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Stephen Brodsky's most recent solo effort remains something of a secret. Then again, not many folks have access to a tape player these days. This ultra-rare cassette release, which appeared last spring, has a limited run of 100 copies. Sure, it's also available via download, but the physical product is part of the point — rather than being a kitschy gimmick, Here's to the Future is an intimate and sentimental collectible, like any magical mixtape from your past. Complete with snazzy packaging in a DVD-sized case, it includes a 32-page compendium of drawings, poems, lyrics, and a lighthearted local memoir of the dark days, dead-end jobs, and gigs gone bad. Although Brodsky is best known for his heavy-handed work in Cave In and Converge, his solo project provides an honest and refreshing platform for our city's unsung rock-and-roll royalty. Despite its lo-fi intentions, the primarily acoustic recording goes above and beyond in its production: every pluck and hum can be heard in full, and the shimmering atmospheric vocals make this a simplistic psychedelic masterpiece. It's more Syd Barrett than Elliott Smith, but in the end, it's all Stephen Brodsky. And if you think your tape is warped, it's probably just Brodsky's trickster audio antics.
