We Can Do Anything!

Ah, the sound of children's voices, so green, carefree, and heart-warming, especially when shouted over grinding fast hardcore punk!  It's thanks to another blog visitor that I was pointed in the direction of a record virtually unseen on these shores.  The "Making Children's Songs a Threat Again" comp might suggest a themed collection, and that is indeed the case.  The tracks, writings, and interview responses are all concerned with either growing up, or the ongoing conundrum punk/anti-authoritarian parents face as they struggle to reconcile their ideals with the choices they make for/with their children.  Some documentaries have been made on this subject, but the interviewees and bands on this one are not as mainstream as the ones in those flicks.  In addition to fantastic music and discussion, this comp was put together with that ingredient foodies love to allude to-- I'm talking about the "L" word here, people.  There's a hand-bound smaller booklet with lyrics, a comic book clipping, and even some handwritten messages.  The larger booklet is less involved, but nicely and simply laid-out, and contains interview responses from some members of contributing bands, members of other hardcore bands, and some label proprietors (Deep Six, Profane Existence...).  And, just look at the international line-up:

This is an incredible comp; something I seldom ever say.

Some other things you may want to know about it:

• It starts off with a long spoken word in French by the singer of 20 Minutes de Chaos.  But that is the only track of its kind.
• Yes, a couple of tracks do actually have band members' kids on vocals.
• Some European distros still have copies of this, such as here. This one is worth owning just for the packaging alone!
• Many of the tracks are exclusive to this record
•  There are some between-tracks sound bites and music; I often wasn't sure where to cut them off.  Sorry if I goofed.  However, this comp seems designed to be heard all the way through, no interruptions. 

"Making Children's Songs a Threat Again" LP (scans of all booklets included), (Guerrilla Shooting Records, 2005)

Recent Re-ups:
Servitude/Ebola split 7"
Servitude 7"
Multi-Facet/Sheephead split 7"
Token Tantrum 10"
Assassinators early EPs/Demo CD

Okay, next up, we return to the Swedish series...

I Should've Been Kissing You

It has been entirely too long since the last emotive French band was posted.  This attempt at making things right is brought to you by Kiss The Bottle, a short-lived project comprised of members of Finger Print, Amanda Woodward, Daymare...the list goes on.  Amanda Woodward is the most recognizable reference point, but with only one guitar, KTB's sound is a bit more raw and bare, but the vocals are the identical outraged shouting AW fans have come to appreciate.  Beyond that, expect less of the quiet picking and more of the buoyant mid-paced, emotive rock-core these musicians mastered previously.  The rips of the 9" are my own (320) and the demo CD-R was provided by the band and Stonehenge Records.

Kiss The Bottle 9" and CD-R

Recent Re-ups Requests:

Hard To Swallow- "Protected By the Ejaculation of Serpents" LP (re-ripped!)
Enewetak "Deadbird" 7"
Axiom/Church of Nihil/Autonomia Split LP
Whipped- "Agitator" LP
The Shivering partial discography

I've once again got some time on my hands, and no money with which to skip town.  Keep up the re-up requests, and let me know if you're looking for anything else.

Moselle As Fuck

Coexist is another French band whose 7" I didn't quite get a chance to post last week. Rather than savoring the screamotive excellence this country exported during the nineties, you may find yourself adjusting your palate to something more like what the UK bands were doing at the time (ie. Disaffect, Sedition, One By One). As the zeitgeist dictated, bands like Coexist were proud to eschew polish and precision in favor of heart-felt idealism and a dash of free-spirited creativity. Their rollicking, hard-edged peace punk is often garnished with more ambient build-ups that have now become mainstays in many a crust band's repertoire. The rather involved packaging of the first press of the 7" also stings me with pangs of nostalgia for the DIY days of yore: not only are there multiple inserts and a nice looking booklet, but the sleeve is made from a screen printed piece of sweatshirt fleece. While this is a far from perfect little EP, its spirit somehow leaves me with a warm glow, which its flaws only seem to enhance.

Coexist 7" (Ape Records/Brassica Rapa, 1995) Link includes scans of first press booklet and covers.

Les Voix du Silence

This French series is hereby bookended with this post of odds and ends held loosely together by hardcore innovators, Ivich, and the force that was their music. The first link you see below is for a compilation, and what a monstrosity it is! I won't lie to you; much of "An Insult to Our Freedom" sounds like ass. Between the low volume and the bad demo/live quality of many of the tracks, digital sound files are the way to go on this one (skipping around being so much easier). As with all comps, it is only as worthy as the line-up, and with bands like Disaffect, Unhinged, Disrupt, Agathocles, Battle of Disarm, Active Minds, and a slew of others, you can probably guess why I'm posting it. Ivich contribute a raw and loose rendition of "Si J' Etais Libre," which would later be re-recorded for their split with E-150.
In the other link, you'll find three little gems, not least of which is Ivich's only 7". The always fabulous Fab sent me these tracks a while back, but I decided to rip my copy which I hunted down recently. As an early offering, the band is a bit less melancholic, but the raw emotion that would come to fruition on their LP glimmers noticeably below the surface.
The "Autonomie Volume 1" comp. makes me wish more comps were like it. With only four bands and four tracks, there's no room for turds or boredom. Ivich once again bring us an early version, this time of "Les Voix du Silence" from their 10". Alcatraz is arguably the weakest band, but their meandering and plodding screamo is interesting enough, especially with the random trumpet flurries (something I would expect from Ivich, actually). Headway and Coche Bomba finish it off, the first with a slow take on the Bremen style, and the last with their characteristic Larm-influenced grind attack. A little variety never hurts.
Finally, and for the hell of it, I'm tacking on this Vanilla/El Vidal Sonido split 7". As some of you know, some Ivich personnel formed Vanilla, and if you've heard the Ivich 10" and early Vanilla recordings, the confluence is easy to recognize. "The Ink" is a mid-period track, not fast like the early material-- not as indie rock as the later stuff. It is anguished and atmospheric, so if that's your mood, Vanilla deliver. El Vidal Sonido is a different animal, and a mysterious one. Reading the insert I got the impression that they were a little pretentious, but the goods are delivered in the form of some very well done indie rock instrumentalism, so I forgive the posturing. Atmosphere is the key word again with these guys, the gloomy kind, so maybe they aren't so different from Vanilla after all.

All Ivich Records:
Here and here... "Insult to Our Freedom..." here

"An Insult to Our Freedom" Comp LP

The Ivich 7", "Autonomie Vol. 1" Comp, & the Vanilla split

667- Sign of the Beast's Neighbor

Well, it was back to school for me for these past ten months, and man is it great to be done! The experience only reinforced one of the many ironies central to my life: that I am jaded and suspicious of institutionalized education, even as I continue my career in this very field. It's good to be back though, and I'll try not to neglect the blog so much in the future...

I still haven't gotten the Francophilia out of my system properly, so today we have another French band, Algolagnie, whose only full length was released in 2000 on the great Nabat label. French as they may have been, the music Algolagnie produced draws from the whole array of nineties (mostly) European hardcore, both the metallic and emotive varieties. At different intervals, they tickle a wide spectrum my own aural nostalgia of the preceding decade from bands as diverse as Undone, Lost World, Kimusawea, Grievance, Age, Spitboy, Farcical, Ivich, the list goes on. Regardless of the treble-heavy production, the tracks on the LP afford the band an honorable place alongside those listed above-- they are smart and challenging, without sacrificing the raw emotion and aggression prerequisite to our beloved genre. The French have a firm handle on this meshing of ugliness and beauty, and I can't help but think that the implications of this union stretch far beyond the music.

The Algolagnie LP (Nabat, 2000)

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 II

Ivich's one and only LP was a major discovery for me, right after another major discovery-- that of the Ebullition mail order list. Ivich was without a doubt hardcore, but not like I had heard it previously. In the DIY spirit, it proved to me that a band still didn't need a huge recording budget to create innovative and moving noise. It was also my first indication that the nineties experimentation in Europe was a lot heavier and less whiny than its American correlate-- two traits I still adore in these bands. "La Mort Heureuse" is noisy, messy, and unpredictable, but it's equally riveting, passionate and sincere.

You can also hear some of the band's earliest work in the 7" included below (thanks a million to the always awesome Fab!) and on the "Le Garage" comp posted a while back.

Ivich stuff is here

Ivich LP and 7"

I won't be posting the 10" as it is still available from Ebullition.

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

One By Sedition

This is a pretty odd ball 7", but that only makes it doubly worth a post! One way to look at this is to call it a One By One/Sedition split 7". A more precise description would be a One By One live 7" with a (badly) studio(?) recorded Sedition track. It was a 40th birthday gift for "Le Vieux" (depicted above); Sedition was supposed to play at this gig and be a more substantial part of the final output, but ended up breaking up too early. The good news is that the One By One tracks sound pretty damn intense (Keep in mind this is coming from a HUGE One By One fan who is not much of a live recording fan) and the Sedition track rules like all of their stuff did/does, even with the muddy recording. Let's see, what am I forgetting?... The 1b1 set was recorded in a farmhouse near Tours, France and includes a cover of "Police Bastard."

Download

Here's a photo of One By One at the same show, graciously offered by Fab(rice):

Song Of The Week: "Écarté du Lucre" (Amanda Woodward)

With all this nostalgic talk and posting of French bands, it's about time I posted a more recent favorite from this little niche. Amanda Woodward is a band that would potentially lose points with me at the outset: their music is neither fast nor heavy, and their band name is a person's full name (Charles Bronson is an exception. Maybe Bruce Campbell...). But in songs like "Écarté du Lucre," redemption comes by way of the ornate mating dance of the dueling guitars that build into those jarring yet somber chord bursts this band seems to revel in. Really it's the dueling guitars that make many of AW's songs memorable, and the gorgeousness of those present in this track set it apart from most of the bands own discography. Whether you're comfortable calling it hardcore or not, it's still beautiful and angry stuff, not to be missed by those of you with a fairly liquid definition of the genre. I saw them once live, and they seemed like very humble and good people (and of course, great musicians. Too bad the crowd was a bunch of unappreciative wet rags). Many of the members are in Aussitot Mort now, but I'm not sure if AW is still playing music.

"Écarté Du Lucre" by Amanda Woodward (from the "Pleine de Grace" 7")

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

A Punx Picnic On Industrie Strasse

This week has been a real pirate whore. Next week and this weekend, I'll shoot for diligence, but no guarantees there. After such a shit week, it's time for a couple of fun comps. Shit, the "Industrie Str. 23 96-97" comp has an exclusive Quarantine track, for fucksake! Throw in a possibly exclusive La Fraction number and a bunch of other nice Euro punk/crust/grind of the late nineties, and you have instant party! Lots of variety; seldom a dull moment...

"Industrie Str. 23" Comp.

And, I need your help with this one. Below is a silly 7" comp from a festival in Biel showcasing a cover song contest. I picked it up because of Lost and Skew Whiff, but my brain isn't working right this week. Do you recognize any of these covers?

"Schrott Bar" Comp

The Tear That Shines In Your Eye

The prescription of the day is... you need to get more in touch with your EMOtions. I'd like to think there's an emo-wuss in most of us, perhaps yours just needs to be uncloseted. I'm not talking about the pretty-boy Hot Topic bands of a few years ago; I'm talking about the disjointed, DIY, small town bands from the '90's with their wardrobe of thrift store clothes and hand-made 7"s for sale at $2 a pop. More specifically, I'm focusing today on how the French mastered and continue to rule over this style. Ignore the band name (as you may have had to do with Jasemine), ignore even the lyrics in some cases, and Vanilla will treat you to some elegantly-wrought hardcore painted in broad strokes of speed and angst, edged subtly with shadings of sad, clean guitars, beautifully in-tune with the feelings you sublimate daily with your regiment of Insect Warfare and Weekend Nachos records (maybe that's just me). As with the cousin-bands of Vanilla (Ivich, Jasemine, Finger Print...), speed is not completely sacrificed, nor are harsh vocals or energetic drumming. What results is this first LP by Vanilla, which succeeds in merging "true" hardcore and that 90's experimentation so seamlessly, that it may one of the more perfectly realized records to come out of that exciting fiasco of a decade.

Act now and you can also get the above early Vanilla 7" which sees the band working out their method to very pleasing effect.

I've been planning on posting these records for quite some time. The process was sped up by these great posts here and here. Thanks to the two of you for unknowingly putting the cattle prod in my back!

Vanilla 7" and LP

14 Inch Crust

I got a great response recently when I asked for requests for future posts. Thanks a ton to the cyber-homies who put in their bids-- your choices are coming up! Main man, Billy, of the mighty 7 Inch Crust blog mentioned Wormwood and Daymare, and excellent choices they are! The only OOP disk I have by Wormwood is the "Reversal Of Fortune" 7", so here it is! These two tracks represent the band's final recorded output and if you already love the band, you won't be disappointed. For the uninitiated, Wormwood played a fairly unique concoction of creepy-ass, blackened, guitarless, doom, embellished with keyboards (but tastefully; seriously). Everything they did was great; no exception here. Only 300 of these were pressed, but you can still find copies in such fine establishments as this and this. Pick one up if you can, because the layout is amazing!

Here

Repo(st) Time:

Daymare is another case of a band that died tragically young, with so much going for it. They are so my kind of hardcore, it's just ridiculous-- gloomy, both fast and slow, heavy, passionate, crusty, intelligent. Sadly, I think these five tracks are the only proof they existed, but if you know of any other releases, you've got to let me know! I posted this 7" way back in the beginning, so the 320 treatment is long overdue; file this in the same category as Ballast, Schifosi, Protess...

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?"

Download

Daymare 7"

Here's an ep that should have kicked off an excellent "career." Unfortunately, it appears that Daymare's 7" was a swan song & debut all in one. Released in 2003 alongside many other HHIG/Tragedy/Skitsystem-inspired European bands, Daymare certainly had my attention. They had the emotive darkness of fellow Frenchmen Fingerprint, with the heavy Swedish influence of the aforementioned bands. The (early) His Hero is Gone comparison enters the picture during the slow, ponderous, chunky moments where the band creates a very dreary contrast to their otherwise high speed approach. It is certainly at these times when the shrill, desperation of the vocals can be most appreciated. The singer is a woman, which shouldn't matter, but let's face it, sometimes it's nicer to hear a female's vocals, or at least a combination of both genders. The lyrics are fairly political, but are presented through the lens of the individual. Themes cover "workaholism," female self-image, and the bleak prospect of bringing children into the world in its current state of moral absence (but not morality in the Christian Fundamentalist kind of way, mind you). The ep was released jointly on Ratbone Records and Stonehenge Records, and according to the former, it is out of print. Until I hear otherwise, download at will... especially if you like Schifosi, Ekkaia, Garmonbozia, Ballast, or any bands mentioned previously.

MP3s:
Download Zip Here