Split 7” by Totally Slow/Black Market

\18.6.18\

North Carolina has been good to the Rock and Metal scenes. Out of this could safely be said these two bands were born. Totally Slow and Black Market both populate this split 7” with no title besides the label test pressing (meaning yet another valuable find): However, this review only has room for one band and I’m sticking with Totally Slow. Personally, Black Market has a more relatable sound and would be a band I could see myself listening to more of, but since 2016 they have been inactive. With a self-described sound of melodic and emotional DIY music, Totally Slow is punk band that got great footing right out of the gate in their community with their first single, “Acid Rain,” in 2013. Following this, the band released an EP before going on tour up and down the East Coast, appearing at The Fest in Gainsville, Florida twice.

Around this time, their record label, Self Aware, pitted Totally Slow with Black Market, another band on the label, for a promotional split 7” record. Some of the songs would appear on future releases, some did not, it was all up to the artists. As it plays at 33rpm, each side has two songs by each band. Like I stated before, Black Market takes the cake for my favorite, mostly due to the power hitting melody in Hangover Hobby Kit. Unfortunately, this could not be found on sporify, but it is on Bandcamp. The other three songs on here aren’t my personal favorite, but really complete the package.

The most lovely almost pastel purple on this record stands out against everything in my collection. Also missing the traditional larger hole in the middle, this is still something I wouldn’t mind parading around on Instagram. The two songs on each side don’t look crouded and the whole thing looks very clean, except for the plethora of missing information on the labels. Besides United Record Pressing information, no record label, band, or song information is on here. If I had to guess, this copy was not sold to the public and was a test copy given to the bands or the label. On the outside, we see lovely neon horse art that both describes and fits the music so well. The back has good graphic design too, but it’s not eye catcher.

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