Reissue of the Week: Blitzkrieg
BLITZKRIEG — “Apel” EPCroatia, our distant love affair continues! Underrated, shambolic protest punk from Zagreb. BLITZKRIEG formed in 1984, then a year later recorded their four-track demo in two days. All four are on this nice slab of wax, and fuck if they aren’t all really good. The recital intro to “Apel” (“Appeal”) from the bleach-blonde, leather-clad singer is giving me chills—it’s annoyed and determined and snarky and passionate. “This is an appeal to reality.” A rockin’ riff rolls in and the gritty mid-tempo has me sucked in. The singer is kind of dragging his voice, sniggering between lyrics, while the guitars are kind falling apart in a warm wave of basement fuzz. “Tko je kriv?” (“Who is to blame?”) is a certified jammer, with its chopped up guitars and impatient vocals: “Who is to blame for the quiet agony of society?” All tracks have been remastered but I enjoy the graininess to this recording; it’s so analog and intimate, it adds character and depth, of which they already have ample. Comes with translated lyrics and cool pictures—some seminal Yugo punk! (Lydiya)
(NE!)
