(So this post is a dump [don't take this phrasing as an indication of my take on the chips] of chip notes from 2017. Some might say a..compilation, due to the amount I'm writing about [copying straight from my phone notes] tonight. I've made the chips flavours bold in case you want to skip straight to the chips..I'd however recommend against that.)
I'm not sure if it's a new thing or not, but I dig it when labels that I follow release 'celebration' comps (celebrating milestones of the label). The first one that pops into my mind is Red Scare's 10 Years of Your Dumb Bullshit in 2014. In the past year there were 3 more that I felt the need to procure; Pirates Press' One Family, One Flag (banger of a comp, showcased the range of music put out through the label with fantastic packaging [5 LP sides] I believe they're all(?) previously released), Rad Girlfriend Records' Dead Wax (celebrating as their 100th release [double LP] with a whole wack of unreleased/new tracks from artists spanning their whole roster), and the one I'm going to briefly touch on tonight, Red Scare Industries' 15 Years of Tears and Beers.
15 Years starts out with (I believe) 3 brand spankin' new bangers from The Copyrights (Maine or Oregon), Sincere Engineer (Dragged Across the Finish Line), and Broadway Calls (Sunday Morning [a Menzingers cover from their Hold On Dodge e.p. on Red Scare]). For me I knew the Copyrights and SE songs were going to be my jam, but hot dang was I surprised by Broadway Calls. I've tried to get into them in the past because their albums have had quite the positive reviews, but I couldn't quite get hooked..until now. Sunday Morning is super catchy, heartfelt and (even though I know it's a cover) has me stoked for their (I thought it was still) upcoming Red Scare release Sad in the City (I didn't realize it was out, going to have to check it after this post goes up)
Our Finest 'thick cut' Sweet Chili & Sour Cream "Thick, crinkle-cut chips" (I just realized I've never blogged about Doritos Sweet Chili Heat, whoa). Substantial crunch, thick cut adds a lot of potato to the chips, however the potato is somewhat bland (not CB that's for sure). Sweet and spicy with a hint of SC "flavour" however the potato is somewhat overpowering. Seasoning is okay, a little uneven and ends up pretty light on some chips. Good for dipping.
Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Sea Salt & Vinegar "with 30% less fat *than regular potato chips (they however didn't define what a 'regular potato chip' is on the bag). Hearty crunch. You could dip these in _________ (fill in the blank, they'll hold up to it) and they wouldn't break. First chip lacked flavour, subsequent chips picked it up to have present but somewhat passive vinegar. The odd one has some real vinegar bite to it. Definitely white vinegar flavour. Salty. Crunch is pleasant, present but not overpowering. Seasoning coverage is somewhat inconsistent. These would be perfect dippers but are enjoyable on their own. Safe bet while stepping slightly out of the box. Not as greasy as typical Kettle Brand. Flavour of the actual potato is barely present.
Next up on 15 years is Sam Russo's The Window. This song slaps. It's off his (at the time of the comp upcoming, but now [and the only song that's not exclusive to this comp..at least at this time]) newest album Back to the Party. This song is infectious, I ordered Party a few months ago...but it seems to be lost in the mail. I'll get it eventually. Next up are three more slaptastic tunes; Elway with High Drama, Low Energy (mostly mid tempo Elway goodness that speeds up near the end), The Bombpops putting their spin on Enemy You's East and West (I'm not familiar with the original, but this cover is great. Poppy punk with teeth and harmonies), and Garret Dale's Dead Body, which is organ and saxophone laced swagger rock with weird lyrics (shit yeah!).
Kettle Brand Red Curry. Fragrant as hell. They smell like curry. Kettle cooked flatties. Taste like a mild red curry. There's a faint kick, almost similar to BBQ..maybe with a bit more teeth. Goes well with the potato. Seasoning is fairly well distributed, on the lighter side but for the flavour it works perfectly. Not overly greasy, bottom of the bag is a little shiny. Pretty good flavour. Impressed with Kettle Brand on this one.
Our Finest, kettle cooked Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt. Smell like kettle cooked S&V. It's what the title says, straight forward, no twists. Fairly even flavour distribution, a mid range aggressiveness to the vinegar bite. Wouldn't be surprised if they came from the Old Dutch factory.
Next up with song 8 is Tightwire with AYL. To me AYL sounds very much influenced by The Copyrights (which is not a knock on them)..maybe I'm not looking back far enough for the influence for the song, either way, simple pop punk goodness. I dig. Do you like 80's synth with dicked around vocal effects mashed with clean vocals, if you do then you'll like Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds absolutely off the wall "perfected in 2019" cover of The Lillingtons All I Hear is Static. Wandering Birds make some weird music, and I'm down with it. Ramona's a dual vocaled (female/male) Seattle band that relocated to Philadelphia and sounds like they're straight outta the midwest and they more than deserve their place on the comp with the bouncy Yeah Again.
Does Lay's still make a Wavy Salt & Vinegar? If they do then these words may be useful. Light on the seasoning side. Average weight ridged. Dip well without excessive breaking. Solo, inoffensive but they (somehow) seem even lighter on seasoning than standard Lay's S&V. Wavy lays really taking a crack at the chip market these days. Go experiment. (I'm not completely sure what I meant by those last 2 sentences, welp.)
Intermission musing: If you've never eaten chips and dip with a spatula you're doing life wrong. (March 28, 2017)
McLure's Spicy Pickle kettle cooked potato chips. Detroit represent (thanks Mike and Sarah for getting me these a few years ago). Smell and look almost like creamy dill. Chips are typically on the smaller, rounder side. I'd say they're spicy pickle..in that order. The dill pickle is present but the somewhat aggressive pepper heat is in the forefront. The heat is somewhat original, at times you can really taste the hot peppers that the flavour is supposed to emulate. Natural tasting flavours. The heat is always there but the degree varies which is nice, bounces from black pepper to maybe habanero. Every once in a while you get a pang of sweetness. Dill when it breaks through is standard dill pickle chip flavour. These are for the flavourful spicy chip fan..(or someone who liked the coop jalap dill)..though these have (a bit) more heat than the coop ones did. Dill pickle very present in the aftertaste. Aggressive.
MAKEWAR bring their heartfelt infectious mid to up tempo anthemic gruff punk to 15 Years with TJ. Woo!! The Brokedowns bring their cover game for track 12 with a great cover of The Copyrights Thinking with the Lights On that has the aggression cranked up a couple notches and the tempo up a step or 2 as well. Lucky 13 is Sundowner with (not to be confused with Soundgarden's) Bleed Together, a somehow upbeatly somber tune, shit's beautiful.
Do you care about a 2016 Lay's Do Us A Flavour finalist? If no, skip this paragraph. Butter Chicken!! Ontario's do us a flavour finalist. Smell, jankey. Taste, oddly like butter chicken with a bit of a kick. Mild kick but it's there, similar to a BBQ kick. I'd say these are BBQ Lay's Indian cousin. I'm not a chef, so..tastes like Indian spices. Did these win last year (consumed in 2017)? Should have. The chips are standard flat cut lays, if you've never had a Lay's (or whatever they're called in your region [of the world]) chip before you're probably reading the wrong blog. Like, really. I'm not a major proponent of Lay's but they're the..Coca-cola of potato chips. Never had Coke you say, well coke is..cokes just shitty but it's worldwide and everyone knows what it is. (wow, I was frisky when I took these notes down in my phone).
Wavy Lay's Hickory BBQ!!! Smokey sweet with a definite hickory tang to 'em. It's Lay's BBQ with ridges basically. Nice weight, would stand up to dip very well, that is why they're wavy lay's. Ridges ultra mass produced (not quite sure where I was going with this thought), I bet I could eat just 1..but why bother. Good chip, nothing groundbreaking. Where the dip at?
The Lippies got back together in 2019, just in time to grace 15 Years with a new banger in Acid Head. Bouncy guitar, melody like a mafa and (to me) still has a really strong early Tsunami Bomb sound. It'll make you nod your head if it doesn't make you want to dance a little bit. Yep! Yep! Nothington's Borrowed Time was one of my favourite albums of 2011, for some reason I haven't listened to it in a minute (need to remedy that, there's just so much music out there..or in here [my house]), anyway, Billy Liar, that wonderful Scot, brings his stripped down acoustic take on Nothington's The Escapist to round out this fantastic 15 song celebration of all things Red Scare. I can't wait to get the 20 years of Toby and Comrades comp.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
ps. Uncle Ray's Ketchup. Ridged. Smells like animal feed. Seasoning is uneven to very light. Has sort of a faint cinamon and salt flavour. Ketchup flavour exists..I guess..lacks in the vinegar typically present in ketchup seasoning. Crunch is med rare for ridged chips. Would dip with a few breakers. Chapter 29 (the best part..only good part?..of Uncle Ray's is the weird tales on the back) talks about cooking for his wife. Mentions how he was a cook in the navy which leads to him washing all their clothes in hot water and subsequently shrinking them. Best intentions but didn't know how. Moral of story, "if you want to help, but don't know how to do it right, show initiative by asking how you can help, before you are told to do so" "Initiative: recognizing and doing what needs to be done before I am asked to do it". Chips are pretty mediocre to bad. [salty note: Best intentions but didn't know how seems pretty appropriate for Uncle Ray's chips]
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