As I stepped out into the bright hallway from the darkness of the chip cellar I had only two things on my mind: Skinny Genes and salt and vinegar chips (Covered Bridge Sea Salt & Vinegar Old Fashioned Kettle Cooked [Dark Russet] Potato Chips [to be exact]).
It was only a week ago when I opened my most recent (at this point it seems like quarterly if not bi-monthly) package from It's Alive Records. It contained two 7"s: B-Sides 4 Way Split [a cleverly themed/titled lil' guy from Rad Girlfriend Records] and IAR's most recent release, Ugh [I can't currently find a stream of it] from Skinny Genes. I enjoy being relatively blind when listening to new music so the only thing that I knew about Skinny Genes was that they released an EP on IAR. When I put on UGH I was treated to some absolutely top notch pop punk..some of best songs that I've heard thus far in 2015. I had no choice but to keep flipping the record when the needle returned to it's resting place (this has stayed true for the past week [on my ipod as well]). About halfway through my second listen of UGH I realized that this voice was oddly familiar..this lead me to open up the liner notes and see who is in the band: "All songs, singing and instruments by Azeem Sajid", or if you're acquainted with The Steinways/Houseboat, Ace. Fuck me, Skinny Genes is the genius of one man [who happens to have been "that other guy..girl" in some fantastic bands]. Bright lively music, buttery smooth vocal delivery (complete with self harmonizing) and lyrics that cover internet message board culture, failed relationships and (ironically) being lazy [all with a nice dose of self-deprecation]. With the longest track at a whopping 1:54 this sub-6min EP delivered and left me wanting more..like his previous EP MEH. Can't hardly wait for his future *fingers crossed* LP?
Due to the fact that Salt and Vinegar chips are a pretty standard flavour across the board it's hard for one company to separate itself from the pack. Covered Bridge however does not have that issue. Ever since my first time tasting Covered Bridge Sea Salt & Vinegar chips I have been hooked. These somewhat thin kettle cooked beauties show a fair amount of skin on almost every chip. Billed as "DARK RUSSET POTATO CHIPS" (I don't know what that really means, as far as I can tell there's no such thing as a dark russet potato so does the "dark" mean that they cook them slightly longer than average kettle cooked potato chips or is it because the actual potato slices are slightly thinner so they cook faster [these chips do have a higher percentage of the brown {on the edge of being over cooked} chips aka the best chips]). That being said, visually they're slightly darker than your standard lays/old dutch salty semicircles (they have an overall less processed look [and taste] to them). When chip meets tongue you're initially met with a sugary sweet handshake followed by (what I consider) a malt vinegar tang. The potato flavour is faint and blends perfectly with the sweet malted vinegar. Majority of the chips within Covered Bridge's salty bags treat you to the mildly bitter, and completely welcome, taste of potato skin. These chips taste like the dark homemade fries that you get from a food truck or hole in the wall diner. If you're at all a fan of Salt and Vinegar chips these are a must, they're an absolutely fantastic treat.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
ps. UGH was engineered by Luke McNeill, mastered by Mass Giorgini and mixed by Philip Zumbrun. If you're into pop punk I don't think I need to explain.
It was only a week ago when I opened my most recent (at this point it seems like quarterly if not bi-monthly) package from It's Alive Records. It contained two 7"s: B-Sides 4 Way Split [a cleverly themed/titled lil' guy from Rad Girlfriend Records] and IAR's most recent release, Ugh [I can't currently find a stream of it] from Skinny Genes. I enjoy being relatively blind when listening to new music so the only thing that I knew about Skinny Genes was that they released an EP on IAR. When I put on UGH I was treated to some absolutely top notch pop punk..some of best songs that I've heard thus far in 2015. I had no choice but to keep flipping the record when the needle returned to it's resting place (this has stayed true for the past week [on my ipod as well]). About halfway through my second listen of UGH I realized that this voice was oddly familiar..this lead me to open up the liner notes and see who is in the band: "All songs, singing and instruments by Azeem Sajid", or if you're acquainted with The Steinways/Houseboat, Ace. Fuck me, Skinny Genes is the genius of one man [who happens to have been "that other guy..girl" in some fantastic bands]. Bright lively music, buttery smooth vocal delivery (complete with self harmonizing) and lyrics that cover internet message board culture, failed relationships and (ironically) being lazy [all with a nice dose of self-deprecation]. With the longest track at a whopping 1:54 this sub-6min EP delivered and left me wanting more..like his previous EP MEH. Can't hardly wait for his future *fingers crossed* LP?
Due to the fact that Salt and Vinegar chips are a pretty standard flavour across the board it's hard for one company to separate itself from the pack. Covered Bridge however does not have that issue. Ever since my first time tasting Covered Bridge Sea Salt & Vinegar chips I have been hooked. These somewhat thin kettle cooked beauties show a fair amount of skin on almost every chip. Billed as "DARK RUSSET POTATO CHIPS" (I don't know what that really means, as far as I can tell there's no such thing as a dark russet potato so does the "dark" mean that they cook them slightly longer than average kettle cooked potato chips or is it because the actual potato slices are slightly thinner so they cook faster [these chips do have a higher percentage of the brown {on the edge of being over cooked} chips aka the best chips]). That being said, visually they're slightly darker than your standard lays/old dutch salty semicircles (they have an overall less processed look [and taste] to them). When chip meets tongue you're initially met with a sugary sweet handshake followed by (what I consider) a malt vinegar tang. The potato flavour is faint and blends perfectly with the sweet malted vinegar. Majority of the chips within Covered Bridge's salty bags treat you to the mildly bitter, and completely welcome, taste of potato skin. These chips taste like the dark homemade fries that you get from a food truck or hole in the wall diner. If you're at all a fan of Salt and Vinegar chips these are a must, they're an absolutely fantastic treat.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
ps. UGH was engineered by Luke McNeill, mastered by Mass Giorgini and mixed by Philip Zumbrun. If you're into pop punk I don't think I need to explain.
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