Fehlfarben - Monarchie Und Alltag

Artist: Fehlfarben
Album: Monarchie Und Alltag
Release: 1980
Label: Welt-Rekord

Tracklist:

1. Hier Und Jetzt
2. Grauschleier
3. Das Sind Geschichten
4. All That Heaven Allows
5. Gottseidank Nicht In England
6. Millitürk
7. Apokalypse
8. Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran)
9. Angst
10. Das War Vor Jahren
11. Paul Ist Tot

Fehlfarben's Monarchie Und Alltag is a Seminal piece of German post-punk/new wave and one of my favorites of the era. The band was often dubbed "the German Gang of Four" due to both their sound and political nature and I've also heard strong comparisons to Wire, but I feel the band definitely has its own thing going on. First and foremost, the band not only sings everything in German, but the lyrical content is uniquely post-war (and West) German, as well. Of course, I don't understand any of it, so I have to go by others' descriptions, but "Militürk"'s facetious fear of a Turkish cultural take over at the hands of a Turkish army equipped with, as I've imagined, Döner Kebabs and Currywurst is hilarious. I think every song stands out on its own, but my two favorites are my mixtape favorite "Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran)" and the eight minute closer of "Paul Ist Tot." I'm sure you'll find your own, though, as this album rules.

Apparently, Fehlfarben is still kickin' and have released a new album this year, entitled Glücksmaschinen, that I hear is actually pretty great. Still haven't checked it out yet, but I should!

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-Adam

Urban Blight - Total War 7"

Artist: Urban Blight
Album: Total War 7"
Release: 2010
Label: Static Shock

Tracklist:

1. Your Abuse
2. No Time
3. Total War
4. Social Order
5. Absolute Control

Another top-fucking-shelf release from Toronto’s Urban Blight. A blistering wall of chaotic feedback-drenched guitars delivering perfect three-chord hardcore with the most intense vocals in any current outfit topped with to-the-point, no-fucking-around drumming. The A-side rages by quickly with three tracks displaying their signature Agnostic Front-meets-violent/deranged Midwest-style, then dives feet-first into a slower skank-to-death cut on the B-side with “Social Order,” then back into another unrelenting rager. This band is yet to do wrong. All hail Urban Blight.

Be sure to buy this while you can, the second pressing will surely sell out insanely fast.

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-Evander Holywar

Nomos - Notes From The Acheron [One-Sided 12"]

Artist: Nomos
Album: Notes From The Acheron
Release: 2010
Label: Deranged

Tracklist:

1. A Witness
2. Changeling
3. O Fortuna
4. Mendicant
5. Pharmakon
6. The Fall
7. Vertical Slum (Swell Maps)

The Brooklyn tardy boys of Nomos gained some attention from their 2009 demo, which eventually received vinyl treatment in the form of a 7" on Deranged. To be honest, I wasn't really blown away by that set of songs. Half of it was pretty great, while half of it was just decent and unremarkable. Overall, though, I would consider it a solid demo. However, since recording that set of songs, the band has added a second, sometimes-mustachioed guitarist and a new, blonde bassist, which has not only beefed-up their sound, but drastically improved their (still) drunken live shows.

Due to a large number of contributing factors including, but not limited to, a slothful pace of songwriting, a vocalist too good for practices, trouble with mixing, Canadian customs officials, and record plant screw-ups, it's taken forever for the band to get this record out. Still, it's well worth the wait. Notes From The Acheron is a one-sided 12", so what we get is a fluid, eight-minute set of six Nomos originals and a "hidden" Swell Maps cover.

From the opening notes of "A Witness," one will realize that this is a darker record than the demo. One will also notice that the band's early 90s hardcore influence of Infest and Citizens arrest is now complimented by parts inspired by crustier bands like Framtid. After a show they played with Brain Killer, a pleased fan noted "I thought they would be a Nike band, but they were a Vans band!" Not only do the originals flow together extremely well, but each song appears to be an improvement on its predecessor, culminating with "Pharmakon" and "The Fall," the band's two finest songs. The former has some of the coolest guitar flourishes the band has come up with thus far and ends with the sickest mosh part and masochistic grovelling combination, while the latter is one of their more complex songs and is a perfect ending to this record.

After your digital catharsis, lift your digital needle up and onto the digital secret groove to hear the band's take on Swell Maps' "Vertical Slums." Nomos has had a knack of covering not only hardcore staples, but post-punk songs, as well. Covering Wire hasn't gotten the crowd moving in the same way as Madball, but it's certainly welcome, especially in recorded form. This cover is very well executed and is a refreshing ending to the whole affair, which can be a bit dreary, otherwise.

To go on a brief tangent, I would like to just say that NYC punk is also finally killing it again, what with other bands like Pollution, Crazy Spirit, Perdition, Dawn Of Humans, Long Pigs, The Men, Natural Law, Twin Stumps, Night Birds (half Brooklyn!), and countless others, both newer and older. With Notes From The Acheron, Nomos has capitalized on the promise of their demo and have churned out a solid hardcore record. It's by no means earth-shattering, but it's still a blast and is one of the many interesting records coming out of Brooklyn at this time and they are definitely to be counted among the list above. Anyway, be sure to pick this up from Deranged (who have been killing it lately!), see the band live (if you can), and keep an eye out for when we post more of these exciting bands doing things in NYC!

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-Adam

Mark Kozelek - Great American Music Hall 2004 (Bootleg)

Artist: Mark Kozelek
Album: Great American Music Hall 2004 (Bootleg)
Release: 2004
Label: N/A

Tracklist:

1. Other Than That, Everything’s Great
2. Pancho Villa
3. Lily And Parrots
4. I’m Sorry... I’m Shallow
5. Glenn Tipton
6. Void (Cruiser)
7. Carry Me, Ohio
8. Down Through
9. Fever Dog
10. Green Manalishi / Gentle Moon
11. Duk Koo Kim
12. All Mixed Up
13. Revelation Big Sur
14. If You’re Going To San Francisco
15. What’s Going Next To The Moon / Bad Boy Boogie / Summer Dress
16. Katy Song / Celebrated Summer
17. Grace Cathedral Park
18. Dragonflies
19. Three-Legged Cat

While Mark Kozelek may not go down history as the world’s most dynamic songrwriter, his slow, often lengthy contributions in Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters and under his own name cannot be doubt for their brutal honesty. As a musician, he’s more content to paint his aural pictures by vividly describing moments and places to describe how he feels about the fragile, often shattered relationships in his life. As such, sometimes his records may take patience to get through, but once this boundary is broken, they will draw you into beautiful realms of heartbreak.

Captured at one of two gigs at the Great American Music Hall six years ago, this high-quality bootleg captures Kozelek in absolute top shape, stripping the lengthy and morose Red House Painters material and his more recent, folkier Sun Kil Moon work (culled from what was then his most recent record, Ghosts of the Great Highway) down to their barest acoustic forms. For a new listener, this setlist is a great place to start. For a veteran fan, it’s likely impeccable. Suitably, Kozelek announces his then-present rut-- a bout of the flu with no medical insurance, the recent end of a relationship and his drummer quitting. Yet that hardly slows down “Pancho Villa,” “Lily and Parrots,” “Void,” and the Sun Kil Moon calling card “Carry Me, Ohio.”

The barren, hollow sadness of live rarity “Down Through” is reworked slightly but offers as much disturbing beauty as the original-- not least when Kozelek reaches the song’s refrain, singing “I still remember the sting in my hand from when I hit you.” “Duk Koo Kim,” a hymn of solitude rolls in the fog and conjures nighttime views of the bay, a yearning for love lost, the disorienting feeling of waking from a troubling dream, and the tragedy of the titular Korean boxer who perished from a blow in a match with Ray Mancini.

Kozelek is no stranger to covers, but what make his special are his complete rearrangement of them. Sometimes, they’re recognizable; at others, the only similarity lies in the lyrics. He tosses in Fleetwood Mac’s “Green Manalishi” with “Gentle Moon,” a superior version of the Cars’ “All Mixed Up,” and two AC/DC covers before the worship of RHP classic “Summer Dress.” The ultimate mix of cover and oirignal material, however, is his mixing the numbing “Katy Song” with Husker Du’s “Celebrated Summer.” The former haunts like a dark cloud, even in its newer, more pastoral live version, but the latter shines with Kozelek’s personal coat of nostalgia in lieu of Bob Mould’s shout-singing and fuzzyness. It’s near-perfect yin and yang.

Closing out the intimate performance are a capellas of the the seemingly-light-to-totally-dark “Grace Cathedral Park”and the frozen reflection of “Dragonflies” as well as the oddity “Three-Legged Cat.” While this decision may have been spur-of-the-moment, it nonetheless proves that Kozelek’s voice is as golden as his (considerable) guitar skills.

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Check out Mark on tour!

-Asa

Talulah Gosh - Backwash

Artist: Talulah Gosh
Album: Backwash
Release: 1996
Label: K

Tracklist:

1. Beatnik Boy
2. My Best Friend
3. Steaming Train
4. Just A Dream
5. Talulah Gosh
6. Don't Go Away
7. Escalator Over The Hill
8. My Boy Says
9. Way Of The World
10. Testcard Girl
11. Bringing Up Baby
12. I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Thank God)
13. The Girl With The Strawberry Hair
14. Talulah Gosh [Radio Session Version]
15. Do You Remember
16. Looking For A Rainbow
17. Sunny Inside
18. My World's Ending
19. Be Your Baby
20. Break Your Face
21. In Love For The Very First Time
22. Spearmint Head
23. I Told You So
24. Pastels Badge
25. Rubber Ball

For me, there are several women who rule over indie pop-- Pam Berry, Rose Melberg, and I'd probably rank Amy Linton among them as well. Reigning supreme over the bunch, however, is Amelia Fletcher. She is the perfect andro-geek representative of the genre, and, along with her brother Mathew, Amelia has helmed two of my all-time favorite bands-- Heavenly and Talulah Gosh. As much as I love the polished gems of Heavenly, sometimes I need the slightly grittier pop of Talulah Gosh, more along of the lines (but preceding) of Strawberry Story, which Adam recently posted.

Whereas I find quite a bit of 1980s C-86-style indie pop somewhat tiresome after a while, Talulah Gosh sped up and reenergized the genre. Yet even their slower songs, like "Just a Dream," don't bore. I think this variation really relates to the original intent of the group-- Amelia and Elizabeth Price sought to form a band that was their interpretation of a '60s girl group (though they failed and had to recruit Amelia's younger brother and boyfriend). Even within songs, you get a change of pace. For example, the band's self-titled track (they took their name from a made up TV/pop star), alternates between whimsical pop laments and a more punk-inspired chorus. These moments, the faster, punkier ones, are ultimately what I think set Talulah Gosh apart from the pack of other 1980s pop bands-- those upbeat love songs like "Steaming Train," "Don't Go Away," or the shriekier "Testcard Girl." Still, the gaps gaps between such songs remind me of why I place Amelia Fletcher above all other indie poppers. Let's not forget, for instance, The Softies' (a Rose Melberg band) cover of Talulah Gosh's perfect pop hit "I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Thank God)."

As far as compilations go, Backwash is quite thorough, collecting nearly all of the band's recordings, from records to live performances and even a radio session. While there definitely is variation in the qualities of recordings, they are all lo-fi enough (but not too lo-fi) that nothing feels out of place. The most dodgy recording, a live version of "Pastels Badge" might feel a little incohesive, but it's a necessary ode to the band's beginnings. This compilation was released by K in 1996 but is seemingly out of print now. Good luck finding Talulah Gosh records, but perhaps this download will serve as an inspiration to do so.

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-Catherine