A quickie today. Last year I posted a couple of songs by Melbourne band Lothario (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/search?q=lothario). Headed up by powerhouse vocalist Annaliese Redlich (a Melbourne radio dj), they've just released a debut album on Under The Gun Records titled Hogtied.
It's everything we could have hoped for, it's a melting pot of danceable new wave with great vocals and some really interesting guitar parts. Several of the album's 13 songs are familiar from earlier releases and the new stuff is equally as impressive. It's available on vinyl and digital : https://utgrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hogtied
This track is a definite highlight, it shows off all the best aspects of the band, it's called Suckhole...
The first single from the GULL HOUSE will soon be unleashed onto the hungry hoards of the OMFUG people. These are guys from Diest, a small town half an hour drive east from where I am (around Leuven, if you don't know this shitty town you don't drink Stella).
Diest has been on the map with some special and extraordinary acts like ERO GURO and the solo project of ERO's bass player (Frankie Traandruppel) for example. From the ashes of ERO GURO and another band Coma Commander Gull House erected.
Pang Pang announced without shame "The tight riffs from Ero Guro combined with the passionate vocals from Coma Commander will burn holes in your ears and hearts."
And so it is, I was on the verge of calling in the fire brigades.
I've been listening to the release 5 times in a row. From start I knew which song to pick, but after five times through these 5 wonderful songs it got harder to pick one.... Very hard!
But ok, Mick just wants one, so I go for the opening track: Date Night In The West.
This one can go on repeat for an hour or two. It's over too fast so the urge to repeat infinitely is high!
It's song about them wanting to go out west with the in-crowd from Leuven (being west from Diest), where all the Big Boys live :-)
But mainly this track wins the prize in my little brain because I love this kind of simplicity.
I hear some Uranium Club mixed up with some cranky organ noise from PISSE and some 50/50 singing/parlando vocals too make it quirky as hell. Oh Egg Punk they call it now, right?
I keep repeating it. Belgium has some very fine products under its belt the last 10 years.
So it's Friday, the day of the week when the Just Some Punk Songs show starts taking shape. A busy day when I spend far too much time listening to new releases. But it's worth the effort, especially when I come across something as good as the new album by Essex duo The Meffs (https://www.facebook.com/Themeffsuk).
Pang Pang records have been very productive lately. This must be the 5th release this year if I'm not mistaken. And again Tom from this rather recent label brings us a very nice Belgian product.
The band notes on bandcamp read: "A rötten stew of long forgotten hopes, dreams and love. Straight in your ugly git with some fast hot legs thrashy punk hardcore"
4 'dudes' from the Courtrai area that probably hang out at the world famous local venue called the Pits. There where all the greats of the underworld have a stop to play a show, what better learning school does one need?
The boys had a split 7" out last year together with other Courtrai locals Freddie & the Vangrails, on which Röt managed to pin 9 tracks on their side. And yet again this new 12" has 14 tracks of pure coolness on 1 side. You can find the album here : https://rotstewart.bandcamp.com/album/3-tattoos-a-road-tax-bill
The sleeve already tells you not to take thing too serious and FUN is the theme to expect. The unused side of the vinyl has a fantastic print that combines Mr Stewart's head with the Motorhead skull. Oooh, what would Rodney and Lemmy think of that?
Their songs sound like having a double dose of 80 HC injected into them, which definitely appeals to elderly persons such as me. They're short enough to not bore and have some funny atmosphere around them. Thinking of Attitude Adjustment when hearing the intro of Shitty City,
a song that moves to and fro from fast hc to punk'n'roll. Real enjoyable stuff this one!
This rocking combo has been around for a good few years now, being regulars on the Belgian punk circuit with proper success. Often invited and touring abroad, it is not unlikely you may have come across their name on a bill or even have seen them live. I did so a good few times and the energy that sparks off their shows is mind-blowing. But how can such power violence band transmit that live energy onto vinyl? Well with "Until I snap" they pretty much nailed it.
They already have a string of releases of which I may baptize as modern day classic (Bedbugs for one, from 2018) so if you are familiar with those releases, I'm sure you'll notice the leap in production, recording and song writing.
This new 12", a 45 rpm mean green coloured slab of plastic contains 16 merciless attacks of brutal Power-Core ("power violence" ...I don't like that name for a "genre" actually). Trench Club opens the rollercoaster ride all through to the very last song. And the words... the words you read while being knocked out by the pounding drums & loud guitars make you wonder what is all behind the veil of anger and anxiety.
I picked Homesick, a track somewhere in the middle of side one. It grabs me completely by the throat.
A good old friend said to me "forget about solos, a good riff is what is remembered". And by jove, this riff sticks in my head. What is Eva singing here? Does she introduce a new meaning of the word Homesick? As in "sick of being at home" rather than the opposite? Things that happen at homes that aren't spoken about outside the walls of a house? Maybe I got it all wrong, but this is the power of her lyrics in general: They aren't specific, so it challenges the listener to a free interpretation. Until you snap.
