Added Dimensions

Reviews

Added Dimensions / Almond Uppers / Death of a Rolling Stone split cassette

This is a split released between two Philly, PA and Richmond, VA-related bands—ADDED DIMENSIONS is the Richmond-based project of Sarah Everton and Rob Garcia, previously of Philadelphia bands like BLOWDRYER, TELEPATHIC, and READING RAINBOW. ALMOND is from Philly and features Armen Knox of local darlings HONEY RADAR (who used to live in Richmond!), but has flown entirely under my radar (LOL) until now despite putting out a bunch of digital releases and spending a lot of time retweeting RINGO STARR. ALMOND’s side is an eighteen-minute live set of what I can only assume is a conceptual “suite” about the death of either Brian Jones or Charlie Watts. Honestly, I couldn’t understand the words, but the sound is very fuzzy, droning, and blown-out garage-y rock’n’roll-y, with a psychedelic feel. It reminds me of bands like the GRIFTERS and GLORIUM and, frankly, HONEY RADAR. ADDED DIMENSIONS sound a little more lo-fi than on their previous releases (but not as lo-fi as ALMOND), and there’s a Farfisa on the absolute banger “Repetition.” But other than that, it’s more of the same trebly, anxious ’90s post-punk revival/C86 sound with blasé, almost chanted vocals that sometimes edge into something a little more intense. Lyrics are focused on the push and pull between internal and external expectations we have for ourselves and others. Everton is a killer songwriter and every track on here is a catchy gem, with simple sounds but complex ideas. And the tape benefits the Transgender Law Center—the Trump administration has made trans people into one of its main out-groups to be demonized, with absolutely no pushback from anyone in national politics. I can think of few causes that are more important right now than protecting trans people from legal attacks on their very existence as their authentic selves in society. Just a couple of weeks ago, Marcy Rheintgren, a trans woman, was arraigned in Florida on charges that could result in eleven months in prison for washing her hands in a public bathroom. This shit is real, and props to these bands for trying to do something about it.

Added Dimensions Time Suck / Hellbent EP

Following their self-titled cassette from 2022, ADDED DIMENSIONS puts five tracks to wax on this new EP, out on Erika Elizabeth’s Domestic Departure label. This is Sarah Everton’s project (of BLOWDRYER and TELEPATHIC), and she contributes everything from guitars and lyrics to the artwork, with drumming from Rob Garcia. Inside this lovely home-spun record, we find staccato SLEATER-KINNEY-esque guitar riffs with the shambling rhythms of the VASELINES and her very own lyrical grit about modern life, like on the second track “In the System”: “In the system I cannot leave / That’s OK, they know what’s best for me,” sung with a satirical sweetness. This won’t suck, doesn’t take up much of your time, and you might even be hellbent for more!

Added Dimensions Added Dimensions cassette

ADDED DIMENSIONS is the new home recording project from Sarah Everton, most recently of Philadelphia’s great (and unjustly slept-on) minimal punk trio BLOWDRYER, and previously of TELEPATHIC and READING RAINBOW. Sarah’s trebly/jangly guitar riffs and sneaky bass lines are backed by a charge of unfussy, driving drums from Rob Garcia, all cloaked in the perfect amount of Tascam grit, as she lyrically pares down the heavy psychic weight of modern living (the social cost of convenience and connectivity, the inane routine of labor as a means of survival, etc.) into disarmingly hooky mini-manifestoes—even the sugar-coated melodies can’t hide the harsh truths behind lines like “running in place so you can get paid” (“Behavior”), or “live in a fantasy, suffer anxiety, waking up dead” (“Obvious Device”). WIRE rubbing elbows with the SHOP ASSISTANTS as a C86 band? A Kim Deal-fronted URINALS? Charms you can’t resist!