Reviews

It's Eleven

Cold Summer Altlasten EP

Feedback-drenched and frost-covered, COLD SUMMER from Leipzig combines post-punk and hardcore into a ferocious and icy presentation on the Altlasten EP. Moments of otherworldly, atmospheric sounds intersperse the hardcore that is of the variety that gives you goosebumps but also makes you want to dead-eye motherfuckers with cool confidence. The vocals push the limits of vocal cord strain as they scream with passionate but melancholic precision and deliver the lyrics in German. The final song on this four-song disc is entitled “Keiner ist Mehr Da,” and with its pumping bass, drifting lead guitar, and innovative tempo changes, it comes off as refreshing and invigorating. Sporadically and for only the briefest of moments, I catch a combination of sounds that recalls post-hardcore from a couple decades ago, so there is a sense of familiarity within Altlasten. All in all, I’d recommend everyone give this one a try.

Distant Relatives Distant Relatives cassette

Rumbling bass, proto-punk song structures, and chilling vocals are just a few hallmarks on DISTANT RELATIVES’ self-titled release. From Chemnitz, Germany, DISTANT RELATIVES play an aggressive form of rock’n’roll that is difficult to categorize. I personally hear things like PATTI SMITH, the GITS, WHITE LUNG, EASTERN SYNDROME, and the ELECTROLYTES, but there is also a big 45 GRAVE influence. Needless to say, DISTANT RELATIVES rocks! The song “Mei Nü” is definitely one of my favorite songs as it rips with a quick punk energy, has a gnarly guitar tone that is snarly and grimy, and brims with a snotty attitude. Meanwhile, it’s hard to resist the swagger within “Done.” If you’re in for an album that meanders, but rests on genuine and unique rock’n’roll, then check this one out.

Electrolytes Ultralyte cassette

Garage pop with big riff energy fuses with punk rock delivery in the chemical slurry that is ELECTROLYTES. Unpredictable musical twists and turns make this a very entertaining and interesting listen. Sugary-sweet synthesizer lines decay into aggressive guitar blasts, and all the while, ’60s-style crooning attempts to keep everything in order. There’s a no wave influence running through this cassette that is hard to miss, from the LYDIA LUNCH-esque vocal delivery to the occasional repetitious guitar bangs and noisome stabs.

Franky Shampoo The Lost Tapes cassette

I’m not sure who this FRANKY is, but he seems to have a bit of an issue with time. Between the physical release and the small amount of info that can be found on the internet, I am being told that this batch of songs was written in the early ’80s, released in 1990, copyrighted 2006, and released now after being discovered after an unknown period of time. What’s more important is that I couldn’t possibly care less where the goof ends and reality begins because these songs are timeless enough that I could be convinced that there is truth to any combination of those wild claims. Mr. SHAMPOO and his backing band, who the internet tells me is called the CITY CREATURES (tho, I strongly suspect it may just be our sudsy new friend all on his lonesome), seem to be from Chemnitz, Germany. FRANKY plays a lovely mix of many different styles of punk. There’s some ’77-type stuff in there, some mid-tempo post-punk catchiness, some synth punk elements peppered in, it’s all done extremely well and nothing sounds out of place. I am greatly hoping there are more tapes to be discovered by this enigmatic individual. I’m feeling all frothy and lathered up, and these mere seven songs have set the bar incredibly high. What’s this? A secret track? An unlisted eighth song, full-MIDI version of “Ace of Spades”! FRANKY, you mad man! Wherever you are, come back to us, you’ve got a hit on your hands with this tape!

L’Appel Du Vide Abwärtsspirale EP

This is a great EP from an up-and-coming band straight out of Germany. They mix elements of melodic deathrock darkness, surf guitar riffs, and the hypnotic momentum of the most nocturnal and romantic English post-punk (Sturm und Drang-style). Four songs that feel like four anthems. You don’t need more.

Mantarochen In the Badgers Cave EP

MANTAROCHEN is a darkwave, gothic post-punk band from Germany. I was immediately drawn to their EP solely from the title—In the Badgers Cave, so badass. With the opening track, “Reflection,” you feel as though you’re in another world. Perhaps underwater, swirling in the moody abyss they’ve created. Reminiscent of SELOFAN with distinct bass lines and synths, they are able to create an atmosphere of unrest, leaving you with a haunted feeling. I loved how lost I got in this EP.

Mantarochen Cut My Brainhair cassette

From Leipzig, Germany, MANTAROCHEN releases their second full-length album on cassette. The band plays an icy post-punk/coldwave kind of thing, with really haunting, low-end female vocals hanging over ever-present synth, sparse drums, and gangly guitar riffs. I really enjoy the instrumental opener “Delta (Intro),” as it sets the mood for the brooding tracks that follow. Some songs move with a little urgency, like “Shadow,” but mostly we get a mid-tempo pace, leaving plenty of space for these dark reveries. That said, none of the songs linger on: they’re all in the economy of sub-three-minutes. “Pull Me” may be my favorite of the album, with an unnerving synth trill and a single note-bend on the guitar—it’s angular, almost a little sci-fi, and perfectly droning. Clean production, but not overly polished. If this type of genre is at all up your alley, you will like this.

Night Miasma Exhausted EP

This record is a complete escape into a different world—the kind you throw on when life’s too dull and you’re ready to enter into a nostalgic daydream, heavy with reverb and German expressionist lighting. Drums beat sporadic and raw beneath deathrock guitar riffs at times accompanied by an organ straight out of a retro thriller flick. Vocals are darkly deadpan with a sound that resembles 39 CLOCKS meets ’80s-era DAMNED. The songs are complex, original, and overall more than the sum of their musical influences. The result is a record that feels poppy, but obscure—gloomy, yet energizing.

Night Punch Where Sins Bloom (So Does Death) cassette

Fresh Hamburg synth punk project that sure knows how to create an atmosphere with their synth’s dark and cold tweaks. Fast-paced cadences, some tasty riffs, and super-reverbed frantic vocals. Interesting dark and blunt interlude sections are throughout the album, and though the songs may be a bit repetitive in tempo, they compensate with the work on the synth and vocals. Reminded me of DESBORDE in some of the intros between the synth and the drums, and then the whole band comes in, like in “Where Sins Bloom” and “Something We Cannot See.” Recommended for synth punk maniacs.

Paul Pecho Curtis Yellingmouth / Neatly Framed 7″

Folks may be familiar with PAUL PECHO (a.k.a. Paul Schlesier) through his work with Leipzig psych-rock outfit BLACK SALVATION, but this 7”, his first as a solo act, finds him exploring some of the less heavy recesses of psychedelia. Both tracks on this 7” sound an awful lot like the stuff TY SEGALL was putting out in the early 2010s—maybe splitting the difference between the garage-y Melted and the acoustic psych of Goodbye Bread. It’s mainly due to the vocals—he’s doing the whole blown-out, multi-tracked thing and howling in a similar register. But the songs themselves aren’t straight rips by any means. “Neatly Framed,” the better of the two tracks on here, takes disparate layers of garage-y riffs, noodly guitars, and woozy vocals and backs that with a  loose hearty drum beat to create a track that isn’t overtly psychedelic but has similar mind-altering effects. It’s not bad!

Snow Trail Abandoned Capsule LP

From Jena, Germany comes SNOW TRAIL: synth-laden post-punk with a punk rock sneer. If you’re into HOME FRONT or DIÄT, you’ll definitely like this. Abandoned Capsule is full of lengthy jam moments that rapidly shift and churn, but are completed as quickly as they started. Elements of no wave creep in around the edges, with saxophones occasionally making an abstract appearance. There’s also an element of PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED. in the experimental play with recording techniques and instrumentation. In all, probably not for the diehard punks, but definitely worth picking up if you’re into post-punk.

The Harry Anslingers Go Tranquility Base cassette

This German band named after the controversial first drug war Nazi of America plays noisy garage punk with songs crafted with an apparent love for the American space program. Fast, trashy, and fun, it reminds me of the NO-TALENTS, SPOILED BRATS, or TYRADES. Fun and confusing all at the same time, I leave it to you, kind reader, to figure this one out. Prost!

Tooth Paint Digital Sex cassette

This is a side project from Henry, the bassist of Germany’s post-punk band L‘APPEL DU VIDE. Henry is a very talented young fella, capable of producing high quality synth punk that lives comfortably outside of time—these five songs can be placed next to the ’80s defining classics, raunchy electroclash, or ’00s no wave. The tunes are catchy as hell, incredibly well-constructed and irredeemably fun. The closing track “Digital Sex” may be my own new personal anthem. Get the cassette now!