A release that has been stuck on my mind a lot recently is the new tape from The Savage Young Taterbug, titled Shadow of Marlboro Man. Taterbug is a lo-fi weirdo in the vein of Daniel Johnston, but he can tend to stray a bit weirder, if you could believe it. There’s a raw edge on a lot of Taterbug’s recordings, as if he is shouting at you from alternately the other side of the room and three rooms over, depending on how lo his fi is feeling that day. On some tracks, you can also kinda see Taterbug as being the roguish counterpart to Youth Lagoon, an act that, at least in its infancy, was reserved and fragile. They also have similar vocal deliveries. On this release, the recording quality is actually pretty high, and the songs carry a fair amount of bounce and groove. A standout is “Victor the Vapor Rubber,” equal parts catchy and creepy. Maybe it’s the mindset I’m in, because there’s a fair amount of DNA shared by this song and “Squealer Two.” Guess I’m ready to glam out for Renn Fayre. Stay safe and have fun at the Big Party, dudes, I’ll see you on the other side.