Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
Studio album by Swirlies
Released	March 26, 1993
Recorded	June 1992–November 1992
Studio	Q Division Studios, Boston
Genre	Noise pop indie rock shoegazing lo-fi dream pop chimp rock
Length	42:36
Label	Taang!
Producer	Rich Costey
Swirlies chronology
What to Do About Them (1992) Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (1993) Brokedick Car (1994)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Tiny Mix Tapes	link

Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (sometimes spelled Blondertongueaudiobaton) is a 1993 album by Swirlies, released on CD, LP and cassette. The majority of the album was recorded in the summer of 1992 at Q Division Studios, Boston with engineer/co-producer Rich Costey. It is possibly their best-known and most critically praised work, with many critics citing it as a "lo-fi" answer to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Allmusic calls it "a mainstay of early-'90s indie music."

The album is named after an obscure and expensive audio graphic equalizer, made from 1959-61 which was used extensively while tracking the album. It was co-lead singer Seana Carmody's last full album with the group, before she formed the Farfisa-driven and somewhat more pop-oriented Syrup USA. In 2015 most of Swirlies' original line up reunited to perform the entirety of Blonder Tongue Audio Baton as a live set in Brooklyn on the 4th of July as part of the band's 25th anniversary tour.^[2]

Track listing

All tracks by Swirlies

1. "Bell (Prelude)" – 0:12
2. "Bell" – 4:29
3. "Vigilant Always" – 5:10
4. "His Love Just Washed Away" – 5:24
5. "His Life of Academic Freedom" – 2:07
6. "Pancake" – 3:15
7. "Jeremy Parker" – 4:14
8. "Park the Car by the Side of the Road" – 5:04
9. "Tree Chopped Down" – 3:12
10. "Wrong Tube" – 5:06
11. "Wait Forever" – 4:18

Singles

• The song "Park the Car by the Side of the Road" is a remix of the version from the band's "Error" 7" recorded in 1991. The band had recorded a new arrangement of the song for the album, but shelved it in favor of the original.
• An alternate mix of "Wrong Tube" was the A-side to the band's 1993Brokedick Car 7" single. The 12"/CD/cassette version also included two new mixes of "Pancake".
• A 1994 Peel Session of "Jeremy Parker" (with some Alan Parsons Project lyrics adlibbed by Seana) would later make up the A-side of the group's "Orca vs. Dragon" single.
• The song "Trudy" from the band's 1991 8-track sessions was omitted from the Blonder Tongue album and appeared as the November release of Simple Machines' 1994 Working Holiday! split 7" series. It was released again a decade later as a bonus track on the Japanese release of Cats of the Wild (Vol. 2).

Personnel

Players:

• Andy Bernick – Bass, Radio
• Seana Carmody – Guitar, Vocals, Minimoog, Chamberlin (incorrectly listed in the liner notes as a Mellotron)
• Ben Drucker – Drums (7, 8, 9)
• Kevin March (Dambuilders) – Drums (2,10)
• Mark "Spongey" Rivers (Cavedogs) – Drums (3, 4, 6, as well as the outtakes for "Park the Car" and "Trudy")
• Damon Tuntunjian – Guitar, Vocals, Casio VL-5, Minimoog, Chamberlin (incorrectly listed in the liner notes as a Mellotron)

Additional noises by:

• Dan - Moth talk recordist
• Morgan Andrews - Chimp guitar on "His Life of Academic Freedom"
• Ron Regé, Jr. – Masking tape pull recordist on intro.
• Sentridoh and Madbox - Moth talk ambient and cover-up music

Other credits

• Swirlies – Producer, Mixing, Engineer
• Rich Costey – Engineer, Mixing, Co-Producer
• Kerri Bennet – Artwork, Art Direction, Design
• Ron Regé – Art Direction, Design
• Andy Bernick - Artwork

References

1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r182141
2. "Swirlies expand tour, playing 'Blonder Tongue Audio Baton' in full at Silent Barn on 4th of July (updated dates)". Brooklyn Vegan. Townsquare Music. Retrieved 14 July 2015.

External links

• information about the original Blonder-Tongue Audio Baton e.q. unit
• Swirlies official discography - links to a download