acting?), or the scene where the female Humper kidnaps a fucking baby from a house. Likewise, you're not going to easily forget the way Absorb senior begins with 40 seconds of quiet static that soon morphs into warm ambience and pulls you, heart and mind, into the rest of the album. You're not forgetting the demented spasms that Then and now descends into. You're not forgetting the hour long loop of a Velvet Underground song that makes up the entirety of Cleaner - a song which, by the way, may well turn you a little insane just to listen to for a few minutes.
.
So, yeah, there's similarities. Is Trash Humpers any good? I don't really know. Besides, if I did, this wouldn't be my place to tell you. It's a bizarre, bizarre film that I struggle to form an opinion on. Anyway, this is a Headache From Sharpie Fumes retrospective, not a Trash Humpers review.
But Humpers helped me realise something. A lot of people hate that film, which is not unreasonable. But does this mean those same people would react in the same way to Headache? Probably, yeah. It hits a spot in the head that seldom gets hit, and parts come close to being unlistenable, and moments of beauty played straight are few and far between. But that would be to discredit this thing. There's totally a mad, skewed prettiness to it. I've come to appreciate Angels... 180 degrees, which is the sound of all of your brain cells firing at once, some of which snapping and melting. Its sister track, Angels... 90 degrees, hurts at first. It hurts a lot. But as the intro progresses, it becomes a little cathartic. You may not enjoy it as you're listening to it, but as the after images knock about inside your head once you get a moment of silence afterwards, you may well start humming it.
.
I've felt many different things about this album. The more I think about it, I have to concede that I've never heard anything like this before in my life. It makes a great companion to a still night of wandering an empty street, cutting across desolate parking lots and the hedgerows that encircle them. It's a half-broken, pleasant, malevolent, rewarding, unlistenable, messy, well-structured, gorgeous thing to witness. I originally gave it a 3/5 score, but a 4.5/5 is closer to the mark. It taps into an aesthetic that needs expanding upon and exploring, pronto. I recommend checking it out and making your own mind up on the dang thing.
.
Creedence never filled us up. Creedendence never filled us up. Creedendence nevnever filled us up. eedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneeden
.
Even if you didn't read my old review (and I don't blame you), y'all know who TheRazorEdge is. Youchew regular, acclaimed tenniser, fan of lo-fi indie values, maker of good vids.
.
He put an album out earlier this year, and I reviewed it. The review was surface-skimming and I pretty much typed it out while listening to the album for the first time, which was a dumb move. Since then, I've given it more listens, and I finally have some actual opinions on it.
.
First opinion of all: this album bears a striking resemblance to a certain indie film cult hit.
.
Sorry you had to see this.
.
If you've never heard of Trash Humpers before, it... it basically is what it says it is. On a surface level, it basically consists of indie film auteur Harmony Korine and his buddies dressing up like burn victims, roaming the streets of Nashville and shagging binbags and refuse. There are themes of rebellion and counter-cultural ideals beneath the surface, but basically it consists of trash humpers humping trash.
.
I've never seen anything that more accurately resembles a fever dream in my entire life. That includes my involvement in the world of Youtube Poop.
.
Which is funny, really, because Headache From Sharpie Fumes is a pretty perfect recreation of a fever dream too! The only difference is the medium: one's a film, the other's an album. Seriously, the resemblance is insane:
.
~both boast thoroughly lo-fi values. Trash Humpers was very noticeably shot on VHS tape, using a hand-held camera. Large segments of Headache From Sharpie Fumes are seemingly in MP3 quality, in some cases warped further by pitch shifts, reverb and other forms of audio wrangling. Both choices have a kind of beautiful effect: the VHS quality lends an unsettlingly "real" feel to Humpers, while the MP3 quality makes Headache cosy and inviting, especially on the track Every other day, which envelopes the listener in a fuzzy sonic blanket. The limitations of the respective formats totally work in the favour of both of these pieces of work.
~both can be painful to take in at times. Humpers has moments that really give your brain a good teabagging: near the end of the film, the female Humper appears in a sudden close up. Her leathery, burnt plastic snout of a face is the film's way of opening your brain up Hannibal Lecter-style and dipping its nutsack right in. It is jarring. Headache's equivalent is the start of Angels that add to ninety degrees, a heavily abrasive synth line which effectively drives a hefty lance into each of your ears. Make it past these moments, and you might just make it out the other side in one piece.
~both are fascinating. Like Trash Humpers or hate it, you'll never forget the bizarre chants of the titular Humpers, or the scene where a naked man is found lying in a ditch (is he dead? Is he acting?), or the scene where the female Humper kidnaps a fucking baby from a house. Likewise, you're not going to easily forget the way Absorb senior begins with 40 seconds of quiet static that soon morphs into warm ambience and pulls you, heart and mind, into the rest of the album. You're not forgetting the demented spasms that Then and now descends into. You're not forgetting the hour long loop of a Velvet Underground song that makes up the entirety of Cleaner - a song which, by the way, may well turn you a little insane just to listen to for a few minutes.
.
So, yeah, there's similarities. Is Trash Humpers any good? I don't really know. Besides, if I did, this wouldn't be my place to tell you. It's a bizarre, bizarre film that I struggle to form an opinion on. Anyway, this is a Headache From Sharpie Fumes retrospective, not a Trash Humpers review.
But Humpers helped me realise something. A lot of people hate that film, which is not unreasonable. But does this mean those same people would react in the same way to Headache? Probably, yeah. It hits a spot in the head that seldom gets hit, and parts come close to being unlistenable, and moments of beauty played straight are few and far between. But that would be to discredit this thing. There's totally a mad, skewed prettiness to it. I've come to appreciate Angels... 180 degrees, which is the sound of all of your brain cells firing at once, some of which snapping and melting. Its sister track, Angels... 90 degrees, hurts at first. It hurts a lot. But as the intro progresses, it becomes a little cathartic. You may not enjoy it as you're listening to it, but as the after images knock about inside your head once you get a moment of silence afterwards, you may well start humming it.
.
I've felt many different things about this album. The more I think about it, I have to concede that I've never heard anything like this before in my life. It makes a great companion to a still night of wandering an empty street, cutting across desolate parking lots and the hedgerows that encircle them. It's a half-broken, pleasant, malevolent, rewarding, unlistenable, messy, well-structured, gorgeous thing to witness. I originally gave it a 3/5 score, but a 4.5/5 is closer to the mark. It taps into an aesthetic that needs expanding upon and exploring, pronto. I recommend checking it out and making your own mind up on the dang thing.
.
Creedence never filled us up. Creedendence never filled us up. Creedendence nevnever filled us up. eedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneedeneeden