Review: Giving up/Putting out cassette

I like Giving Up. not that I know too much about Giving Up besides a handfull of moments here and there over the past year, but I am a fan.  I am somewhat unacquainted with Putting Out, but The DIY record label 'Sophomore Lounge' describes these two as follows:
PUTTING OUT is a right of passage. A junior in highschool realizing it's time to jump on the band wagon, let his or herself be taken to a new realm of physical engagement, or on the other side of that coin, one can let his or herself go completely, and feel like he or she has become a worn-in trampoline of degeneracy. Similarly, GIVING UP can be an act of submission and degradation, or it can be a positive liberation from oppressive values instilled within oneself. GIVING UP and PUTTING OUT are two actions that go together like moonstone and rose quartz.
I'm not sure if there is that solid of a connection between the two, I've defiantly Given Up on the idea of getting a chance to Put Out.. But this is either here nor there.. the real connection between the two is the new Cassette split release of Giving Up and Putting Out.
I instantly liked Giving Up because it reminded me of the Boyfriend/Girlfriend pop/punk bands of the late 80's and early 90's like Small Factory, Superchunk, and Black Tambourine (if you don't know, find out). Similarly I Like Sophomore Lounge, for the same reason. they tend to stick to tried and true heart-crushed pop punk  rather than jumping on the band wagon of whatever glossy pop is in favor at the moment.  I suppose that is why this new release is on the format of cassette tape with the lost art of the bedroom door sized poster.
This release is a 24 minute, 7 song lovely trainwreck dominated by Giving Up with 3 solid tracks reminiscent  of the 90's lovesick releases by the indie label Simple Machines. The opening track "Armatage Shanks" hits with crashing drums and harmonies that remind me of a young Second Story Man and keeps going strong to the end of side A.
Similarly, the Putting Out offering is reminiscent of an earlier Giving Up release, Web, or even latter recordings of Throbbing Gristle; distorted drums strewn with samples of talking, screaming,  and other noises that somehow converge into something pretty.

Giving Up/Putting Out split cassette (with digital download) out 6/21/11

pre-order at sophomore lounge $7