Self-Abuse "Screenage" cd, 2014

A few months ago (well, almost a year really...), Dave from Self-Abuse stumbled across my awe-inspiring review of The Mad Are Sane's demo Lp that resulted from the collaboration between Puke'n Vomit and Abused Records (Self-Abuse's own label). He kindly proceeded to send me another Abused Records release, this cd, that includes the recorded works of Self-Abuse between 2004 and 2014. Needless to say that the deserving staff at the Terminal Sound Nuisance HQ was quite pleased.

In fact, the connection between The Mad Are Sane and Self-Abuse isn't solely based on a common label. Indeed, both bands were from Bournemouth, were part of the anarcho scene of the early 80's and, as I understood it, Self-Abuse's singer Andy was part of one of TMAS' late line-ups (the member turnover was apparently quite heavy after the release of the "Reality" demo which accounts for the very different sound of the 1985 "Look further than vengeance" demo). Both bands used to share a rehearsal space and gigged together, notably with The Amebix (back when they still had the "The").

Self-Abuse story is not uncommon for a young punk band with something to say in the 80's. They were around between 1982 and 1985, recorded a couple of demos, had a few comp tracks, did one solid Ep, were supposed to release another one that never materialized and eventually split up without achieving their true potential. SA's first demo, "State of mind", recorded in 1982, merely hinted at its much superior follow-up, the 1983 "Teenage" demo, that laid the foundations of their sound. It is not that easy to describe Self-Abuse. They were not what you would call an original band, their music was (and still is) solidly anchored in traditional punk music, and yet they still manage to get the listener's attention through the additions of catchy chorus, or guitar leads, or some particularly tuneful vocal parts. I love listening to this kind of bands because it is "feel-good punk-rock". It sounds familiar, it is very well-executed for what it is, it has heart and enough smart songwriting to keep it fresh and enjoyable. It breaths genuine punk-rock with attitude, nothing more, nothing less. It is a bit like drinking a good cup of coffee, comfort punk if you will. But I digress...

Following, this strong demo, Radical Change (Disrupters' label) released the glorious "Soldier" Ep. Even if you are not a sucker for British punk music (in which case you merely suck), the fact that the title track is an instant hit deserving of inclusion on any vintage anarcho mixtape is undeniable with its singalong chorus and its infectious guitar riff. Sadly, apart from two songs on the Xcentric Records compilation Lp "Party pooping punk provocations" that also had the Stupids and Anihilated, it was to be SA's final vinyl output in the 80's.

In 2004, the band reformed with the exact same line-up, which is pretty rare to say the least, and started gigging and recording again and that's what "Screenage" is about. Now here is an interesting case of the same people playing together again 20 years after and, for the better I must say, they are still doing old-school punk-rock with a tune and something to say. While many reformed bands kind of miss the mark by trying to sound too modern and by overproducing often average songs, Self-Abuse focused on what they always did well: penning top-notch catchy punk-rock songs. The band has often been compared to Chron Gen, Newtown Neurotics or Demob, which makes sense, although with these new recordings I feel there is also an American influence creeping in, especially in the vocals, that reminds me of Social Distortion or even Bad Religion at times, and in the strong presence of the guitar. I must admit that I miss the strong English-accented vocals but then the new style of singing works very well with the music.

The cd contains three Eps, 2004's "No change", 2007's "Celebrity death squad" and 2014's "Burn trash city" (a new drummer, formerly of the Demonic Upchucks, had been recruited for these two last Ep's), as well as unreleased tracks from the respective recording sessions. Out of the three records, my favourite is "No change", a truly impressive effort with effortlessly catchy and tuneful songs, two of which are brilliant re-recordings of old songs that appeared on "Teenage". I was not so keen on "Celebrity death squad"'s production and some of the songs might be too rock-sounding to my Discharge-abused ears, but their last Ep, "Burn trash city", has a clearer, simpler and more energetic sound that fit their brand of punk-rock much better. The lyrics are not included in the cd but from I can gather the texts are both smart and punk: songs about life in our modern societies, the madness of the powers that be and "self-medication" in the face of the daily grind.  

The icing on the cake is a cover of "World in action" by... The Mad Are Sane! I love the idea of covering a fellow local punk band and the result is pretty good too, although you can tell that Self-Abuse's field of expertise isn't exactly the same as The Mad Are Sane's.

There is another very good review of "Screenage" on the Louder Than War website (here). Now, to wrap it up, if you bump into Self-Abuse at a gig, get that cd, it is the perfect introduction to what the band sounds like now. And while you are at it try to find their 80's discography as well, Grand Theft Audio released just that in 2006 and it's called "(I didn't wanna be a) soldier". And since everyone knows that vinyls are so much classier than cd's, also try to put your grubby hands on the Lp reissue of the amazing "Teenage" demo on Loud Punk Records (they know what they are doing, they also released some External Menace, Virus and Germ Attak). It is one of the unsung great demos of the second wave of British anarchopunk.

Screenage

     

Lack of Knowledge "Grey" Ep, 1983

This is 121984/6 and the very best instance of a postpunk-sounding anarcho band. Despite the claims that anarchopunk bands all sounded and looked the same, a mere glance at Crass Records' discography prove them wrong. To be sure, not everything Crass put out was that great (I actually find some releases pretty horrendous). However, there was definitely variety, weirdness, artiness, conceptualization, originality. While some of the records had more of an all-out-bollocks, spiky-haired, angry-young-and-poor feel to them (Anthrax, Conflict, Dirt, Peni even), others clearly sounded more like the works of "real" artists who were bent on creating innovative, subversive art, but they were all part of the anarchopunk world nonetheless. To me, Lack of Knowledge is the perfect compromise between both.

Lack of Knowledge formed in 1980 in Edmonton, London, but the group of people that made up the band had been playing together for a few years before that (apparently they had called themselves "Trio of Testicles" at some point which always makes me giggle) and vocalist Daniel had even been part of the original 1977 punk wave with Headache. This may have set LOK a little apart from their anarcho peers since they did not start off with the idea of emulating Crass music and ideas. Indeed, their connection with the anarcho crowd had more to do with chance and opportunity rather than real design (they gave a copy of their first Ep to Penny Rimbaud while drinking tea during a visit at Dial House basically) as the band was keener on spreading their music rather than looking for a record deal. The first LOK Ep, entitled "The uninvited/Ritual" is a bit of an odd one to be fair. The first side, with the song "The uninvited", was recorded in March 1981, while the other, with "Ritual" on it, was put to tape almost a year later, in January 1982. The sound is pretty raw on both sides so that the time gap is not so obvious on that level, however it is a different story style-wise. "The uninvited" sounds like a classic 1977 song and could have been lifted from a forgotten Buzzcocks demo (incidentally two members of LOK, Tony and Philip, would end up in the Mancunian band in the early 90's). "Ritual" is actually closer to what LOK sounded like during their anarcho odyssey - you can recognize Daniel's voice, though it is certainly not as deep yet. It is a song heavily influenced by early Joy Division or Warsaw with an obsessive bass-line and an overall dark mood that would be found in their subsequent Ep and their Lp.

Apparently, "Grey" was one of the least loved releases from Crass Records among the anarcho public, although it is objectively, without the shadow of a doubt, one of the label's best. In fact, I would argue that, had it been released on a respectable record label (meaning a decent money-grabbing commercial structure), "Grey" could have been a mainstream hit. The single came out in late 1983 between Crass Records' sole hardcore venture, MDC's "Multi Death Corporations", and the "You're already dead" Ep by you-know-who. By that time, the second wave of British punk-rock was fading fast and the softer tones of new-wave and postpunk music were all the rage (either that or the incubating heavy hardcore scene). I am certainly not saying that LOK would have even considered embracing a mainstream success as they were a fiercely independent band with a lot of integrity, but in terms of music strictly-speaking, "Grey" could have been a heavy-hitter.

I suppose LOK were seen as "not punk enough" for the anarcho brigade of the time who were expecting straight-forward punk music rather than Joy-divisionesque music, although I am not under the impression that bands like Zounds or The Mob - who were also flirting with "postpunk" whatever you want that awful term to represent - experienced such troubles then. LOK's new-wave influences were certainly more obvious than in other bands (I mean, there's fucking synth on "Grey") but a lot of anarchopunk bands from the early to the mid 80's also used beats and tones, to varying degrees, that belonged to that trend so LOK were not completely out of place either. It may have sounded too musical to some ears perhaps.

But the LOK-hating punks were wrong, because "Grey" is undeniably a fantastic record. The first song "We're looking for people" is an instant hit with its simple and yet compelling and haunting opening riff, its catchy, danceable mid-tempo beat, the impeccably driving bass and the deep, frontal voice that tells the disturbing story of a terrorist who plants a bomb and then gets murdered by the police (some IRA reference probably?). At some point, the song bursts into a faster, paranoid-sounding phase, driven by a typical Crass rhythm on the drums before going back to the deceptively comfortable first part. Behind the rather enigmatic title "We're looking for people" lies one of the very best songs ever released on Crass Records. The following number, "Last sunset", reeks with the Cold War-induced fear of a nuclear war but, instead of anguished screams, you hear a rather postpunk song, synth-driven and almost soft, despite the obvious tension of the theme. "Girl in a mask", a Joy Division-meets-Killing-Joke number, is yet another bleak story about a girl working in a laboratory that makes cosmetics and a boy working in a weapon factory, both of them subservient and oblivious to the reality of their employment and the terrible fate that awaits them - death and homelessness respectively. Finally, "Radioactive man" is the post-apocalyptic tale of a contaminated man who, after a nuclear war, manages to get into the nuclear shelter of the elite and kill them all with "one radioactive glance". This last song is the other highlight of "Grey" with its solid tribal beat and its almost incantatory, psychedelic tone.

The quality of the singing throughout these four songs is upstanding, with a voice really deep and moody at times and almost uplifting at others. Despite being produced by Penny Rimbaud, the sound is not as harsh as on other Crass Records as it maintains a certain roundness and thickness but still sounds punk enough. Visually, "Grey" is also not exactly your usual anarchopunk records as the gatefold is made up of pictures of bleak, sometimes derelict, apparently empty urban buildings. The artwork relevantly conveys the sense of alienation found in modern cities with their inhuman urban planning that seem almost unfit for organic life. After this Ep, LOK did a full Lp, "Sirens are back", for Corpus Christi in 1984. I think the Lp has a few fillers (or there are some songs that I have troubles relating to if you want the polite version) but it still contains some genuine hits and is top of the shelf postpunk-inspired anarchopunk music.

Now, I don't know if any of you noticed but the bands I covered in my last three posts, Rudimentary Peni, Omega Tribe and Alternative, like Lack of Knowledge, all did an Lp on Corpus Christi after having an Ep on Crass Records. Corpus Christi was an offshoot of Crass Records that was created for two main purposes. Since bands were meant to do just the one record for Crass (there are a few exceptions to that rule, like Dirt or Hit Parade), the sublabel was founded to allow them to continue releasing. Also, the bands did their record deals directly with John Loder from Southern Studios which meant that there was less involvement from Crass and that Penny did not have to produce the records. It is actually interesting to compare the Crass Records release and the Corpus Christi one from the aforementioned bands in terms of sound production. While the Ep's on Crass very much sounded like Crass records on the whole, I feel the bands had more liberty on Corpus Christi and could actually get the sound they really wanted (or at least try to...). And let's face it, "Death church", "No love lost" and "If they treat you like shit, act like manure" are all genuine punk wonders.

After "Sirens are back", LOK released the "Sentinel" 12'' in 1985 that saw them getting further from punk and they split the following year. Following the demise of LOK, Philip joined the Stratford Mercenaries and the Buzzcocks alongside Tony, who also got to play with Alternative TV and Chelsea. There was a brief reformation that got the band to release a new Ep in 2004, as well as reissue their records from the 80's, and to play in America. It's never too late, right?

We're looking for punks           

        

Alternative "In nomine patri" Ep, 1982

This is 221984/8 and a visit to THE Scottish anarchopunk band of the early 80's. Ian Glasper called Alternative "the Scottish Crass" in "The day the country died", a sensible comparison, although when one considers the rather heavy turnover inside the band, he could very well have called them "the precursors of Oi Polloi in terms of member policy".

I always saw Alternative, along with Dirt, as perhaps the most "Crass band" from all the Crass-related bands. They had the black-clad looks, they had a great name, they had their own house (the "pad" as it is explained on the sleeve), they had the political banners, the anti-war slogans, the great-looking logos, there were quite a few people in the band and there was a strong emphasis on pacifism and anti-nuclear armament (though to be fair, the Japanese-themed imagery was all theirs). Does it imply that they were mere Crass-clones? Some would dismiss them for their seeming unoriginality and say they were just that. Others would point out that they had a great influence in shaping a politicized punk scene locally and that there is nothing essentially wrong in being influenced - even heavily - with a band (cough, cough, Discharge anyone?). It all depends on your true motives I suppose. Me? Well, I think they were a band of their time and Crass were huge at some point so it is only logical that they would have had some followers. Besides, I don't think they sounded like Crass that much, not to such an extent as to be called "clones", and in later years they certainly did not anyway. And really, Alternative penned enough great tunes by themselves to prove that they were a good band standing on their own two feet (and even if they wore Crass trainers). In fact, you could view Alternative as the epitome of the traditional anarchopunk style. I am aware that anarchopunk was never supposed to be a genre, a style, but rather an approach and a common set of values, nevertheless, a lot of those bands shared similar musical, aesthetic and political influences. As a consequence, apart from those truly original bands (and there are not that many, let's get real, which does not mean that the others ain't worthy), contextualization implied and fostered the birth of an anarchopunk style (Crass are, of course, in a league of their own), with distinct rhythms and beats,  recognizable flow, guitar tones and so on. Well, basically, Alternative were the typical, solid, reliable anarchopunk band that was a genuine focal point locally. They may not have been the most memorable in terms of sound but I see them as incorporating all the elements that retrospectively serve to define "anarchopunk". To sum it up, if some ignorant geezer asks you what anarchopunk sounds like, just play "Where are your Hiroshimas?".

By all means, Alternative was an early anarchopunk band as they formed as early as 1979, in Dunfermline, Fife. Though it looks like a rather small town, Dunfermline seemed to have been the cradle of quite a few punk bands, some pretty famous like The Skids, some pretty forgettable like The Dissidents (I think they were called Urban Dissidents at some point), and others criminally underrated like The Actives. Not bad, innit? As usual, Alternative got the Crass deal after contributing a track to the first Bullshit Detector Lp. Prior to the "In nomine patri" Ep, the band had recorded several really good demos, notably "Hawks and doves" in 1981 and "Anti-Christ" in 1982, the both of which appear on the excellent "Demos 1982" Lp that the always excellent Antisociety released in 2011. Speaking of highly due reissues, I have always found it utterly preposterous that the Alternative records got the reissue treatment (I read somewhere that it had something to do with a copyright issue involving Southern).

"In nomine patri" can be seen as the achievement of Alternative's early years with Trinity and Rice on vocals (the band had a female singer after the Ep's release only), Rodney on guitar (he was the only one who was in the band from the start until the end), Dougie on second guitar (who actually played in The Actives before that), Gogs on bass and Jaa on the drums (he joined the brilliant Reality Control shortly after "In nomine patri"). It is rather intriguing that there was only one common member - Rodney - between the line-up that recorded the Ep in october 1982 and the one that did the Lp in april 1984, but there you go... Line-up instability did not keep Alternative from going on, though one might think that they slowly became more of a concept, an idea rather than a band, and from releasing some excellent materials throughout the years like the "Isolation from one's self" tape from 1984, the fantastic "How dare you?" and "Just because the boot fits" tapes from 1985. Some of their late tapes featured two female fingers (which I am always a sucker for), one of whom was Lisa from another local anarcho act Direct Action that had a song on Bullshit Detector volume 3 and a fair enough demo (called "Crime against humanity" I think). These showed a much poppier, moodier side to Alternative, with almost folk songs that would not have been out of place on a Lost Cherrees, The Dead or Chumba record. On a much more pragmatic level, and as a punk archaeologist, Alternative's constant turnover combined nonetheless with intense activity gig-wise, made me check out several local bands such as Why? or UK Anarchists and realize that the last Alternative's second guitarist was (and still is!) in the strong AUK (whose blend of Amebix-meets-Cress-by-way-of-Smartpils I really enjoyed but I had no idea they had been around at some point in the 80's...).

Musically, "In nomine patri" is a very serious effort, a really fine example of old-school anarchopunk that is energetic, tuneful and with a lot to say (which might be one reason why they always had several singers). Rimbaud's production works fine here, I think, his harsh tones going well with the catchy guitar work, the intent to be play bass-driven punk-rock and the usual pounding tribal anarcho drumming. The guitar tunes definitely help the songs on this Ep and allow rather typical punk songs to stick in the listener's mind. The sound on "In nomine patri" is certainly colder and not as bouncy as on the (possibly) superior 1984 Lp, "If the treat you like shit, act like manure", which was produced by Pete Wright (also from Crass but probably a little more open-minded than good ole Penny) but had a very different line-up anyway. If you have never listened to Alternative, expect a hearty mix of early Crass, Epileptics, Flux of Pink Indians, with a subtle Clash flavour as well for the anthemic quality. The first song, "Anti-Christ", takes the whole first side and is the highlight of the Ep. It is a long, mid-tempo, anti-religious diatribe, with a rather gloomy, ominous sound, with long spoken parts that work perfectly with the two singers and several layers of guitars. This is clearly Alternative at their best during the early stage of the band's existence. "Warfear" is a direct punk number with your classic "1-2-1-2" beat enhanced with a tuneful, slow-paced break in the middle. "Who's sussed" is possibly the earliest example of Flux worship and has a singalong chorus (yeah, it goes "Who's suuuuuuussed!"). Finally, "Moral bondage" is the other hit of the Ep, as it starts with a slow, mournful melody driven by a terrific guitar lead before exploding into a bouncy, 1977-styled punk-rock song. What I really enjoy in Alternative is that they often made a genuine effort to really write songs. By no means were they arty (or even artists...) but you can tell that they actually gave some thought about the construction of the songs, the songwriting. Although it remains spontaneous and straight-forward enough, there is a genuine intent to be catchy and to write songs that breath with the lyrics.

Apparently, Alternative gigs were often attacked by thugs (be they skinheads or your average dumb males) and, although I obviously feel nothing but contempt for the perpetrators, I can see why it was so: Alternative was a smart, serious band. I am not saying that their message is deprived of any naivety but it is actually pretty elaborate and well-written, just give it a read. There is a long introduction in the gatefold explaining the political principles of the band and how they condemn a status quo based on violence, fear and ignorance. There is also a part questioning gender roles, homophobia and the constraint to be "normal". Like most of the Crass bands, Alternative defended non-violence, although I think they took it more seriously than many others in that they saw the systematic recourse to violence as one of the basis of the system, and therefore something to be banished. And Alternative were openly feminist as well. Well, I suppose that all of this made them a target of choice for the idiots who loved to "beat a hippie" and didn't help them enlist in the Barmy Army which did not put feminism and pacifism at the top of the list.

Anyway, the lyrics are good, with an effective use of images and a lot of sincerity, Crass-oriented though they might be. And the poster fucking rules too, great, striking slogans that remind me of some Antisect writing (could they have borrowed the idea from the Scots?).    

 

There is the Alternative

        

Omega Tribe "Angry songs" Ep, 1982

This is 221984/10 and a healthy (I'm not too sure Peni's would qualify as "healthy" but Omega Tribe's certainly did) slice of vintage anarchopunk.

It was released just after yet another classic anarcho Ep, "Capitalism is cannibalism" by Anthrax, and just before a much more obscure record, Sleeping Dogs' "Beware", which was more of a music project from California, with future members of the brilliant A State of Mind, Trial and Brain Rust in its ranks (the cd reissue of "Beware" actually included a Brain Rust Lp). 1982 was Crass Records' busiest year and as it was the second wave of UK punk music's in general. Absolutely cracking records were released that fateful year and Omega Tribe's "Angry songs" certainly belongs to the "crucial" category.

OT formed in 1981 in Barnet, although they didn't play often in their hometown and didn't really see themselves as a "local" band. Contrary to bands that endeavoured to contribute to the scene in their area, OT quickly started to play regularly in London instead, thus reinforcing the already strong punk contingent that was stationed there. Their friendship with Pete Fender (the son of Vi Subversa), who played in the Fatal Microbes, Rubella Ballet and was a music producer as well, made it easier, I suppose, to get in touch with the London scene at the time. As was often the case, it was one of their songs on a Bullshit Detector compilation Lp (the second one to be accurate) that got them the Crass Records part. Don't get me wrong, there were some terrible tracks on these comps, but then you also had fantastic numbers that really stood out and Omega Tribe's "Nature wonder" was one of them. It didn't take a music genius to figure out the band's potential which relied mainly on three things: the voice of Hugh, the bass lines of Daryl and the pop sensibility of the music.

"Angry songs" is not OT's crowning glory: without a doubt "No love lost" is. But it is certainly one of Crass Records' best releases (after all it did very well in the charts too). Recorded in september 1982 and produced by, yes you guessed it, Penny Rimbaud with the help of Pete Fender, who had by then joined OT on second guitar, it was released during the spring of 1983. The two sides of the Ep are similarly structured as each of them comprises one standout poppier song and one bouncy 77-flavoured number (behold my awe-inspiring analytical tools). The Ep opens with "Another bloody day", a song memorable for its unexpected twist (I would say "out of nowhere" but it is so overdone, right?). The song starts fast and noisy, probably the fastest and noisiest that the band could really muster, and then, suddenly, goes all soft and melancholy, like a ballad with profound vocals and a piano. Yes, a bloody piano. Now, it is usually cause for me to call the punk police when I hear such instruments of the devil, but in this case it works so well, it sounds so peaceful and powerful, that it takes the song from being a great punk song to being just a great song. "Profiteer" and "Time for change" on the B-side are genuinely brilliant punk-rock songs, influenced by the first wave, with super catchy chorus, tuneful hooks and deep, energetic vocals (maybe not too far from the Neurotics actually). The icing on the vegan cake has to be "Is this a future?" though, essentially a ska song (shock! horror!), but one that is deprived of joy, one that is not written to make you dance (deep sigh of relief). Remarkably produced, this is such a potent song, full of emotions, anger, sadness. I dare anyone not to hum the chorus after one mere listening, and that's coming from someone who is terrible at humming.

Omega Tribe's pop sensibility was probably best demonstrated on their Lp, which had a much warmer, rounder sound, but even on this Ep, and despite the usual harsh Penny production, it was obvious the band could write pop-rock hits. Hugh was possibly the best male singer in the anarchopunk scene, along with Tony from Naked. It is not that he had the coolest punk voice, but just that he could actually sing in tunes, in a powerful fashion that perfectly conveyed the emotions at stake. Like many Crass-related bands, Omega Tribe's music was bass-driven, but where many bands were content with rather simple lines, Daryl must have given much thought about his, as they are not only undeniably catchy and carry the songs, but they can appear to be relatively complex as well. In fact, it is revealed in "The day the country died" that he used to play with a pick during the hardest, fastest parts and with his fingers for the mellower moments (that grew more and more numerous with time). OT could have been really huge if you think about it, they could have gone quite far with their skilled heartfelt songwriting and their ear for a good tune. It was Crass meets Newtown Neurotics meets The Clash meets Beat music meets protest folk music.

Lyrically, OT really belonged to the pacifist punk camp (but don't call them "peacepunks" because that is a term for the US scene, remember?). But rather than taking the war-haiku path - which wouldn't fit with the music anyway - or the moral condemnation of war, OT picked the sensitive option (as they would) and focused instead on the bitterness, the powerlessness, the sadness that one feels when confronted with the absurdity of armed conflicts. For instance, "Another bloody day" is told from the perspective of someone watching the news and being affected by pictures of war, even though it feels like a never-ending battlefield (isn't this a Bolt Thrower song?), while "Is this a future?" is told from the point of view of a little girl living in a wartorn area who is surprised at the sight of warplanes in the sky. It is a little curious that such a pacifist, non-violent band would tour with Conflict in the 80's, but they actually did (but then, Conflict toured constantly). The aesthetics of OT emphasizes their peaceful nature with their now famous Japanese dove symbol (though it could also have been lifted from Star Wars), that was reused by Contravene among others, on one side and a skull caught in barbed wire on the other (a representation of darkness versus light I presume). The poster does take the cake in terms of borderline cheesy pacifist punk though, with a child standing up over the wreckage of modern society and looking toward a bright, flower-powered, pastoral future, with the sun shining, the birds flying and sheep grazing peacefully. This is kawaii before it was big in Europe. The text bordering the poster is a call to freedom, peace, mutual aid and total liberation. I had never seen the poster before I actually got the Ep and I can only imagine what was the reception of the so-called "chaos punx" to such display of hippie-punkism... Oh well, it is fine by me.

As I mentioned, OT released a last Ep in 1985 after "No love lost" but also a live tape in 1984 entitled "Live at the Clarendon", which I strongly recommend. It was released on 96 tapes, an offshoot of All The Madmen Records done by Rob from Faction. I feel that, if you think of Omega Tribe as an All The Madmen-type band, they make even more sense actually... Punk but not totally punk-rock... Good protest music with heart, love and a sense of tune. 96 Tapes also released tapes from A Touch of Hysteria, Blyth Power or Faction if you know hat I mean (and Demo Tapes is going to reissue them all anyway...).

Is this a bitter word?

                 

Rudimentary Peni "Farce" Ep, 1982

This is 221984/2 and probably one of the most famous Crass Records releases from one of the most loved bands of the period.

I have yet to meet a punk who is not into Peni, or at least doesn't claim he or she is. The first time I heard them was through a home-made tape that had songs from a lot of different Peni records with no indication or classification whatsoever, therefore inducing in the teenage inexperienced punk-rocker I was then a tremendous WTF effect. Now that I am older but don't look it, I still feel in awe before their work but I suppose I can relate to it much better.

That Rudimentary Peni was an uncommon, highly original band among the UK punk scene has already been stated countless times. They formed in 1980 after the demise of the Magits, a rather unlistenable band that had Jon and Nick Blinko in it (he actually played an influential role in the early years of cult goth-punk band the S-Haters as well). Prior to the rise of Peni (no pun intended), the both of them had also created a small record label called Outer Himalayan Records that was used to put out records of the Magits, but also of the aforementioned S-Haters and Soft Drinks, the two bands Peni shared the stage with for their very first gig. The first Peni Ep from 1981 was also released on Outer Himalayan and if it always difficult to really know the reception it got when it came out, I am pretty sure that the phrase "insane and intense punk-rock from out of nowhere" would fit just right.

So what made them so unique? Obviously, one could mention the artwork, the aesthetics of the band that mattered as much as the music itself with their bizarre, deranged and morbid representations of social madness, influenced by the works of Lovecraft, Poe and outsiders' art, that feel both uncomfortably monstrous and yet recognizable. But there is another sticking dimension to Peni that is not often discussed. If you try to forget the morbid and deranged for a second, and focus instead on the early songs of Peni. Absolutely NO ONE in Britain in 1981 was playing this kind of punk music.

A few years ago, I remember a friend of mine who grew up listening to US hardcore trying to describe Peni to someone who didn't know them at all. My friend described them as "some sort of early American hardcore music but with a morbid and demented identity". If we always tend to define things with what we already know, through our own experiences and background, it was still a revelation to me since I had never thought of Peni as a "hardcore" band. And yet, if you listen closely, and even though there is a definite English feel to their sound, Peni could relevantly be seen as probably the first US hardcore-influenced band in the UK. In 1981, there were of course hard-hitting UK punk bands like Discharge or Chaos UK, but they didn't sound anything like the early hardcore bands from the other side of the pond. It is often thought that the first British bands that were openly influenced by the US hardcore scene were acts like the Stupids, AYS, Heresy and so on, but that was not until 1984, and these bands were attracted by the speed of US hardcore and not so much its groove. Listening closely to Peni's first Ep's only shows that, indeed, there is a strong similarity with hardcore music: aggressively fast mid-tempo scorchers with this distinct feel in the riffs. And then there is the incredible shortness of the songs themselves, with several of them lasting a minute or even less. I can't really think of another British punk in 1981 band at the time who wrote such short songs, apart from 6 Minute War (but then, I doubt they were ever an influence on Peni...). In an interview with Grant from 1982 (read it here), he states that bands like Minor Threat, Neos, Gang Green and Necros are influences (and you can certainly add Black Flag to the list as early Peni had a similar roundness). Also listed are Part 1 (who were artistically and personally quite close to Peni), Crass (for their bass-driven songwriting and their uncompromising approach), but also The Mob and even Amebix (who were still "The Amebix" by then) which makes sense since, despite the big music differences, Peni, Amebix and The Mob were part of the anarcho scene but didn't totally fit in it, as they all played with the macabre and had their own unique dark sound.

But let's get to the actual record. "Farce" was recorded in 1982 and released on Crass after Penny had been given a copy of the first Peni Ep. As was the tradition, it was recorded at Southern, produced by Penny Rimbaud and engineered by John Loder. Now, I have already talked about the continuity that one can notice on Crass Records releases as far as music production is concerned and "Farce" is no exception. Apparently, the band members were not too chuffed about the result and arguably the first Peni Ep was probably closer sound-wise to how the band wanted to sound like. Basically, "Farce" was produced like a Crass album, with a rather trebly, distorted guitar sound, omnipresent drums and a driving bass sound. Nick probably never sounded as much like a Boston hardcore singer on the verge of hysteria as on "Farce", which is pretty funny considering Penny was unlikely to have been into US hardcore (and after all he did not produce the MDC Ep). The vocals make me feel like a madman is grabbing me by the shoulders, the mouth foaming, eyes protuberant, and trying to explain to me why the end of the world is just around the corner. And yes, that is a good feeling.

Although the 1981 Ep and the immense "Death church" Lp were possibly better incarnations of Peni's early work, I still have a soft spot for "Farce" and the song "Sacrifice", with its uncontrollable anger, is one of my favourite punk songs ever. It is of course difficult to find points of comparison when discussing a band as unique as Rudimentary Peni, but for the sake of it let's say that it sounds like a Lovecraft convention held in an asylum where Die Kreuzen, Crass and Chaos UK were invited to play. Or something. "Farce" is also Peni's most political record, not illogical considering it was on Crass Records. Apparently, bass player Grant was the one into Crass anarcho politics and it is likely that he penned the explanatory texts that you can find inside the gatefold sleeve. Pretty good stuff it is too with long rants about religious indoctrination (a current theme in Peni's work, be it music or visuals), sexism, competition under capitalist rule and one about the alienating notion of youth culture and the acceptable cliché of the rebellious youth (had someone been reading situationist writings?). Although Peni were certainly not your orthodox anarchopunk band, and they did not define themselves as such actually, their lyrics still reflected social alienation and social ills, albeit under the shape of metaphors using morbid or macabre images.

The recent revival of postpunk and deathrock has made some qualify Peni as a deathrock band on the ground of their imagery, which is pretty ironic considering Peni's criticism of petty denominations. While I can understand why some people might see them as such, I personally associate "deathrock" with horror, sci-fi and California and not with playing with Concrete Sox in 1993, but whatever... To me, Peni is an unpunk punk band promoting the importance of one's true self when faced with society's restrictions and the grimness of human nature.

My copy of "Farce" has seen better days so there are a few crackles here and there and the scans are not exactly immaculate (how fitting for a band despising religion). The former owner thought convenient to write the song numbers on the backcover but he didn't manage to get it right... Oh well, punks will be punks.                  

Farce!!!!!!!!

 

     

Honey Bane "You can be you" Ep, 1979

It is a little-known fact that the first band to have a record on Crass Records, outside of Crass of course, was Honey Bane in 1980. But then, it would be a little misguiding to call Honey Bane a "band" anyway.

In fact, Honey Bane was the nickname of the singer of Fatal Microbes, a band that did a split with Poison Girls in 1979 as well as a full Ep in the same year on Xntrix, a label run by Poison Girls. Fatal Microbes belonged to the first generation of anarchopunks and, beside Honey Bane, had Gem and Pete among its ranks who happened to be... Vi Subversa's children! Later on, Gem would co-found Rubella Ballet while Pete would be part of Omega Tribe (and Rubella Ballet as well at some point). Fatal Microbes were a band that combined pretty upbeat pop-punk music (in the British sense) and Honey Bane's really energetic and high-pitched vocal delivery, and garnered some good reviews at the time. Besides, it must have been uncommon to see a 14 year old girl sing about serious matters and not Christmas carol in 1979. But anyway, the story has it that Honey Bane was living at Crass HQ, aka Dial House, after the demise of Fatal Microbes, apparently running from the Social Services as she had been in a juvenile detention facility just before.

The Poison Girls connection probably made the idea of a record possible for Honey Bane and since she was living with Crass, one could say that she was part of the family at that time. If you have never heard that brilliant Ep, the first listen will result in something like: "Well... it's great but it sounds a lot like Crass!", or even: "OMG it's SO Crass!!! XD" if you happen to be born in the 90's and spend far too much time on facebook. But in any case you wouldn't be wrong, since the backing band was... Crass. This "You can be you" Ep was basically Crass with another singer and songwriter (and they haven't fooled anyone by calling themselves "Donna and the kebabs" on the inner sleeve). So even though it was technically the first non-Crass record on Crass Records, it was nonetheless a pretty incestuous affair.

You will also notice that this Ep doesn't have the famous gatefold poster sleeve though it does have the stencil-style lettering. Musically it is a fantastic offering, half-way between Fatal Microbes's indie inventiveness and Crass harshness. It is not completely orthodox punk-rock either since there is some piano on "Porno grows" and some acoustic guitar and (unidentified) horns (I think!) on "Boring conversations". This was recorded just after the incredible "Stations of the Crass" double Lp and you can hear that the band was really tight and still focused on playing top punk songs, albeit in a Crass fashion. The groovy precision of the bass, the militaristic drumming and the distorted, trebly guitar give so much energy to the songs that it is hard not to tap your feet. Honey Bane's vocals are amazing too, somewhere between Dirt and Action Pact, tuneful, potent and yet a little screechy when need be. The instant hit on this one is obviously "Girl on the run", a poignant song about a teenage girl running from home and wandering in London's dark corners. This truly is an unsung punk classic. The song "Porno grows" is a feminist number about the sex industry and pornography while "Boring conversations" is more of a teenage rant on boredom. As was to be a rule for Crass Records, the Ep was produced by Penny and engineered by John Loder from Southern Studio where it was recorded.

Following that Ep, Honey Bane tried to go for a proper career in the music industry, released some danceable pop music on EMI and even had Jimmy Pursey as a manager at some point. Ironically, Honey Bane's Ep was supposed to be "a big piss off to the music-biz" and the small text on the backcover is a radical statement for liberation and a life outside the system (you've gotta love the anti-Sex Pistols rhetoric though!).

You can be you!!!!!

 

Q: And Crass records? A: Nah, overdone... Let's have some Crass Records instead!

I have been toying with the idea of doing some sort of anarchopunk epics on Terminal Sound Nuisance for a while now. Originally, TSN was meant to be about bands or recordings that were lesser-known or overlooked, criteria that, I am the first to admit, tend to evolve with time, place and trend. The decision to focus on materials that is available elsewhere does not mean that I am running low on obscure stuff, but rather, it is a way to talk about records and bands that I consider as important and, in the process, maybe try to bring a different light on them, something more than "legendary and mandatory 80's anarchopunk" if you know what I mean. So I guess the next posts on the blog will be about my first true love: British anarchopunk. Well, in fact, it is my third true love, the first one is Saint Seiya while wrestling comes second... But whatever, it is all about love.

Most of the bands and records I am going to rant breathlessly about are probably no newcomers to your ears, so to avoid repetition, I have chosen to talk about them through the perspective of the label. One might say that labels are often as crucial as the bands themselves when it is time to pick a record from a distro. When you trust a label for quality music, even an unknown band seems reliable. And if there was one label with a discrete identity in the early 80's, it would be Crass Records. Even if you don't give a fuck about Crass or anarchopunk ("but what are you doing here?" I might ask then), you are bound to recognize the label's aesthetics that are still so influential to this day.

Crass Records was created in 1979 although it was not supposed to be a proper label at the beginning. Crass had had a bad experience with Small Wonder Records concerning the release of the 1978 Lp "Feeding of the 5000" which resulted in one of the songs, "Reality asylum", being erased from the actual Lp because it was deemed blasphemous (and how fucking punk is that!). But anyway, in order to be in total control of the production process of their own records, Penny and co decided to found Crass Records. The first releases on Crass Records were, obviously, Crass records, but they really soon set out to release records from other bands they felt close to, like the Poison Girls, probably the one other fundamental anarcho band from that late 70's generation.

So what made Crass Records releases so particular?

First, there was the visual aspect. Each record (well, almost...) was packaged in a stricking poster sleeve with beautiful artwork, lyrics, drawings, political statements... The covers all used the same structure with the name band and record written in a stencil-style in a black circle with the band logo at the centre of it. This artistic choice created a common identity between the various bands, a common ground. In spite of the vast musical differences between them, the shared aesthetics implied shared anarchist (in the broad sense of the term) values. It certainly was a departure from Riot City Records or No Future Records that provided little or no artwork and looked like products to be sold quickly rather than works of passion (and don't get me wrong, I love most of Riot City and No Future catalogues).

Then you had the very cheap price of these records, with the label ensuring that they remained as affordable as possible by putting the now legendary "Pay no more than" indication on the sleeve. Though this certainly didn't survive the record collecting mania exacerbated by the internet, it nevertheless was a genuine democratic gesture. Through Crass Records and its success, a lot of people became aware that it was indeed possible to create your own small record label, that DIY punk was a viable alternative to 16 year old punks being ripped off by a greedy trend-surfing short-lived record label. Crass Records releases all had an original catalogue number that referred to the ominous year 1984. For instance, the 1980's Zounds Ep was numbered "421984/3" as it was released in 1980 (four years to 1984) and it was the label's third record that year.

Finally, despite the relative musical variety of Crass Records releases, one cannot help but notice that, in addition to the visual likeness, there were undeniable similarities music-wise as well. The first obvious reasons for this is that a lot of bands, especially the punkier ones, were as much influenced by Crass musically as they were politically. Even though there was no band then, and there hasn't been any since, that actually sounded like Crass (that's how genuinely inimitable they are), them being an older, respected and successful band certainly impressed a lot of the younger anarcho bands. In a very materialistic sense, the similarity between the label's productions also resides in the fact that most of them were produced and engineered by the same people: Penny Rimbaud and John Loder. Penny, according to most, had very strict ideas about what the bands' music was supposed to sound like so he often applied the same recipe to very different bands, thus creating a sonic likeness, a common tie, most of the time against the band's opinion. This typical "Crass production" retrospectively confered a proper identity to the anarcho sound and certainly helped shape what people imagine anarchopunk to sound like today, despite the fact that the principle of anarchopunk was that it was not a genre but rather a way of doing things.

But enough talk. Let's get to it, shall we? I have chosen five Crass Records Ep's that I will post chronologically. I didn't necessarily pick the "best" ones, but rather the ones I wanted to put an emphasis on. .        

Policebastard / Defiance "S/t" split cd, 1995

Hatred and contempt for the police is certainly one of punk's most basic common factor. I have personally always loved outrageous anti-police songs (Hard Skin's repertoire gets a lot of playing at Terminal Sound Nuisance's headquarters) and really, who doesn't? Then you have bands taking police-bashing to the next level through the inclusion of their pig-hating sentiment in their very moniker, a game that MDC paved the way for but that Throw Bricks At Coppers are sure to win. Would I wear a Policebastard shirt in England? Probably not, since I heard some police officers now have some reading skills and I am not so fond of masochism. I sometimes wonder what the Brummie coppers thought when they passed by a PB gig poster, especially if the mention "members of Doom and Contempt" was added below the name... Probably something along the lines of "back in the day, people respected authority, Queen and country... and now look, dole-scrounging tramps taking the piss out of our glorious institution. Is it for people like this that Winston won?". If you were a policeman in Birmingham in the mid-90's and would like to share with us, please leave a comment. The author of the best comment will receive a Cracked Cop Skulls button.

If you have never heard of Policebastard, you will probably be a little upset that you have been missing on one of the very best UK crust bands of the 90's. If you have heard of PB but never really listened to them for one reason or another, let me tell you that you will be feeling like a fool soon enough. PB formed in Brum in 1993, pretty much by chance if one is to believe "Armed with anger". In the early 90's, Stu-Pid, was singing for Contempt and was meant to tour Germany with them. For some reason, other Contempt members couldn't commit, but Pid and bass player Trogg decided to still do the tour and formed another band in that prospect with none other than Jon, who used to sing in the original Doom line-up, on guitar, and drummer Clive, from the second Filthkick line-up. Now, that already looked like a solid enough punk team if you ask me. The boys rehearsed a set made up of Contempt and Doom songs and did tour Germany. Where there is a will... As for the name "Policebastard"? Well, since the band did Doom covers and had the original Doom singer on guitar and vocals, I am pretty sure it was a heavy nod to Doom's first Ep, but I don't know, this is just a very wild guess.

For those of you who have not yet identified who Pid is, he was (and still is) the singer for Sensa Yuma and also got to sing for English Dogs in the late 90's. I suppose that he was, in a quite literal sense, the punkiest punk in the band, whereas Jon and Clive were certainly more metal-oriented at the time. And that's precisely the reason why Policebastard were so brilliant, they were the perfect blend of fast and snotty UK hardcore punk and of crunchy crusty metal. Contrary to more recent bands who start off with an accurate enough idea of playing a specific brand of metal punk, I would argue that PB's sound resulted from the collusion of members who wanted to play 90's flavoured British hardcore punk and others who wanted to infuse it with extreme metal. The result could have been disastrous and disparate-sounding, but I guess the four members all coming from the same 80's punk background gave PB's its cohesiveness.

The ten PB songs on this split cd are basically the "Traumatized" Lp, minus one song. This is a totally unique album and definitely one of the best crust albums of the 90's. Contrary to bands like Extinction of Mankind or Coitus, who had a rather slimy, glutinous old-school crust sound, PB's is much colder and dryer, more modern in fact. While very metal-oriented, the guitar work looks forward in terms of influence (there are elements of industrial metal and 90's extreme metal) rather than backward. This Lp reminds me a little of Doom's "The greatest invention" in terms of songwriting, but I would argue that it takes all the good ideas of that Lp one step further. You have fast crust-punk songs as well as crushingly bleak, metallic mid-tempo numbers, all played heavily and with a rare intensity. The vocals are particularly effective here with Jon's deep growling voice complementing perfectly the furiously snotty one of Pid (it is metal AND punk even in the vocal harmony I would say). Imagine a rabid and yet focused meeting between what Doom, Deviated Instinct, Nausea and Filthkick were doing in the early 90's and the new generation of fast and aggressive punk bands that was starting to emerge then like Substandard or Hellkrusher.

Lyrically, Policebastard were genuinely angry and certainly had a lot to say about the social, political and cultural context of the early 90's that were marked with the Criminal Justice Bill and the Poll Tax Riots. Don't think that it is going to be about inept war haikus or basic anti-system rants. "Traumatized" is about our own desensitization before disturbing images of war or starvation. This song was actually a comment upon all the horrific record covers that depict such atrocities but eventually miss the point since we are no longer sensitive to such representations and rather we prefer to shut down and distance ourselves from the implications. "Dance, be happy" was a song about the growing rave culture in the UK that was becoming more and more a brainless drug culture about getting high. "Inferior" was one about the social pressures that are put upon our bodies and the rising commodification of beauty and sexuality, all in the name of profit and at the expense of self-esteem and genuine well-being... Well, as you can see, musical integrity and innovation were not PB's sole motivation and you can feel that the band really meant something politically as well, there is a distinct anger, an urgency that permeate the songs, as if the members had been waiting for such a band to exist in their life to be able to sing about these issues in that specific way.

The "Traumatized" Lp has been reissued recently along with the songs recorded during the same session that appeared on the split Lp with A38. Following the Lp, the band toured Europe with the mighty Maggot Slayer Overdrive and released the convincing and almost nu-metal-sounding "Gulf War syndrome" in 1998. A split Ep with Unkind in 99 and another Ep, without Pid, "Cursed Earth" in 2002 were supposed to be the band's last... But then, in the late 2000's, Policebastard reformed, started touring again and recorded a very good split Lp with War//Plague in 2011 for Profane Existence (there are brilliant covers of Peni and The Mob on that one). By 2013, Jon rejoined PB as well and, almost magically, the spark got re-ignited and Policebastard rose again as this monstrous crusty metal-punk machine and recorded the "Confined" album. This is easily in my Top 5 crust album of the 2010's and the first time I listened to it, I almost had troubles believing how good it was (I must admit that I didn't expect it to be THAT good). Honestly. Almost 20 years later, there is the same level of anger, focus and urgency as on "Traumatized". I guess 2013 is pretty much as shitty as 1995, right?

The next ten tracks of this cd were penned by a band that is much more famous than Policebastard today, although back in 1995, my guess is that the Doom connection could have made the opposite true, at least in Europe. Anyway... Defiance it is then. I briefly talked about the early Portland anarcho scene when I posted the 1989 Resist demo but these recordings are a bit older, between 1993 and 1995. Defiance was made up at the time of members from Resist, Deprived and Unamused. I suppose one could say that Defiance was pretty much the maximized version of those bands, keeping the anarcho ideology, the energy and the intensity and adding tunes and catchiness through the incorporation of a more obvious UK82 influence (though I doubt the term was in use then, let's say "second wave of British punk-rock). You could say that in the first half of the 90's, when you were a US anarcho band, you either went crustcore like Destroy, Disrupt or Deformed Conscience, or you picked the UK-influenced path like Defiance, A//Political or Aus-Rotten. But I would argue that Defiance succeeded more than the others thanks to their Oi-tinged mid-tempo anthems that you could  easily sing (and drink) along to. 

While undeniably catchy and skilled song-writers, Defiance slowly became more or less linked with the then growing "streetpunk" scene of bands like The Casualties, The Unseen or The Virus (they do like names starting with "The" those bands). While their lyrics were as radical and political as those they wrote for their former bands Deprived or Resist, their tunefulness and the musical references to the UK studs-and-spikes scene somehow tied them to the Punkcore bands, although I doubt it was their original intent. Anyway, one could have thought that a catchier music would appeal to a larger punk audience and thus expose them to more serious and interesting lyrics, but that's putting a lot of stock in the power of lyrics, when a lot of "punks" are just looking for a good pogo and new tips to raise their double mohawks... Oh well. 

This said, these early Defiance songs are really good. The ten songs on the cd are actually from their two first Ep's, the self-titled one from 1994, with Tony from Deprived on vocals, and the "Burn" Ep with Alaric from Unamused, you also have one comp track from the "Start a riot" Lp and one track from their European tour Ep. Of course, Defiance would reach their peak a little later, in 1996, with their fantastic "No Future No Hope" Lp, but the basis are already there: catchy Kelly-styled bass lines, shouted snotty vocals, classic chorus. It is basically the best of the Riot City bands played with a US hardcore energy.  

The lyrics of Defiance are also much smarter than you could think. Songs about the class war, voting as a con so that the system can maintain and justify itself, American interventionism, social control to pacify us... The texts are pretty long, well-written and boiling with rage.    

I bought this cd in a second-hand shop 15 years ago. Back then, I was very much into the "streetpunk" thing and I must confess that I spent a fiver on this baby just for the Defiance cover. I mean... LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF STUDS ON THEIR JACKETS!!!!!! It's insane! In my naive teenage mind, I thought that they must be at least as punk as The Casualties so I bought the fucking thing. The Policebastard cover tended to scare me a little though... This split cd was released on Ataque Sonoro in 1995, a label I already talked about when I posted the glorious Genital Deformities/Subcaos split cd (the man sure loved his split cd's!).  

Policedefiance