Reviews

Future

Blitz New Age / Fatigue 7″

The best thing about this new BLITZ 45 is that it will piss off the more narrow-minded Oi-sters. It really breaks the standard “skunk” mold with a schizoid musical approach combining NEW ORDER (squeaky clean production, a dance-oriented beat, a tinkling piano) and GARY GLITTER (superheavy drums and repetitive sing-along choruses) influences. I long for the crunching guitars of their All Out Attack EP, but I’m thankful that they’re not just recycling their more derivative recent material.

Blitz Telecommunication / Teletron 7″

BLITZ slips into the tarpits of new wave disco with this single. The problem is that “Telecommunications” is bad discoid synth-pop—uninventive, wimpy, and with no good melodic hooks. The flipside is more interesting, but it falls into the trap of being artsy. I’m not opposed to a change in direction, but BLITZ sure missed the boat on this one.

Violators Life on the Red Line / Crossings of Sangsara 7″

Oh no, the VIOLATORS have followed BLITZ down the path toward JOY DIVISION-clone material, with some imitation SIOUXIE vocals thrown in for good measure. I love the ’60s melodies on the A-side, but it’s sad to see all these recent punk bands adopting a slick, gutless sound. I vastly prefer their last 45.