Propeller Product Prop 4-1 compilation 2xLP reissue plus zine (Larry Wilmington, 2024)
When I first saw the announcement that the original Propeller Product cassette was being reissued on vinyl I was beyond stoked, although I was a bit surprised that a project that was so intrinsically Boston was being revived by a label from Brooklyn (a relative of the fabulous Record Grouch record store). I actually have a copy of the original Propeller cassette, which famously doesn't work; they're all defective, so up til now the only practical way to own all of the songs was to track down the full set of mp3's that an unnamed-by-me Boston musician had generously posted online many years ago (the files might even still be there, who knows -- note: the vinyl reissue does come with a download code). In the meantime, two of the tracks from the cassette did find their way onto vinyl, in the form of a "what-if" Art Yard 7" that Ride The Snake released about a dozen years ago, which eventually became a $30 collectible on Discogs.
Anyway, this reissue is hefty and well-done, and while the overt regionality of it may make it seem less attractive to people in other parts of the country, the material is well worth checking out (most of the bands sound like varying degrees of Bush Tetras, Get Smart, and The Embarrassment, to use some totally inept comparisons). None of this approaches the clang of the Mission of Burma/Ace of Hearts side of things, so if you want to write it off as wimpy '80s college rock, so be it. For me, it took living in the Boston area for the past ten years or so to peak my interest in all things Propeller, as I eventually began stumbling onto the records in local shops until I owned the Dangerous Birds 7", the People In Stores 7", and two of the four-band compilation 7"-ers ("Propeller Product" and "Laughing At The Ground") - besides the aforementioned Art Yard 7" and the original Propeller cassette, of course. Be just like me (and Mr. T), and give props to Propeller! I'm also still on the hunt for an affordable copy of the Bound & Gagged 12" (which wasn't released on Propeller but is Propeller-adjacent, somewhat).
