 Laura Watling Extremely lo-fi casssette-only release capturing five songs put to 4-track by Laura Watling when her bandmates didn't show for rehearsal. As Beatles fans will wade through hours of shoddy studio rehearsals to hear glimmers of what would later become great, I will sit through pretty much any recording of Laura Watling, regardless of sound quality. This one tests the boundaries, that's for sure. Hissy, muddy, and mostly indecipherable, it is so far from Pet Sounds that you'd have to be a serious fan to undertake it. But the songs are charming, the performances surprisingly un-cranked-out sounding, and the liner notes even have her college address listed. And so here's an entry into what may be a treasure-trove genre for the 21st century: collegiate rehearsal-space demos. Creativity over quality, productivity over perfection. When You Didn't Come is the Kiln House of that genre … smiley, fun, and hard to fault. Even if you can barely hear the damn thing. Someday, a brave and smart label will put out a Complete Laura Watling CD-box, and rescue these songs with some amazing remastering. Yes, and someday my dad will stop drinking.
Review by La Fée |