GAJOOB Review by Bryan Baker:
Dino DiMuro’s Snoutburger remains one of the touchstones of 1980s home recording culture—an album that’s not just loved, but defended. Originally released in 1986 on cassette and given a bright new digital remaster, it’s both a conceptual suite and a grab bag of singularly Dino moments, depending on which side you favor.
For longtime fans (myself included), Snoutburger hits a kind of pacing sweet spot. Side One (originally listed only as the “Snoutburger Suite”) feels like flipping through a View-Master of DiMuro’s brain: stitched-together miniatures and character studies, twisted transitions, synth tangents, pretzeled guitars and acoustic interruptions. The Korg synths orchestrate and shimmer as kind-of mini études. Drummer Eric Scott providing more than solid rhythmic punctuation throughout.
This is classic DiMuro collage freakout. The suite flows like an audio zine—sharp edits, lo-fi sincerity, sudden tonal turns. If you’re the kind of listener who appreciates narrative through texture rather than plot, Side One is a world worth crawling through repeatedly.
Side Two mostly keeps the songs coming, but Dino can’t help throwing the wackiest instrumental at the end of it all like an appropriate chef’s kiss. “CHRIS” and “CLIVE” are real-person portraits that somehow feel universal in their specificity, while indulging in character studies in absurdity. “THE VOICE OF MODERATION” is classic Dino: a heartfelt, biting take on friendship and critique, wrapped in acoustic warmth and lyrical sting. “MR. TOAD” is an ambitious oddity—an alternate theme to Disneyland’s Electric Parade, part amusement ride and part breakdown. “MAYBE WE SHOULD FALL IN LOVE NOW” offers a gentler side, pulled from an earlier project, reined in here with more commercial appeal.
And then there’s VIEW-MASTER, which deserves every bit of its status as a DiMuro classic. It’s emotionally resonant, melodically rich, and carries that distinctive off-center charm that makes DiMuro’s work so memorable.
The remastering work here is excellent—clear but not sterilized. The rediscovered pre-master tape of Side One brings newfound presence to the original suite, and the chrome cassette source used for Side Two shines up the songs without sanding down their analog edges. A new synth coda bridging the sides is the only addition—and it feels perfectly in character.
Let’s also not ignore the Suzanne Larson cover art: the lovingly grotesque image of an actual snoutburger is one of cassette culture’s most memorable visuals, perhaps even boosting the album’s mythos. Saul Steinberg’s background illustration ties it together with just the right touch of surreal class.
Snoutburger is DiMuro doing what he does best—turning bedrooms and four-tracks into laboratories for sonic storytelling. Whether you’re a concept-side purist, a song-side champion, or just in it for the glorious fuzz of both, this album earns its reputation. It’s strange, funny, intimate, a little ugly, and ultimately, unforgettable.
For fans of: R. Stevie Moore, Don Campau, early Ween, cassette culture in its feral prime.
Media: Cassette.
Bandcamp URL: https://dinodimuro1.bandcamp.com/album/snoutburger-2005-remix
Followup Emails 2025
I followed up with Dino after posting this.
Hey Dino, I ran across Snoutburger and have it listed GAJOOB now (continuing to make my way through my library).
In looking around at other listings online, I see the scans of the art differ a bit in how they are cropped. I think I have the full cover, plus a credit sheet insert and a little headshot, which I don’t see on tape-mag and other archives.
You say in your notes on bandcamp that Eric Scott was uncredited, but his credit appears on the credits insert. Maybe added later?
Also, what’s the story with Phantom Soil?
Your pal, Bryan
And his reply
Bryan,
What a great surprise! And an amazing retro-review! Don says it’s one of your best ever.
And you made me realize Snout is 40 next year. I guess all the tapes before that are already 40.
Yeah, when I found the original credit sheet I didn’t see Eric’s name, but I clearly went back and added it manually because that’s a totally different typewriter: an old Royal instead of the Selectric.
I love that you have all the Art. You are right, you’re pretty much the only one with all the elements.
You may have heard that my first cousin Doug just passed away from aggressive gall bladder cancer. He was my musical North Star growing up, and his voice appears on many of my tapes (especially the opening of I Have A Purpose). But before he got sick he loaned me his “Dino Collection” which was a box of all his lovingly stored Dino Tapes. That’s where I was able to remaster some of my albums that had degraded too far. I was once again amazed at the quality and durability of cassettes. I also did an “Uncle Doug Collection” album on the streamers with some rarities from his collection.
Phantom Soil was my earliest “tape label.” John and I both got cassette recorders in 1970 and we both had our own labels: He was Purple Heaven, and I was Phantom Soil. But John was always mangling his Masters so I bought out all his tapes and continued calling myself Phantom Soil for years and years, until DiMurotapes, which at one time was a real company with a checkbook and everything.
Thanks again. You’ve totally blown my mind this morning!
Dino
