Reviews

Timebomb

Hotza Esnatu 12″

Been interested in these Bilbaino boot boys for a while now since they released their stellar demo a couple of years ago, and I was delighted to see they’ve kept standards high. Fans of France, and specifically 1980s skinhead France, will be delighted by their output, as much like RIXE or BÉTON ARMÉ, they’ve taken inspiration from this particular purple patch of Oi! while not turning into a panto dame rip-off. I’ll even forgive them trying out a ska song on the final tune of the record; we can just pretend it’s five tracks long.

Iena / Scalpo split EP

At first, I found this quite simple, almost pop, but as it went on I became immersed in the rowdy, dark Oi! grooves. European Oi! and the like are not a specialty for me; I love CAMERA SILENS, I’ve checked out PRISION POSTUMO (not sure I’m even accurate here, but whatever, this reminds me of them), KRONSTADT LPs…I don’t know much. But damn, I really dig this. It’s super catchy and executed very tightly. Of the four total songs, my favorite IENA track is “Luna,” which is actually a cover of LITFIBA, an Italian new wave duo. IENA’s side is perfect. SCALPA’s side is bit heavier, almost like Oi! meets later RUDIMENTARY PENI. SCALPO also does a cover of ROUGH, an Oi! band from Torino, Italy. Overall, this is a great Italian Oi! split. Glad for the introduction!