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LP
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TS 12010LP
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"Heart Land hail from New Hope, PA. It's a liminal place, halfway between everything, where all the lines blur and where 'things' aren't always what they 'seem.' I remember one autumn evening a quarter-century ago, when New Hope first got under my skin. In that twilight moment, legendary psychedelic LP collector Veronica Breth (then still known as 'Gregg') let me in on her little secret: 'It's better to sell 100 records at $150.00 apiece,' she whispered in her kiss-of-the-spider-woman purr, 'than it is to sell 1000 records at $15.00 each...' I don't know if it was the ginseng wine, or the unbearable straightness of her long blonde hair, or the way s/he French-inhaled her clove cigarette, but the whole conversation made me a little light-headed. At that time, the notion struck me as elitist to the point of vampirism, but I'll be goddamned if her words aren't truer now than when s/he uttered them. What with the internet both hipping everybody to everything and making it all available at any time, rarity itself is as rare as a day in June (as they say). Which brings me back to Heart Land's self-titled LP on Tequila Sunrise Records, one in a series of on-going collaborative co-releases, this one with Cream of Turner Records. It's a limited edition of 200, all with hand-made library-binder style covers, and very sharp-looking indeed. But not only is every sleeve different and unique, but every record is different, too -- at least, that's how it sounds! What do I know? Every time I play it, it sounds different. Seriously. All I know is that the guys from Heart Land burrowed into the outside-psychedelic-trance-noise-improv badger-hole like a dachshund (albeit one with an un-German sense of humor) and came back with a mash-up of every track on the NWW want-list plus a few imaginary tracks mixed in (only it turns out none were really imaginary after all, if you get my 'drift'). Are these songs 30 seconds long, or are they whole sides? Are they soundtracks for unseen cinema? Who can say? I cannot answer these questions, I can only raise them. Heart Land's inspired throb is a true rarity, sand thrown into the gears of the reality studio machine, and you don't have to be a Swiss collector to afford it. Yet. Listen, wonder, and ride a white dove, luv!" -- Carlos Ramirez, San Tanco, Puerto Rico
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