A month of musical madness.
I haven’t updated here in a while. Got caught up with the new issue of BT, then I got really sick. Here’s some of the stuff I’ve been listening to over the past month.
Brainbombs – F***ing Mess (Lystring)
My favorite Swedish psychopaths are back with a vengeance! This is their first proper album in quite a while and it’s (literally) a killer! FM is a slight return to the sound of their second album, Genius and Brutality, Taste and Power. There are the ultra-sludgy dirges that have become the Brainbombs staple, but there are also the sleazy garage punk Stooges riffs that we haven’t heard in a while, as in “Stinking C**ks.” Not for the easily offended!
Skrewdriver – All Skrewed Up & “You’re So Dumb” 7” (Chiswick)
Okay, before you jump to conclusions, hear me out. These were released in 1977, a good five years before Ian Stuart re-emerged with a new lineup professing the virtues of National Socialism. Here there are no politics – these are well-written, well-though-out songs about being young and poor in England and wanting nothing more than to “play in a rock’n’roll band.” Stylistically, the music reminds me a lot of The Saints’ first album, (I’m) Stranded, with a heavy influence from the early Who albums. Even more shocking, Ian Stuart actually had a great voice. It’s really tragic when you think about what Skrewdriver became later. They had so much potential.
Rupture – Righteous F*** (Off the Disc), Australia Day, Corrupture (Yeah Mate), Brutal Badlands (HG Fact) & C**t of God (Rhetoric)
I had a friend in LA who was really into thrashcore, most of which went in one ear and out the other for me. When I heard Australia’s Rupture, though, I was blown away. I recently found a ton of their stuff and it’s been in steady rotation. Take the nastiest moments of Poison Idea’s Pick Your King, add some Bad Posture and Negative Approach, some thrash and lo-fi production and you have Rupture. Vocalist Gus Chamber died a few years ago, so they’re not together anymore, but they’ve left quite a legacy of music.
MIA – Piracy Funds Terrorism, Volume 1 (Turntablelab.com), Arular & Kala (XL)
What can I say? Her music is fascinating. My only complaint is that “Paper Planes” isn’t 20 minutes long.
Hawkwind – California Brainstorm (Iloki)
Thanks to Chris Ashford at Iloki/Wondercap for getting this to me. It’s an excellent live album of Hawkwind on their Space Bandits tour recorded in Oakland, CA.
The Two Felipes – Beaker Full of Death (Flaming Cow)
My fascination with The Two Felipes is a long story that I don’t feel like recounting here. (You can read the whole thing on my music blog though.) This is their last “studio” album (I think) and it’s by far their best in terms of production, song-writing and attitude.
Pyroclastix – Gain (Imbalance)
I’ve been going through some old tapes and I found my Pyroclastix stuff. Over ten years ago, I had a cassette-only noise label called MPAE and I did some trades with Brian Magar. His noise is interesting – he used a computer before most people were, but his tracks always had a very organic sound. I’m glad I dug this up.
Devoid of Faith – Discography (Hater of God)
Nate, guitarist/vocalist of DOF, has a music blog that I check regularly called True Punk & Metal. DOF were like a really noisy, thrashy take on early Agnotic Front. Like a good friend of mine said, “They’re like AF with more balls.” There’s some really cool songwriting on here.
Final Solution – Half/Dead (AWB)
FS were NYC’s answer to England’s Whitehouse – extremely harsh power electronics with really offensive lyrics screamed over it. There are some live tracks on this tape that have some really funny interactions with the audience. I knew vocalist Ed Nervo when he moved to LA and performed noise with Eckankore, Home Audience and Caveat Emptor.
White Boy – “Sagittarius Bumpersticker” EP, Spastics EP & “Poker Chips” 7” (Doodley Squat)
According to Steven Blush’s American Hardcore, White Boy were DC’s first punk band. They were a father/son duo playing weirdo psychedelic Stooge punk rock. Unfortunately, the father, James Kowalski was arrested in DC’s worst child pornography/molestation scandal, which gives a really eerie, creepy twist to the music. “I Could Puke” is right.
