AYE NAKO - Demo - Tape - 2010

   When I put this tape in the stereo for the first time, I didn't know that I was dooming myself to having these songs hopelessly stuck in my head for the next year. I've known Mars (guitar/vox) and Joe (bass) for a long time now. I was (and still am) a big fan of their old band, FLEABAG back when they lived in the Bay Area, but this band is a step above, somehow. All the rough edges of FLEABAG are honed and sharpened. The guitars are thicker and more frenetic. It has the triumphant feel of being comfortable and confident with the music that you're creating.

AYE NAKO in Worcester, MA.

  AYE NAKO started in Bloomington, IN back in 2008 and broke up when Mars and Joe moved to the Bay Area. A couple of years later, the two of them ended up in Brooklyn and started playing with Angie on drums, once again as AYE NAKO with all new songs and a bigger sound. Mars sent me a early version of "Molasses" before the tape came out and I must have listened to it 5 times in a row as soon as I got it. I wanted more. I still want more. "Good Grief"'s screamy hardcore approach sounded out of place when I first heard it (also, kind of alarming after meeting Mars as a meek, almost mute acoustic performer 5 years ago), but now it fits in, in a weird way  The cacophonous guitar outro on "Slump" brings a mile-wide smile to my face. This is definitely one of my favorite tapes of the past year and as I said before, I still want more.

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In Richmond, VA. Photo by ???
p.s. one of the best tape covers ever, in my opinion.