Rank/Xerox - "Basement Furniture" - (Mongo Bongo)

Rank/Xerox – “Basement Furniture” (Mongo Bongo)
I used to compulsively download the MRR radio playlists and then passively listen and it all kind of blended together. Everything except this single. The first time I heard Rank/Xerox I was floored. Super simple post-punk that feels almost like a garage band accidentally stumbled into Roger Miller recording session. While it’s not nearly as dense sounding as any of the Burma records, the back and forth vocals are there and so is the rapid changing drumbeat. It’s a little bit more British (or even Australian?) sounding than Bostonian, but I can definitely hear it in the first cut on this record. The other two songs sound entirely different.
The song “In A Hole” sounds almost like members of The Intelligence decided to revisit some Factory Records box sets but recorded them with Dan Armstrongs. And then to make these abstract band comparisons even more off, “Masking/Confessions” is eerily similar to “Spectra Sonic Sound”, except with keyboard sounds.
It’s hard to pin down anything with this record, other than the fact they clearly like slightly off-kilter bands, and possibly aren’t actually from San Francisco. If every band figured out a way to end their record as wonderfully as Rank/Xerox, then we’d have many more Dollar Bin Rippers. Until then, go pick this up and look through the new bins for copies of their very good long player.

I know that supposedly this ep is worth "money" now, but I picked a second copy out of the cheap bin in Charlotte, North Carolina over the summer. Maybe the cover makes shop owners price it down, but e-punks are starting to buy these up so go scour some used bins before everyone figures out what a gem this is.