Esoteric Tape: Sullest - Fashionable Male 8.7 (Hardcore/Pop Punk)

Sullest
Fashionable Male
Hardcore Pop-punk
November 5, 2018
Tor Johnson Records
Providence, RI
8.7/10

I’m just too excited. It’s hard to write this review while or immediately after listening to this record because there is so much going on here and I react in very different ways to all of it. This is a tape sent to me courtesy of Tor Johnson Records when I ordered Cyttorak‘s EP I reviewed earlier this year here. I’ve ordered from them a couple times now and it’s always great, cheap as chips as we say in Australia. Their bandcamp discog is 3.25 USD. The tapes are like 2 – 6 bucks a pop at the most and it’s always the strangest and actual esoteric stuff (what I’m all about baby). This is Sullest and their tape Fashionable Male. An adventure into hardcore pop-punk.

This album cover is immediately endearing, it reminds me of the Narco meme where he’s wandering around his estate but on a slide. I had no idea what kind of music I had been sent, especially not when the shell is just a cluster fuck of glitter. This shit stands out and yet it has gone almost a year with barely any notice, I don’t know if it’s some underground scene thing or what but this is a unique sound suited to a large audience of weirdos. Cross appeal between all sorts of punk related genres and ideas. Fans of this years Ithaca or The Callous Daoboys will get used to juxtapositions used quickly, but don’t expect the same heaviness, this is the punk rock version.

And naturally I’m going to make a comparison to Circle Takes The Square like I do in 20% of all reviews I write, mostly vocally where it switches styles a lot and there’s multiple vocalists that will jump in at random. Sometimes it’s a style that’s intentionally off key. It will often sound like a simple punk song, something very familiar and then it will contort in some way. A different way across each transition and track. But then it still sounds like a simple punk song again. It’s like an homage to all of punk done with the attention span of a math band.

I’ve listened to it both on cassette and digitally and it feels heavier on cassette. I’m really curious about what they might release next, I’d be really happy to hear some pop-punk grindcore moments spliced into this catchy and oddly complex signature sound they have. It’s cheap enough, just get the tape and start your collection today.

It’s a great aesthetic overall that speaks to me no matter what kind of mood I’m in and it’s just generally memorable as a physical release.

8.7/10