Kissing the Revolution of What We Are

The Finger Print discography is getting harder to find, so I did some digging. With a little window cleaner my old scratchy copy of the CD made for some good ripping. As far as my personal canon goes, Finger Print were one of the delectable treats that lured me into the rabbit hole of nineties hardcore. Things would never again be the same for me, and I rather like it that way. Claw your way through the tangle of FP's jack-hammering drums, metallic dissonance, winding melodies, and curdling screams, and you'll find four regular guys, hacking their own rambling and fugitive path to the same vague place you hope to one day end up too. Like many acts of the decade, their path went somewhere inward, exploring the place of the individual among the shape-shifting and ghoulish menagerie of the political realm. Whether or not they ever found what they were looking for, I cannot say, but this 19 track document suggests to me that the journey was well worth it. There's nary a single throw-away (other than the awfully recorded live tracks at the end), and unlike many hardcore discographies, I am always riveted by this one from beginning to end. Speaking of the end, the final three studio tracks revealed a slightly new direction for the band, smoothing the jagged metallic edges to more elegant contours. Members would continue in this direction in the band Jasemine, who sadly only released four songs.

Finger Print discography (@320 Kbps)

Loud Silence At Home

If anyone has the cure for Busy, please send it my way! There's no shortage of great music here at the headquarters, but the postings just haven't been happening for various reasons. I'll see what I can do to catch up this weekend, but for now here's a heaping gravy ladle of French 90's hardcore. I've noticed that a lot of my posts and would-be posts are of newer records, simply because there are a ton of great releases of late. But I can't forget the decade that this blog specializes in, and so I present the few releases I own by Undone. While I can't guarantee you'll love Undone as I do, they did offer an enticingly puzzling admixture of hardcore styles; if music doesn't cut it for you unless it boasts copious moshy metal riffs, emotive dissonance, or speed, Undone have got you covered on all accounts (especially the first two). It won't take long to figure out that Undone grew thorny and strong out of the same cracked concrete slab as Finger Print, Ivich, Vanilla, etc, and for that they should already warrant a serious listen. For today, I'm offering the band's later 7" "The Other Side," as well as an early 7" that I will simply call "Undone." Both rage, but on this early outing I like the vocals better, and the metal is cranked way the hell up.

Since you hate comps, I'm sneaking in yet another rose among weeds, the "World Hardcore" 2X7". Perhaps it should really be called "European Hardcore", but whatever. A comp is a winner if more than half the tracks are at least good, if not great, and this one huffs and puffs across the finish line. I was mainly interested in the Vanilla and Undone tracks, but Olotila rock and it was nice to hear an early-ish Deadbeat track (post of their 10" coming soon).

Get the two 7"s and Comp here

More Undone posts as I find more of their releases.

** Addendum- Mike of mighty Twisted Tracks posted the 12" and the "Reconstruction" comp!

Ivich Part I

France's Ivich was my first glimpse of "modern" hardcore (specifically their LP which will be the subject of the Part II post); today's post concerns their two split 7"s (and I'm throwing in the "Illiterate" comp track). Whether any given Ivich track is blasting you with fast and fiery emotional HC, chunky mosh metal, or those odd, free-form undistorted pauses, you'll know who's doing it to you, as the band always sounds so very distinct. The two rippers on the E-150 split fit into the first category mostly-- fast and chaotic, and dripping with raw emotion. Their Spanish partners on side B take an even more straight forward, Chicagoan approach (MK-Ultra, Crudos, etc), except for the weird electronic track at the end. The music is tight, fast, and powerful, and ends before it could ever possibly get old.

The Ivich track on the Jasemine split is probably their least interesting one, and therefore this EP is posted for the sake of completism, as well as my mission to spread Jasemine's brilliance as far and wide as I can. I've already waxed hysterical over this post-Finger Print band's ugliness-meets-sublime beauty before, so just take my word for it-- Jasemine is essential listening, even if they only released four songs.

Ivich stuff is here

Ivich splits and a comp track

Phoque Aime All

I was on a whole French '90's hardcore kick, then it was brought to my attention that the "Le Garage" comp link was not working... perfect time for a French double (re)post. Sea Shepherd's vocals remind me a bit of Ivich and Vanilla, but musically we're looking at more straight forward and fast hardcore. In fact, until you see the layout of the booklet, there's not much more to connect these guys to the emotive cadre encircling their particular time and place (other than maybe the dolphin (?) voices between tracks). Rough and fast one moment, a bit groovy the next. Very cool band that probably only released comp tracks in addition to these six (hopefully I'm wrong and some nice commenter can help out). Speaking of comps...


... I posted this "Le Garage" comp what seems like years ago. It was pretty important to me back in the day as it had very early tracks from Finger Print and Ivich, who became favorites and continue to be such. There's also an early version of a Sea Shepherd track that's on the 7", a rager from Abolition, and 2 tracks from Human Alert that leave me a bit ambivalent. If you're a Finger Print fan and haven't heard "Docility," you may be in for a bit of a surprise.

The Sea Shepherd 7"

 "Le Garage 7" (re-ripped @ 320) HERE

Song Of The Week: "Restriction" (Jasemine)

Every once in a while, I like to "wuss out" to some nineties "emo." Of all the ridiculous non-classical music terms invented, that three letter one takes the cake. Regardless, when it comes to the French, no other people has been more consistently awesome in this particular style. They just have that je ne sais quoi that might be a delicate mix of impassioned anger and restrained elegance that when done right can only result in striking beauty. Jasemine ruled at this niche, albeit only for a few seconds in the grander scheme. The way the band could weave elusive strands of melody within beautifully convoluted bass and guitar riffs was absolutely breath-taking. For years "Restriction" has been a song I've relied on when I need a brief evisceration of the soul-- a moment to take stock of things internal. I wish Christophe would have stayed in the band (in which case they would continue to be Finger Print, I guess) because his vocal work would have been a better choice. But this is what it is, and it's still amazing.


Jasemine recorded four songs for their demo, which would later grace half of two split EPs with Elements Of Need and Ivich. "Restriction" comes from the latter of the two.

"Restriction"

"Le Garage" 7" Comp.

To complete the trinity of 7" compilations, I offer "Le Garage." I am not posting this EP because it has the best recordings of the best hardcore bands that ever graced a stage. "Le Garage" is, rather, a piece of history documenting, celebrating, and mourning the beginnings of a "scene" and the demise of the venue which provided its germination. Some of the bands' names would come to epitomize the European hardcore of the '90's, but others fizzled out (or I just never followed their path). I was/am most interested here with Ivich and Finger Print. These two bands, for me at least, were the Pepsi and Coke (pardon the trite corporate comparison) of French hardcore. Both released excellent catalogues of music and undoubtedly influenced the current wave of French screamy hardcore (Amanda Woodward, Sed Non Satiata, etc.). The tracks each band supplied here represent their earliest, rawest incarnations. In fact, the Finger Print track contains no hint of their signature metallic yet emotive style, and the vocals go no where near fever pitch of Nicolas's later black metal-esque screeches. The band was apparently still searching for their sound, which may account for why this song never made it to their discography CD (which you can download here). A couple of the other, lesser known bands (Human Alert & Abolition) contributed great tracks, making this comp. both a curiosity and a great listen.

Track List:

Sea Shepherd - "What About Love?"
Ivich - "Engrenage"
Human Alert - "We Could've Been/Fuck You, Fuck Me"
Finger Print - "Docility"
Abolition - "Wie Bitte?"

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