Bzdet

Reviews

Bzdet Maybe It Is Enough? cassette

A solo synth punk project out of Poland with a handful of releases already put out, BZDET offers up its first US release through the Buffalo tape label, Tetryon—this compilation includes tracks the artist has found to be the most important work of the project so far, as well as three previously unreleased tracks. The album comes out of the gate sounding like NEW ORDER meets MOLCHAT DOMA, but with twenty songs here, the sound expands and explores plenty within that synth punk umbrella. What sets this apart from other synth punk stuff is that, even if you don’t speak Polish, you can tell there is a humor and playfulness that stays bubbling just below the surface (exemplified by the closing track “I Don’t Need Viagra Boyzz,” one of two titled in English). That’s not to say these are typical egg-punk offerings, but rather that the music doesn’t come across as too polished for its own good, just Polish and good.

Bzdet Daleko Od Ok cassette

BZDET from Poland has been releasing churning, well-produced post-punk and coldwave for some time, and this tape is no exception. Trebly, bouncing bass lines and syncopated drums hold down the low end while repetitive guitar and synth lines tangle together like knotted up shoelaces under the echoed vocals. It’s all very cool, temperature-wise, and sounds like an artifact from early ’80s Eastern Europe in the best way. Songs like “Do Yarga” and “Boli” find a minimal groove instantly and ride it out until a fade out a few minutes later. It’s effective mood music, as long as your mood is a little gloomy.

Bzdet Niepokoje cassette

A cassette of lo-fi post-punk from Poland. After my last few encounters with this type of thing, I hesitated to press play. Hearing the opener “Yareg” drop in with a deeply funky beat made my face scrunch up and my head bob with approval almost immediately. The drums programmed with the robo-claves and handclaps, a thick intrusive bully of a bassline, tremolo-bar-torture guitar, and static synth smears. It’s a two-minute tune I’d love to have a 12” remix of, because after that, the tape goes to predictably cold and straightforward post-punk that just sounds limp in comparison. If it kept the mutant funk, I’d be all in, but at least they knew that first song was a strong opener.

Bzdet Atom cassette

Nice mix of post-punk and coldwave from this Polish band. The genre hallmarks of bouncy, loping basslines, angular guitar lines, and detached, depressive vocals are all here. But BZDET is not afraid of the dancefloor, like on “Niewola,” which is driven by crispy drum machine handclaps. Similarly, “Nadzieja” builds an ominous atmosphere around a bass-led dance beat and guitar swells. Other standouts are “Sukcesy (Pozory),” which features an oppressive, atonal din interspersed with trebly synth wiggles, minimal electronics, and spoken vocals, and “Okazejszyn,” the closest that the band comes to NEW ORDER-style pop, albeit with slurred/reverbed singing. Moody dance jams covered in sheets of ice for fans of SIEKIERA and LEBANON HANOVER.

Bzdet Nie Ma Nic cassette

It’s been fun for the last year-plus to clock the evolution of BZDET’s consistently excellent output. The mysterious artist(s?) has been cranking out a slew of tapes and digital EPs, portions of which get collected here. BZDET smears bass lines, synth-blurt, and pitch-shifted vocals together like a punk BLANK DOGS. BZDET would be right at home on a Ralph Records sampler, and would probably even steal the show. There’s a RENALDO AND THE LOAF kind of lurch to the more playful cuts and an undeniable CHROME frizz to the menacing ones. “Bad News” has a nasty edge to it until sliding into the demented “Wszyscy Wymrzemy.” Half the time the song just comes barging into the room, all sharp elbows and curled lips. And yet, they can do barren tundra post-punk as well as anyone currently scowling in the shadows. But really it sounds like all my fave-rave early ’80s German tapeheads who made punk with anything they could dig out of the garbage or find in the pantry. This isn’t even the best stuff! There’s already new material out from this busy musical formation. Have you caught the buzz yet?