from Dusted Magazine

This is the third record I've heard by this ever-changing Bay Area psych outfit, following an excellent 12" on Mt. St. Mtn. and an earlier LP, Pleasures and Treasures, which suffered somewhat from a too-many-cooks problem. These tracks come from a cassette recorded sometime in between the two. "Semi Streets" dishes out coarse, distorted chord-pop moan under the duress of four dirty studio tracks; yet surprisingly concerned with sonics to the point that the distortion on the guitar sounds as if Sic Alps own the patent. There's a similar dirge on the flip with "Brill Building," along with a short experiment called "Social Strats," and a motorcycle field recording called "And What Came Next." Hazed out slouchy noise-pop for a crispy-fried populace. May your 20s never, ever end. Edition of 300 numbered copies.

from Siltblog

The label's description of this read like I was in for a Psychedelic bumout so when it arrived & my ears proved to me it weren't the case, I was a happy lad. Sic Alps masterfully layer their crud for the short & sweet on here, the results bein a Whoopie Pie concocted w/ingredients culled from a recipe involvin Wire, Strapping Fieldhands & Tyrannosaurus Rex. Who makes up the crème filled center is unknown. I ingest shit this good w/my eyes closed. The best Skulltones release thus far.

from Terminal Boredom

Honestly, this is the first Sic Alps stuff I have ever heard. Honest. I'm a pretty traditional guy musically, and all this weird-noise stuff frightens me. But I honestly like "Semi Streets". A lot. It's a killer cut, and what I always wished The Hospitals sounded like. Repetitive psych-like riff repetition and dirty drum thud, a trance-like head-nodder that you really don't want to go away. The B-Side is three tracks, the first being the band leaving one of their mics on at what sounds like a bus stop bench, the last being some noise collage stuff, and the middle being the actual song that ("Brill Building") that is about half as intriguing and droning as the A-Side. But "Semi Streets" totally kills it, and makes this worth buying and playing twenty or thirty times (A-Side only though, kids). I will be purchasing a Sic Alps 12" based on this excursion. I'm hoping for more like the A-side of this, and I guess I can put up with more of the kling-klang shenanigans on the B-Side if I get more like "Semi Streets". A risky propostion, yes. I hope I'm not disappointed. Scum stats: 300 pressed.(RK)