For those that don't remember Books on Tape, the ear-blistering beat project of Todd Drootin, think of him as the West Coast's answer to Dan Friel with a bit of Eric Copeland thrown in. Like his contemporaries, he's a punk dude at heart who has a wild hair for hip hop and electronic music that informs his manic productions. Books on Tapes' last and most critically decorated album, excluding the remix record Who Shot Ya? (2006), was Dinosaur Dinosaur in 2005. With six-years of silence clocked in, We're not sure if Retired Numbers is putting the jersey in the rafters or pulling it down for a Jordan-esque season with the Washington Wizards.
All we have to offer is “Super Dr.”, a cartoonish joy ride at warp speed that passes bunnies on acid and tazmanian devils pounding themselves over the head with oversized mallets. The song is an unearthed piece Drootin found, possibly while clearing an old harddrive or just going down memory lane. Recorded around the time of his Alien8 and Deathbomb Arc records, “Super Dr.” is vintage Books on Tape, still analog and still unorthodox punk.
Retired Numbers is out November 13 on Sorry Juniper!.
