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By the cover
of this, you would be forgiven in thinking that it was a recording
of Yakutsk folk tales for children. Malkovich is a rising dutch
hardcore phenomonen in the backwash of Refused - a momentary good
idea fed to masses awaiting a reason like loaves and fishes. It's
a very capable release with lots of rhythm and screaming vocals,
but something tells me I won't be listening to this in a month's
time. It's following the stylistic formula that imposes itself on
much of hardcore at the moment. Malkovich have to offer more in
the way of an individual sound or time's gonna be hard on them. (www.reflectionsrecords.com) |
LOS
LANGEROS - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... very interesting CD******** More scratchy manic
mandolin driven tin pot punkabilly from Cork's Los Langeros. Whether
by intent or accident, many warped forms of ethnic punk are touched
upon here, from a whistle led pikey shuffle to parish hall skat-rock
to a kind of distorted rembetika blabber. The recorded result of all
this leaves Los Langeros somewhere strange between the Leningrad Cowboys
and the Butthole surfers. It's loose and wild and has a good deal of
nasty spirit, and this time the production's a good deal better than
the band's last CD. Highly recommended stuff indeed!!
(vdkebabbaby23@hotmail.com)
DON'T
LOOK DOWN - The Fear In Love CD**** This is a band
transgressing their pop punk entry point to the music world with something
a little more befitting their age. It's still very obvious where they've
come from, but they're growing with it. Don't Look Down have tapped
into a little substance and turned their sound into something accomplished,
while avoiding all temptation to be totally crass and commercial. They've
laid down a second album that brings to mind a dose of Pulley or AFI,
that is, poppy tuneful music not made by the older fellas, not the teenagers.
Generally, contrary teens will discover this, then grow out of it and
start wearing reclaim the street patches and pretend they never liked
it. Don't Look Down are expanding on what's currently a fairly unfashionable
side of things. It's no masterpiece, and glistens like Nitro product
tends to, but it has it's moments. Worth noting is the CDrom side of
this... it's got a lot of quicktime footage including warped tour and
other live stuff... a short saga about the van getting robbed, which
is good, and some other snippets which amount to little more than evidence
of chronic boredom on tour.
(www.nitrorecords.com)
THE
DWARVES - The Dwarves Must Die LP/CD******** |
Progressive is not a word that is associated with the Dwarves, but it's a reality for the band that released what is often considered their defining moment with the perfection of BLOOD GUTS & PUSSY on Sub Pop in 1990. Efforts that followed...THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GIRLS etc... were more of the same with an ever developing glaze and it wasn't really until their last album, COME CLEAN that they took a leap and created another milestone. This latest invasion is a big surprise. They've taken a cue from their psychedelic roots and mixed it with the evil degenerate Dwarves we all know and love... and where they successfully threw electronic beats into COME CLEAN, here they play with a weird rock-hiphop hybrid on a couple of tracks.... it should be absolute crap but they pull it off with style....Fret not.... there's still the road damaged scumbag hardcore punkrock in here! This is a carnival gone wrong, a joy to listen to and like all Dwarves albums, too short for dull moments. This is a band that can almost be judged by their record covers... it's like an indication of attention to detail... or maybe whether they could be arsed at that particular time! You've gotta love those photos... My one regret is that the CD booklet isn't here with the vinyl...... high art!!! (Greedy / Sympathy for The Record Industry) |
ANAL
BEARD - Din Noir CD**** There's kind of
a Wat Tyler, Half Man Half Biscuit, Bonzo Dog band vibe going on here...
and If they took more acid they'd be Gong. Anal Beard's humour is distinctly
English with songs that create massive issues out of the simple and
inconsequential things in life like Lads mags, daytime TV and the Camber
Sands Leisure park. The RETURN OF FUCKBASTARD is a great title for a
song. It's all messing of the highest order but if you're into slack
light dole humour then this is for you, but I find the line "The
lovely Letitia Dean is all I think about" truly disturbing. There
are some things you don't joke about!
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
DAMN
DIRTY APES - The Wonder of woe / Green man / Egg Eating Rats**** Powerful dirty
chunks of hardcore punk which twist and turn through out this very brief
CD. There's a lot of creative noise at play with fragmented soundbites
and barbed fret noodling strewn around the general racket. This is strong
introductory material (if it is the first thing they've presented to
the public). And with song titles like EGG EATING RATS they're definitely
on the right track!!! It doesn't surprise me that the presscard mentions
Damn Dirty Apes as haven risen from the ashes of Birmingham's death
and grind scene. You can hear it... except that now they're writing
songs!!!!
(www.damndirtyapes.co.uk)
BAD
RELIGION - The Empire Strikes first LP***** The second album
of the Bad Religion renaissance is a mixture of the urgency that revitalised
them with THE PROCESS OF BELIEF and an equal amount of the same old
song that we're used to. By anyone else's standards it would be a quality
record... but Bad Religion kinda blew their load a long time ago and
since THE GREY RACE there's been a distinct air that we're being delivered
a subsistence version... Kind of a sticky watery gripe where once there
was a thick goo!!! ( What??? ) Maybe it's just age creeping up. Still,
at least two thirds is high quality BR with, at the very least, 4 classics.
(Epitaph Records www.epitaph.com)
ALEXISONFIRE
- s/t CD***** Another chapter
of "fringe-and-wallet-chain-fall-to-your-knees-and-scream-in-despair-core".
This time it's a good one from Ontario, Canada. It's got a confidence
to it that isn't fishing for that much in the line of pity or paper
hankies. The reason why I mention any of this is that we're flooded
with CDs of Smiths/Cure inflicted teen angst,and track one contains
the line "This is a 44 calibre love letter straight from my heart"....
You've gotta ask questions! Anyway.. the music... we've got our brilliant
production, some quiet pensive bits, some steepling passionate plees,
some big raging guitars.... The only other album of music with those
elements I've given any time to is FULL COLLAPSE by THURSDAY, but this
infinitely better, and you're less likely to be slagged for this one.
And you've gotta feel sorry for Alex.... someone should put him out!!!
(Sore Point Records www.sorepointrecords.com
/ Distort Entertainment www.teamdistort.com)
ALEXISONFIRE
- WATCH OUT CD****** This is the one
that put them in the charts in canada. The second album by Alexisonfire
(they call it their sophomore album but we refuse to resort to such
geek-happy terms) is a slick affair tangled in guitar licks, and one
to many weedy dispassionate moments. A couple of racey openers, set
a solid ground but when I get to IT WAS THE FEAR OF MYSTERY THAT MADE
ME ODD I think I'm still listening to the Marillion album reviewed elsewhere,
and these modes switch throughout the album a little too often. Where
it rocks, it's just fine, and not all of the break-downs are what the
rock press are now (rightly) calling " bed-wetter " music,
but it's suspiciously like a band with their sights firmly set at the
Kerrang channel. Not the healthiest of places to be aiming. Overall
it's an obviously great band underachieving by making all the right
"career" moves.... and unfortunately only one of very many!!!!
(Sore Point Records www.sorepointrecords.com
/ Distort Entertainment www.teamdistort.com)
I
WALK THE LINE - Badlands CD******* Finland's IWTL
are a weird deal for a Finish band. This kind of Melodic rock punk swagger
is more in line with what I'd expect from a Swedish band - English language
vocals and an American influence. Most Finns belligerently sing in their
weird dolphinspeak so that nobody can understand them (Luonteri Surf,
Terveet Kadet, that old bloke Pelle whatever-his-name-is etc... ). There's
parts Social Distortion, Jawbreaker here... you know, that anthemic
well conceived guitar based songs that you can actually tolerate on
repeated listens. There's a really good warm energetic air to this.
I've heard that there's a Pogues comparison floating about... personally
I don't see it and they'll be grand if they leave that world of things
the fuck alone. IWTL's approach is already seasoned with character and
I'd have difficulty picking a favourite out of these 10 tracks... it's
all quality stuff.
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
WASTED
- Here We Go Again 7" Collection 1998 - 2001 CD*** More quasi Rancid/Bombshell
Rocks business from Finland's WASTED. There's lots of these type of
bands... most of them pretty solid and professional sounding and this
is no exception... nor however is it exceptional. Aside from the musical
comparison, the CD inspires nothing further.
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
ROLLERS/SPARKERS
- Second Level Crossing CD****** |
What first
appears as a fuzzy stroll through a collection of lo-fi silent pop
turns out to be a bizarre one with its mumbles, gurgles, whispers
and clanks. Alternating between the heady meanderings of the lengthy
opener SIGNAL BURNING, the blended schizoid flow the albums strongest
track STICK SHIFT (GREEN LIGHT) and the slowly inclining UNCLE ON
WHEELS, it's an understated barrage of ideas. The previous release
GEOGRAPHY FOR THE LEAVING seemed a little rigid and possibly a little
too far from representative of the R/S sound in a live setting.
SECOND LEVEL CROSSING however has a much more organic flow about
it. Comparisons are difficult... bits of it remind me of the experiments
Wire were aiming towards with 154 - that being an oddball crafting
of quiet music - and in the juggle of sounds the weird wins hands
down. Where much of the less cacophonous musical product available
sits firmly in the lonely boy or desperately-laboured-declaration-of-intelligence
categories, the R/S sound is an evolving one which has firmly flooded
it's own path. Perfect it isn't, but it's evidence of a pool of
ideas which aren't running dry any time soon. What comes next will
be interesting. (LAZYBIRD/ PECCADILLO www.rollers/sparkers.com ) |
SENSA
YUMA - UP YOURS CD* This is horrible
and I can't listen to it long enough to review it.
(Iron man Records www.sensayuma.net)
MARILLION
- MARBLES CD* You've gotta give
one of the least fashionable bands on the planet credit for endurance,
getting back to speed on a self financed venture, and even having a
chart hit. Not so long ago they were trying to convince the world they
sounded more like Massive Attack, but it seems that Marillion are now
just content with being what they've been for the last 16 years, that
is, a band that will forever live in the shadow of their former selves,
however critically good or awful that's perceived to be. MARBLES has
been given lots of "Return to Form" treatment in the balding
rock mags, but in reality, it's a record strictly for those who thought
EASTER was their finest moment. I'm probably not supposed to mention
that in another life this same band had likable (if horrendously dated)
moments of naff sub harpsichord melodic weirdrock with the problematic
drunken swagger of a large smelly Jock, but it's still gotta be the
beast on Steven Rothery's back. Steve Hogarth is quite simply a shit
singer. No presence... no interesting lyrical ideas... he sounds like
an aging Glen Frey (and yes, that's an insult). What was and is still
the core of the band can't be blamed for soldiering on. Marillion are
of those bands that a fanatical legion of fans (probably in Japan and
France where they all like shit music) obsess over, while another considerable
portion are closeted and fear being caught purchasing their secret shame.
MARBLES is mostly a lame soft dross with one or two passable moments.
NEVERLAND comes closest to being strong material... dare I say it's
vintage Marillion for the euro or so that's worth! And YOU'RE GONE is
complete rubbish... but then Marillion's singles always were the rubbish
of their albums!!! There's a double album version of this if you helped
finance it prior to release through their website, you can also order
it ... sweet jesus, the commercial version is penance enough for my
sins!!!
(Intact recordings www.marillion.com)
EXIT
CONDITION - 1988 - 1994 CD****** 
This
was a band that must have done about 20,000 fanzine interviews in their
time. Exit Condition were one of many great small but seminal bands
from the end of the 80's that littered England. EC's corner of the world
was Stoke On Trent, and from there they brewed up a caustic potion of
fast melodic hardcore. This was of a sustainable quality that drew attention
of John Peel, Pushead, and the many small labels that released their
slabs of vinyl. What's here appears to be the complete recordings, including
the Peel Session, with a load of unreleased stuff, very little filler
and informative sleeve notes!!! Had they been slightly more radio friendly,
they could have transgressed from the punk underground and reaped some
of the reward bands like the Senseless Things and Mega City 4 were capitalising
on in England at the time. But Exit Condition's sound and fury were
never really tamed, and like Husker Du - one of their biggest inspirations
- they were destined to be a small but influential footnote in punk
history. Exit Condition finally ground to a halt in 1994 and the market
for this sort of music developed beyond anyone's wildest expectation
in the following year! It may have amounted to nothing but (like leatherface)
they certainly deserved a shot at domination more than China Drum or
Goober Patrol did! A Rough cut diamond.
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
THE
MILWAUKEES - Angel With A Knife CD**This is a little
too heavy on the sheen for my liking.... it's very kerrang and commercial
rock - Stinks of expensive videos and owing loads of dosh to a major
at least once in their career. A load of blokes doing something very
normal with loud guitars... I don't know who'd derive longterm pleasure
out of this.
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
LUNASUIT
- Summer Season CD**** In the vein of
Tilt, lunasuit are a choppy punk machine from Grimsby with female vocals,
catchy and energetic in places, a little bland and one dimensional in
others. There's millions of these bands, but not many of them come close
to the substance of the masters like Goops, The Muffs or Tilt. I think
the world's overdosed on this formula.
(Boss Tuneage Records www.bosstuneage.com)
APOCALYPSE
BABYS - 7"PLUS CD***** 
An
unfashionable and unapologetic band, the Apocalypse Babys have soldiered
comfortably through the depressing vacumn that is punk rock in England
for over 10 years, issuing 7 eps and 4 albums of their punk ditties.
It's a stylised form which takes it's cue from the Ramones, Dickies
and probably many other mandatory bands. My first exposure to this band
was one of the GREAT BRITISH PUNK INVASION comps a few years back but
as there wasn't much change in the pace of the 4 or 5 bands included
I didn't give it much time..... 20 shots from the AB's hold a discernable
quality even though it's by no means an experimental workout. There's
also stuff here that didn't make the albums, but no weak links. Tracks
like JACQUELINE and BURMA stand out - I can live without the ABBA cover
though, the Restarts have the punk version of that one sealed in gold!!!
(Vinyl Vera Records 23 Monsal Drive, South Normanton, Alfreton,
Derbyshire, DE55 2BG)
All reviews by Boz unless otherwise stated!!!
Burning
Heart landmark 10 years of noise with a fairly juicy and mixed collection
of sounds spread over 2 CDs. A rough list of inclusions on disc 1 are
The International Noise Conspiracy, Nine, Turbonegro, Nasum, Division
Of Laura Lee, Refused, Puffball, The Business, Millencolin and many,
many others. It's a showcase of the label as it is now and includes
a number of hip hop tracks... something I was unaware Burning Heart
had a stake in! It surprises me that there's nothing from the first
NO FUN AT ALL CD here as a piece of history, but that's just an observation.
The second CD is where things get interesting. It's basically a load
of collaborations especially recorded for this release. Turbonegro do
Iggy, D.O.L.L do Minor Threat, Nasum do Refused, The Business, Voice
of a Generation and Bombshell Rocks have a singalong (this is top class
- Mickey Fitz sounds nicely out of place!!), Fat Mike Joins Randy, and
various Entombed members and S.O.D songs pop up here and there. It's
almost like a punk We Are The World!!!