Welcome back for another edition of First, Last, and Favorite; our column where we get to learn a little bit about the music listening lives of our friends in the music community. In this edition we get to know the Latent Print label head (and Sonic Boom alum!) Pete Greenberg.
Latent Print Records is a Seattle-based label dedicated to reissuing great albums from our corner of the country on vinyl. The label celebrates some of this rich musical history by pressing fresh editions long out-of-print local classics, and in some cases resurrecting entirely lost recordings. Their focus mostly lands on the fertile 90s alternative rock underground, for which the Northwest was a particular hotbed. Latent Print has thus far worked with Goodness, Black Happy, Rose Blossom Punch, Carrie Akre, Small, Old Friendly, Western State Hurricanes, and The Ladybird Unition so far. We’ve got a good chunk of these releases on our shelves right now. You should follow what they’re up to on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Pete was kind enough to share a brief history of his life as a music fan, opinions and stories on the records that shaped the guy. Let’s get to know him a little better, in his own words:
FIRST
The Cure Boys Don’t Cry
The first album I recall seeking out and buying with my own money (well, with a gift certificate that an uncle had given me to the Wherehouse) was The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry. I remember this was really my first step into finding my “own” music away from my parents’ tastes as well as away from a lot of what I was hearing on the radio at that time. It definitely carried this dark sense of frustration mixed with a fair amount of yearning and angst (perfect for my beginning teenage years). Melodic while still maintaining that driving sense of angularity that tends to with iconic post-punk records. This record opened my ears up to a whole world of wondering what else is out there that isn’t immediately available on the surface, you know?
LAST
I Break Horse Warnings
Most recently I picked up I Break Horses latest release Warnings, and quickly found that their third album is just as captivating as their previous two. Full of swirling dynamic loops, ethereal beats, and captivating hooks, the album takes you on a journey through what feels like a multitude of dreamscapes of high-floating wonderment. Playing within synth-laden atmospherics that send you into the late night just as fog rolls in, there’s something to be said about the wash of sound that comes with this album. Okay, that’s a lot of fancy words just to say I really really enjoy the moodiness of this record.
FAVORITE
Frightened Rabbit Midnight Organ Fight
It’s such a wonderful experience the first time you hear an album, your immediate response when it’s over is to play it all the way through again. This was absolutely the case with Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight for me. There’s something deeply personal that resonates throughout this album where every single track stands on its’ own all the while tightly weaving a narrative about the nuances surrounding crumbling relationships and broken hearts. There’s an honesty to it that was surprising upon first listen. And then hearing that tied together with a blend of indie-folk-rock that pushes together this triumphant uplifting energy with an existential twisting. If you haven’t already, please give it a listen. Highly recommend the tracks “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms” and “My Backwards Walk” (I mean, I highly recommend the whole thing obviously but, you probably already figured that out if you’ve read this far… also, once you’ve gone through this album check out the rest of their catalog, it’s equally as solid)