Joey Agresta - Let's Not Talk About Music (2017)

The Burlington, Vermont music scene is no stranger to eccentric characters, particularly in the realm of lo-fi indie rock. One of the most unique individuals to emerge from this scene during the 2010s was Joey Agresta, better known to friends and fellow musicians as Joey Pizza Slice. On his initial recordings, released under the name Son of Salami, Agresta constructed tunes on a beat-up old tape deck with the eraser head removed, so that he could add several layers and parts to the recording at the expense of not being able to hear what he was recording over, and not being able to change anything once it was recorded. His short, quirky, fractured songs were usually played on cheap keyboards and contained subject matter such as smoking cigarettes and the glory of rock & roll, in addition to heavier topics such as loneliness and the overwhelmingness of life. Son of Salami's debut album, A Study in Eraser Headless Tape Recording, was released by Feeding Tube Records in 2011, and garnered comparisons to lo-fi outsider artists like Gary Wilson and Daniel Johnston. He toured throughout America, demonstrating his technique in front of audiences and creating songs on the fly. Deli Days was issued on cassette by Night People in 2012, followed by 2013's Sontava Nights on Goaty Tapes. Both of these albums were issued as an LP by Feeding Tube in 2014, credited to Salami Junior. In 2015, OSR Tapes released OSR #33, which was credited to JPS and was composed using more traditional four-track recording methods. Also that year, Wharf Cat released a split 7" by Joey Pizza Slice and Parquet Courts, with both artists covering each other's songs. Salami Junior's Bacon Street cassette appeared on Post-Materialization Music in 2016. The following year, Feeding Tube released the 7" EP A Man Who Can't Write a Song, credited to Salami J.R. Also that year, Wharf Cat released Let's Not Talk About Music, Agresta's most personal set of songs yet, and the first credited to his own name.