Tape Excavation

Originally released in 2020 as a bonus vinyl album accompanying the deluxe version of Bruce Licher’s art/label overview of Independent Project Records, Savage Impressions, Tape Excavation received a later expanded release on CD and digitally in 2023. Either way, it’s both a compilation and a very handy Licher career rarities overview when it comes to his music, from his pre-Savage Republic acts Project 197 and Bridge through to a 2019 recording with his wife Karen Nielsen Licher as SR2. The earliest clutch of recordings is unsurprisingly dominated by Savage Republic outtakes, including one of their famed UCLA tunnel rehearsals, with Licher alternating between wirey guitar and heavy bass. Later, the focus is more on Licher’s strictly solo work, including demos and a soundtrack session, though a couple of cuts from his striking 1990s/2000s band Scenic surface as well. Other rarities include an earlier effort with his wife as the Lemon Wedges from the mid-1990s, a live 2004 collaboration with Henry Frayne in the latter’s Lanterna guise, and a wholly separate recording project for Licher, Exploratorium.