Reviews

Languid A Paranoid Wretch in Society’s Games LP

If D-beat was an Olympic sport, it would probably be diving—like diving, to the unversed, it pretty much always sounds and looks the same. Only self-proclaimed experts can actually tell the brilliant kind from the mediocre one, and everyone can spot a really botched dive just as well as an excruciatingly boring D-beat band. And if D-beat was an Olympic discipline (it won’t be until 2032), then LANGUID would possibly win a gold medal. This Edmonton band has been going since 2015 and has delivered quality orthodox D-beat ever since, but their new album A Paranoid Wretch in Society’s Game (a very COVID-compatible title) takes them to new heights. D-beat is a subgenre based on strict expectations, and LANGUID knows the game well and totally meets it with a heavy production, perfect Swedish D-beat riffs, some groovy bass lines, a very pure version of the beat on the drums, and shouted vocals with the compulsory scansion, flow, and accentuation. LANGUID belongs to the Swedish branch of the loving D-beat family and clearly aims at emulating DISFEAR (A Brutal Sight of War-era), DISPENSE (In the Cold Night-era), and the most obvious reference by far, Remaining Right: Silence by MEANWHILE, a band who under the name DISCHANGE were one of the very first bands in punkstory to try to sound just like DISCHARGE. So from a creative stance, LANGUID tries to sound just like a band who tried to sound just like another band. Referential punk poetry in action. This album is a pure declaration of love to the mighty D and probably the strongest work in the Swedish-styled D-beat category in a few years (it is admittedly a narrow category). This gem was released on D-Takt & Råpunk Records, a label that specializes in such delicacies, the aptly nightmarish artwork was drawn by Adam Kindred (from CONTAGIUM and ZYGOME), and it was mastered by Kenko…from MEANWHILE. A future classic, to be sure.