Altered Zones

Tough Troubles' Illnesses tape contains 14 odes to pestilence, endlessly harping on mortality, suffering, and death. Let's see... What disease would we like to listen to today? Let’s go with an old Cold War paranoid fantasy favorite: "Radiation Sickness". Leaden and bleak, this number will recall any number of bands that are half-(un)dead by now, though subtlety and inventive refinement save it from mere post-punk/coldwave nostalgia. Dreamy Durutti Column-style guitars sink beneath layers of digitally compressed froth, while a temperamental kick drum mashes out an off-kilter groove, alternately lending and denying momentum. Despite Tough Troubles' intention that listeners experience Illnesses as an undivided piece of work, "Radiation Sickness" makes just as much sense on a dark-tempered dance floor as it does in a dim apartment with decent speakers. If this were what disease really sounded like, sick days would never be wasted on hangovers. --Luke Carrell, International Tapes

MP3: Tough Troubles: "Radiation Sickness"

Illnesses is out now via Geneva Lake Records, edition of 80 cassettes