Style-wise, the Black Lantern sounds like it could easily fit somewhere on a Three One G or GSL sampler. The first few songs have some dance-y punk, neo-wave elements—not unlike the Julie Ruin or maybe even Sweden’s The Sounds which—then give way to sudden tempo changes akin to Melt-Banana’s frantic unpredictability or the 400 Blows stomping heaviness. Even with all that positive influence, I can’t help but feel like I just can’t get a firm grasp on what audience The Black Lantern is looking to appeal to. This is being released on Burger records’ “little brother” imprint Wiener Records, which means you can look forward to another few hundred cassettes being released next month.
–Juan Espinosa (Wiener)