Stroom wish us a very merry Christmas in typically monchrome fashion, dipping into their endless supply of Dutch coldwave cassettes to bring us this seasonal 7" of experimental pop. On the A-side, Nosedrip nabs "Funny Bells", a Betty Arden contribution to the "Is That You Santa Claus? (Oscar's X-mas Carols Vol. 3)", a 1986 tape limited to 100. After an opening of, well, funny bells, Betty lays a melancholic guitar over a simple drum box, then tells her tale with rich multitracked vocals. Bedsit folk for the win!
On the flip, the ace and odd "Sloopy" interlude from Saskia's 1983 cassette gets a first time on vinyl, drifting from crystalline ambient through DIY funk before settling into a wonky minimal wave ballad.
On the flip, the ace and odd "Sloopy" interlude from Saskia's 1983 cassette gets a first time on vinyl, drifting from crystalline ambient through DIY funk before settling into a wonky minimal wave ballad.
TRACK LISTING
A. Betty Arden - Funny Bells
B. Saskia - Sloopy