WARCRY

 

Sometime in the mid-2000s I was at an afternoon show in Austin talking to the first guitarist from WARCRY (maybe on the patio of a bar-b-q joint because....well, because Texas). While we were generally chipping it up about whatever and waiting for the first band to start, a raging DBeat song started blasting over the PA and we both took note (perhaps because it was loud enough that casual conversation was rendered temporarily impossible). After a moment, he commented that the then-relentless wave of DBeat clone bands had gone too far and that he was tired of hearing DBeat everywhere and more or less dismissed whatever new DBeat clone band had wormed its way onto the too-loud afternoon bar-b-q show playlist. We both laughed, since he was kinda right, and black clad two riff wonders did seem to be coming out of every dark alley around that time. And then the pick slide for "Without Warning" dropped over the PA and we were both struck momentarily silent, realizing that the band the WARCRY guitarist was dismissing was, in fact, WARCRY. Then we laughed more.

10 TRACKS NOISE

DO YOU WANT ANOTHER HIROSHIMA?

 

If you want to fully grasp the importance (and awesomeness) of the 1980s punk comp tape, I suggest digging into the mixes from France's Acts Of Defiance. I've posted several here already (yes some of the links are dead, no I'm probably not going to revive them any time soon) but the internet tells me there are still a few more that I need to track down (You Can Be A Victim Of Their Authority and Where Is The Freedom, most specifically). Fantastic blasts of under the radar (mostly later) '80s hardcore and punk, with a possibly inadvertent focus on German, French and English bands. The tracks are typically available on other releases, but it's not like everyone is clamoring to get their hands on the Bloodsucker comp so they can learn about BLOOD AND THUNDER (no need now - "State Rebel" is included here) or digging through bargain bins trying to score that elusive DIOXIN 12" (which is not hard to find...you just aren't looking for it). So log another enthusiastic vote in favor of the format, and check out THE YOB, RUDOLF'S RACHE, DIE FROHLIX, LD 50 and tracks from GENERIC and SHRAPNEL, two bands you're likely already familiar with...and help me track down the other Acts Of Defiance comps, please. 

DO YOU WANT ANOTHER HIROSHIMA?

SKRIPP

 

It's sometimes interesting how much what I post differs from what I've been listening to. I spent last weekend jamming the SO MUCH HATE catalog, the new SPEED PLANS 12" and a live BUTTHOLE SURFERS tape I just booted, then yesterday the new INNUMERABLE FORMS LP so the evening got a little ugly. But my arsenal of ripped tapes to post is populated with the weird sonic bender I was on a few weeks ago - digging through (and digitizing) oddities and spending a few quiet (dark) cold days and nights with sound. So even though I might spend the day blasting, I'm going to leave you with twenty minutes of understated and subtle electronic experimentation from Saint-Petersburg solo artist SKRIPP. After a couple of careful listens, perhaps my favorite part of 2014's Abrasion Marks is that is doesn't seem to go anywhere...it just....exists. Even the most expressive track, the closer "Rainy," just sits like a picture of an aural moment. There's a swell around the four-minute mark that listens like movement, but really it's just the sound of the clouds shifting and naturally adjusting the (lack of) light in the room. It's careful and deliberate, nothing at all like the insanity dominating my turntable (and my mind) lately. 

ABRASION MARKS

ZAD KOKAR

A mind bending no-fi sonic journey through Space and France, ZAD KOKAR pushes the limits of sound perception on Moon & Earth Collapsed On The Day (4,46 Billions Years Ago) and I can't get enough. Maybe you call this experimental punk? Maybe it's just what happens when a creative mind is allowed to create unencumbered? Damaged drum machine techno beats form the foundation for repetitive future punk deconstructions, and then ZAD KOKAR drops a surprise in your lap (the brilliant "Warm Leatherette" cover, for example - a treat for everyone (like me) who didn't think they ever needed to hear another "Warm Leatherette" cover). MILK CULT meets LAIBACH in the twenty second century...but from France. 

 MOON & EARTH COLLAPSED ON THIS DAY (4,46 BILLIONS YEARS AGO)

 

IDIOTA CIVILIZZATO

 

You see the cover? How it looks like a middle school kid was drawing band logos on his notebook and ran out of space but didn't want to start over and do it properly? That's what IDIOTA CIVILIZZATO sounds like - hurried, anxious, frustrated, damaged. And then it sounds like you're listening to the whole thing on dumpstered tape...that's still in the dumpster. Truly unhinged Italian hardcore in the classic tradition, but from Germany. Riffs are pure mania and the vocals are something else entirely - you've probably heard the records Static Shock did but I swear this demo twists the knife just a wee bit deeper. Blast "Pervesso" a few times and it'll change you. 

IDIOTA CIVILIZZATO

BOB GOLDSTAUB

 

Record store manager in New Mexico watching me dig through stacks of dusty unknowns, "I've got this tape, kinda weird prog / yacht rock but I have no idea who the guy is and I can't find anything about him on the internet - you interested?" Me, digging through stacks of dusty unknowns, "Yes." You see, sometimes you make quick decisions based on intuition and hunch...and sometimes those decisions are wrong. Also sometimes they are right. Bob Goldstaub is gonna be a harsh toke for some of you, but if you ever wanted a little Michael McDonald in your Led Zep then listen to the last series of tracks on this mysterious nugget. If you ever needed a country rock violin in your Floyd, if you ever wanted your adult contemporary music to sound just a little....off? Then Bob is your fukkn guy. What do I know about Bob? Nothing - except that I rescued his tape from an eternity of obscurity and put it on the internet. You're welcome, Bob.

BOB GOLDSTAUB

APATIA NO

 

We played several shows with APATIA NO in Europe in 2003, we were both on nine-plus week adventures that intersected a few times. At the time, they were probably the most prolific and best known Venezuelan DIY punk export and people were more than a little excited to see the dual vocal trio live - which benefitted our single vocal trio handsomely. Solidaridad is a collection of EP and comp tracks all recorded in the late '90s, including their side of one of their two splits with RENUENCIA, which is their rawest (and best, to my ears) material. I'm not going to talk about the time the drummer rolled backwards off the stage and out the door and down the stairs in the middle of a set because I mentioned that a few years ago...

SOLIDARIDAD