Thanks to Garth for doing all the reviews this time. Hopefully you'll be inspired to pick up some worthwhile additions to your collection with this batch. If you're inspired to pick any of this stuff up, just email me and I'll let you know where to look.
Guitar Gangsters - Skweeler CD - Rampant Music
Damn, this is some talented stuff........ I guess that a recent, English tour and subsequent live release
("Power Chords for England) has brought these guys back into some recognition. This is their latest,
and best release to date. Out of the 13 songs every one of them is a real work of genius, except for
one kind of lame instrumental (which is incidently the title track.......). As for the technical specs: all
lyrics are included, plus nice artwork and band photos............ all the essentials. In case you don't
know their sound, they are very mainstream, melodic rock, tinged with Oi! The best comparison
would be like Bitter Grin meets The Business, with plenty of radio rock n' roll, like Rick Springfield
(or whoever it was that did "Jesse's Girl") in the mix. They enclose a card with the release to get on
the GG mailing list, and the card even asks what radio station you listen to. I think I can even
remember two of their early songs ("Radio Shakedown" and "When the Razor Cuts") from early 80's
radio in my childhood, but I can't recall for certain, or if my brain just dreamed that up.......... Of
course, lyrically tame for those who don't know them. Topics cover mostly relationships and the like,
no subculture rants or rage. I would definitely recommend this one to all their fans, and anyone who
likes the talented side of things........ Cock Sparrer, The Business, Superyob, etc.
-Garth
LRF - The Roughs and The Smooths CD - Real Deal
I first heard these guys just recently on a comp., and was into them right off, ordering this full length
the day after hearing their single contribution to Super Yobs 2. Rather than being like many other
Japanese acts (82 Britpunk, pogo stuff) this is pretty far removed from mohican tunes, as well as Oi!,
bearing a similarity with Oi! only through the gruff vocals and some filled out choruses. Musically this
one goes back over twenty years soundwise, harkening back to the sounds of 77, and even further,
to mod rock tunes, with a guitar sound used by very few modern bands (such as their Japanese
countrymen, The Hawks, and the Templars for a comparison most people will know). The musical
formula is simple and infectious, as well as the lyrics which are about things we can all relate to: work,
distaste for the current, violent state of society, unity with those that are like yourself, scorn for
student activists, etc., all sung in poor, but charming in its simplicity, English. There are only eight
songs, but that makes it an easy album to listen to. The tracks glide right by, all of them catchy, and
before you know it, you will be singing along "J-league supporters, Out! Out!" (Whatever that is
supposed to mean........ Those lines come from what is evidently a football\soccer song that reminds
a lot of The Clash's "Remote Control". There is even another Clash- esque song, the "Career
Oppurtunities tinged "Young Bloods".) So a basic musical formula, lyrics, and even quaint,
opportunities packaging with modest recording. Simon cited these guys' material to me as must have
items, so if you like the sound I described, then heed the advice and pick this one up. If Sham 69
had gotten together on the day they came up with the tune "Hey Little Rich Boy", set Jimmy Pursey
aside to bring in a Japanese skin from the future to sing, and recorded an eight song demo., it would
sound like this.
-Garth
Paris Violence - Temps de Crise CD - Lion
Nasty, and unusual, just like the "Chaos in France" bands. I am not just making a hollow comparison
either. If someone handed me this album and concealed the date, I'd swear it was from 86.
Everything is vintage.......the cover and cartoon artwork, the layout, the look of the band (two little
16 year old looking guys and one 30 something guy with the old school, French beard), and the
sound........ this is Chaos Productions style in the extreme! Take note, it is specifically like those
Chaos bands, slightly artsy and eclectic, not like some of the harder groups, Brutal Combat and so
on. You will either love Paris Violence as I do, or not be into them at all. What more can I
say..........
-Garth
Polska - Silni Zwarci Gotowi CD - Working Class
Not really a new release, as it came out in 94, but I have never seen anything about these guys
before, so I thought maybe I should give them some words. The disc is listed as the first (and only
that I know) release by this Czech label. The band is Polish, and like other Eastern European
groups, a bit backward. 18 tracks appear here of rather eclectic, melodic street music, most
comparable perhaps to a not so polished and talented Bitter Grin (that is still a stretch). The music is
fairly light, with high pitched, nasally vocals that crack from time to time. The singer is not the best,
but still keeps it together, singing in his native language, complete with 10 letter words, full of
consonants, that often seem to bind the tunes. Sometimes there are some nice, melodic qualities, but
other times it gets annoying. Out of the 18 tracks, there are still good ones, making me want to hang
on to it, but a lot of must skips. One of my least favorite things about bands from this part of the
world is an underlying quality in some of the music that can best be described as bringing to mind
horror movies. I know that is not the most concrete description for some people, like describing a
taste by likening it to a smell, but if you know how bands from the former Eastern block sound, then
you'll understand. The packaging is equally bizarre, featuring a glossy front image of a guy smoking a
cigarette (?), over newspaper clippings from English publications about football violence and skins.
The name of the band and the album title are positioned in a high school feeling, tilted, cut n' paste
fashion, while the back is printed on writing paper. So overall, a strange release, not the best music,
but still some good tracks. Not that I can really recommend this, because even if you want it after
this not so favorable review, it is probably unavailable, but I still had to give these guys some time,
just to show a trace of their existence somewhere in the English speaking world......
-Garth
Potres - The Third Shift CD - Sick Mind
"A Serbian band!?" I thought when I first saw them listed not too long ago, yep........... Serbian Oi!.
After getting it, I was shocked to find a story of the band, listing many other Serbian acts as well.
This Oi! stuff really is far reaching........getting into Russia, China, Malaysia, even finding a nitch in
war ravaged Eastern Europe (perhaps they are technically in western Asia, forgive me if I cited this in
error.....). Soundwise it is pretty much like Polish Oi!, a bit more like pogo punk really than Oi!, with
an exotic language that confines the tunes a bit, but it is quite well done, recorded nicely and giving
the listener a much different experience than the norm. Despite the drawn out nature of the language
(most comparable to Polish, Russian, Finnish, or German with longer words) the tracks are melodic
and singalong. Lyrically, they don't mention the conflicts in their part of the world, but rather show a
lot of despair and lost feelings in the midst of what is occuring, as they are translated into English for
most of the world to understand. As I said, the booklet has the band's story and the lyrics, and
plenty of photos, so you can look at guys from a place that most of the world is supposed to hate,
and then see that those young men of Potres are a lot like yourself.........
-Garth
Vanilla Muffins - Gimme Some Sugar Oi! CD - Knockout
I won't go on and on about their style as most know them, and if you don't, check out past reviews
for a rundown of their sound. So, for all you fans of the young gods of sugar Oi!, this one doesn't
disappoint! The boys carry on in the tradition of "Ultra Fine Day" writing lovely tunes that are
thoroughly addictive. I can't decide which one is their best, but this might be the one........ After four
albums they have not betrayed their style or light hearted lyrics, and once more, Frankie Flame
contributes. As with all their material, the album glides by and you find yourself listening to it several
times over (and rare is the band who can have me listening to a whole album). The booklet is the
best one so far, with an ultra fine cover, lots of photos, lyrics, and artwork. To top everything off,
these are some nice guys, and you should support them. Colin gave me a free shirt once, and hey, he
writes songs about his mother! How can you be any better than that..........
-Garth
V\A - Chaos in Europe CD - Chaos Productions
Scraped from the backstreets of Europe comes this fine piece of decadence. I don't know much
about this legendary comp's history, but can say that it is the finest collection I have ever heard,
outstripping the British originals from Garry Bushell, and anything to have come since. There is no
booklet, or even a shred of info. on the bands aside from their name and song title. All one gets is a
slipcover with a poorly done black and white illustration, the track listing on the back, and nothing
else......no date, no address for Chaos Productions.......typically undesirable elements, but here such
only adds to the mystique surrounding this one. Komintern Sect come in first on this one with "Tous
Ensemble" jabbing at you behind the satisfying crackle of vinyl. This one transports you back to the
eighties, finding yourself in some foul alleyway in France, where you are kept for the next piece by
their countrymen, Reich Orgasm, with "Supporter". Next you cross the Pyrenees into Spain to
witness history with Decibelios' classic "Dodot No Ha Meurte". Following this one is a new wave
song by TNT (?) called "Guernicka". The tune is hectic enough to bring to mind the tortured images
of the Picasso painting that shows the destruction of this Spanish town by Germans testing out their
weaponry prior to WWII, during the Spanish Civil War. Then it is on back to France for the killer
Al Kapott bit, "Les Bras Muscles". I know almost nothing about this band except that one of them
looks like Gerrard Depardieu (sp?) and that they make a superb showing here! France is left behind
for the time to go and hear the ultra singalong F.F.F. contribution "Boddy's spelunke". This is a
German punk\Oi! song suited to sloshing about a foamy mug of beer and running around in circles,
spilling it all over yourself, the floor, and your friends. You stay on for the Neurotic Arsehules'
"Blutige Gesichter", which sounds like early Boots and Braces. After that you end up somewhere
more to the east for a speedy punk song by Asta Kask, "Tv'n", that is reminiscent of the first
Endstufe or even of Circle Jerks early days. Their exact nationality is unknown to me, but I know
that next stop in the journey is back in France for Kambrones "Toujours ca d'Gagner", and Drei
Oklok "Cunegonde", both of which sound a bit like old Texas punk. From here it is on to Italy to
witness another classic, Nabat's "Laid Bologna" which is a different version than on the 7inch now
repressed onto the "Bootprints......." cd. Afterwards, you end up in unknown lands to hear N.V.
Leanderen's "Girl on the Pavement"., the only English song on here, and one that sounds a lot like the
band Sedated from the United Skins comp. I would imagine these guys are British, and the lyrics
being the first ones on here I can understand, show us just what rough waters we are in, as the song
is about a prostitute. Finally, it is back full circle to where the journey began, just in time for another
historic occurrence, Brutal Combat's first appearance, with a rough version of "Mercenaire", that
shows why "brutal" is in their name. To close is Robert and Enfants Sauvages' "Pepe X" my favorite
on the comp. and a fine close to the best collection of hits, and rarities ever made!
-Garth
My Address:
Simon Beneteau
247 Esdras Place
Windsor, Ontario
N8S 2M4/Canada