Hardly Garbage: The Cassette Makes a Comeback With Local Labels

Although you won’t likely see them returning to the bins at Fred Meyer any time soon, cassette tapes are making a surprising comeback in the indie marketplace. Dozens of tape-only labels have sprung up in the last five years, most specializing in experimental rock and noise.

Now the rest of the established indie music community is starting to tap into this growing trend, including Hardly Art, the sister label to mega-indie Sub Pop Records. In February, Hardly Art entered into a licensing agreement with local label GGNZLA (pronounced “gorgonzola”) to release albums as limited-edition cassettes.

“CDs are falling out of vogue,” says Hardly Art employee Nick Heliotis. “People don’t really feel like they’re getting anything with them. Tapes are a great, cheap alternative to vinyl but still have some coolness attached.”

So far, Hardly Art and GGNZLA have just two co-releases out: a double-length cassette featuring both albums by the garage-folk duo the Dutchess and the Duke, and the latest album by Brooklyn-based rockers Golden Triangle. To appeal to collectors, only two hundred copies were made of each release. “We wanted to keep it limited and kind of special,” says Heliotis. “Just keep it on a small scale to test the waters.” The two labels will give the same treatment to the upcoming full-length by local noise rockers Unnatural Helpers.

The response to the new cassettes at the merchandise table of a Duchess and the Duke show in March was a mixture of curiosity and befuddlement, says Heliotis. “Some people were totally confused as to what it even was,” he says. “This was an all-ages show, after all. Some people were confused as to why we would do it. But other folks were obviously really into collecting tapes. Someone told me, ‘I’ve only got a tape deck in my truck, so this is great.’” •