By the way, everything was written by Predrag Delibasic unless noted otherwise.
*WHITE RABBIT CULT - "...AND THE GODS MADE WARS." CD
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Don't you just love mysteries?
Well, I do anyway.
It's been some months since I first heard of White Rabbit Cult - I kept reading about IT on the internet and the thing that got me interested was the mentioning of Serbian 'connection' with the 'project'. Somehow I had a feeling that I might know the people behind this. More than that, I felt the urge to hear their music as soon as possible, especially after visiting their web site (http://www.whiterabbitcult.com) and listening to "Apocalypse Across the Sky". Then one day just shortly into 2000 I received a parcel with no return address and this CD was in it. To say I played it on a regular basis since then |
From the opening track, "Invocation AC99", we realize that White Rabbit Cult have the 'electronics' and that they're gonna use it. Same as later on with "Sleeper" they fill the room with surreal wall of all sorts of sounds, reminiscent of Faust circa "Faust Tapes". Both songs are quite mesmerizing and should not be attempted to listening late at night at full blast, unless you want your neighbours to call the cops.
In "Collateral Damage" and "Apocalypse Across the Sky" Serbian connection is obvious. "Collateral Damage" has various samples of speeches by politicians, TV news readers, etc., all related to recent NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and all of them perfectly placed over wild beats and screaming guitars. "Apocalypse..." is slower, groovier song in which they have incorporated cool beats with strong message against bombing.
Even though the CD has been out for mere few weeks, some people already tried to get the NiN/M.Manson/Prodigy influence label stuck to the White Rabbit Cult. I guess one might easily jump to such a conclusion upon listening to "Maya" and "Ananda Shiva", but let me say this: White Rabbit Cult sounds superior to all of the above mentioned turds! What about "Heart Like a Hammer"??? Would any of todays 'top industrial acts' even dare attempting write alike kamikaze-punk anthem? Nope.
Never in my life I came across an album so diverse in style as "...and the Gods Made wars." that actually didn't suck, and that's where W.R.C genius lies. They weren't afraid to try a few different 'options', which paid well off at the end. I can only hope this is not their one and only effort and judging by the news that just came in (White Rabbit Cult are rehearsing for live shows) we've got a lot more to hear from them. Buy this album before they become 'cool'/die in the mysterious plane crash at the peak of their carrer/even worse, before it sells out and becomes an expensive collectable item!
*2227 - “BIBIBISABI” CD
(Stripcore http://www.ljudmila.org/core/)
This Slovenian four piece
is musically most akin to Thrall, save for some less than perfect performances
and rather buried bass in the overall sound. Indeed, the four pay
homage (inadvertently?) to the current state of the hardcore movement in
the title of one of their songs (“whatever core”). What 2227 offer
musically is no resurrection for progressive hardcore, rather a proficiently
enough executed set of tunes infused with some Macedonian, Serbian and
Hungarian folklore.
At other times 2227 play
with relatively simple polyrhythms, striving for the mathematical feel
of some of the more clever post-punk garrison (NoMeansNo, Minutemen), but
reaching neither the performance quality of the former, nor the conviction
of the latter (“les fourmis” is an example of such a lifeless exercise
in “smartness”).
The guitar playing is what
initially triggered the Thrall parallel; Bozo has a penchant for crisp
“cock-rock” lines (some interesting ethno work on “reincarnation” for example).
Unfortunately, cock rock guitar lines work best either as a contrast to
distortion-drenched noise or on totally overproduced race car accident
compilations, and 2227 seem to be confused in which direction they’re heading,
given that precision is not necessarily their forte.
The music of 2227 shows,
on the other hand, a significantly developed talent for song construction,
displayed most clearly at those times when their songs are allowed significantly
more space for atmospheric build-ups than is usually the case. Prime examples
of this are “weary alarm clock” and the excellent “crickets”. Further,
2227 show themselves at their best when they allow space for slowly moving
dynamic play in their ethno-infused songs, sung in their native Slovenian.
Which leads neatly to the next paragraph, something We, Milos Vukcevic,
always strive for at any given end.
The packaging blooms with
a sense of Western professionalism, and is a very earnest tribute to the
aphorism that rock’n’roll is business first and foremost. Perhaps the overall
package assembling quality of this album ties in with those parts of the
album sung in English, since both are signs a professional outfit attempting
to break into a lager market. These two factors go a long way to showing
that differentiation from American product is not necessarily the wisest
business move a band can make. Indeed, whilst the singer (Macek) might
sound like the guy from Scorpion when he attempts to enunciate in English
(“the girl with ice cream eyes”) 2227 still have no qualms about pandering
to a larger, global market. That is, the price of singing in English, for
2227 at least, is that they come across, uncommitted and passionless. Naturally,
the meaning suffers, rendering their attempts at abstraction in English
comical (again the laughable “the girl with ice cream eyes”) something
almost completely avoided in songs sung in their native tongue.
Ultimately, if survival
for rock bands of any denomination was guaranteed, and 2227 needed not
worry about where their bread was coming from, they could easily fuck the
idea of singing in English off. However, since the push is to globalise
Macek will have to continue to sing in English and sound at odds with an
otherwise reasonable musical project, giving the reader a wishy-washy approximation
of abstract poetry. Again, those songs in Slovenian offer far more real
meat, and far fewer Jesus Lizard clichés.
Had this album been released
fifteen years ago it would have neatly slotted into the overall shape of
worldwide hardcore trends, which were at the time homogenous acceptance
of progression. What remains in 1999 of American hardcore clearly
represents only one, perhaps two strands of what was available at its inceptive
stages from 1980 to 1985 or so; that is melodic hardcore pioneered by Descendents
and more metallic New York hardcore pushed by the likes of Judge, Agnostic
Front and others. Those many bands that rested in the middle (and
to the sides) of these extremes passed on (in any commercially significant
sense), and naturally so since rock’n’roll is not really the place for
experimentation or thought. Progressive hardcore (even the truly progressive
element of post-punk) is (has been for a while) dead, and 2227 don’t have
the medicine to fix the ill fucker. Milos Vukcevic
*2227 - 7"EP (Stripcore;
email: core@kud-fp.si )
Thanks to kind people at
Stripcore I finally managed to obtain a copy of this fine 7". For more
info on 2227 check out their web site, but here I'd like to say little
I know: they formed as a hardcore band in the mid 80s, then a couple of
years later went quiet, to re-emerge in early 90s. So far they released
three albums and this 7"EP, along with some trax on various compilations,
and they have been touring across Europe on a regular basis for last few
years.
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First track is a medley
cover of two Sarlo Akrobata songs (S.A. was a seminal Yugo weird punk band
that lasted for about one year - 1980/1981) and 2227 furiously covered
"Ja zelim jako" and "O,O,O..." and blended it into "Sarlo budi nezan".
The other cover and second song on Side One is "Innocent When You Dream"
by Tom Waits - another interesting interpretation by 2227.
"Zion in Tourism" on Side Two is 2227 original remixed by a bloke from Borghesia, whom some of you may be familiar with. It's smartly done, very groovy dub stuff. |
7" comes on a blue transparent vinyl, with nice silk-screened cover. It's limited to 500 copies and the last ones are going for good very soon, so I strongly suggest you get yourself one before too late.
For punk buffs: 2227's singer was in Buldogi (check your "Novi Punk Val 78-80" and "Lepo je..." LPs).
| *PEKINSKA PATKA - "PLITKA
POZEIJA" LP (bootleg)
It seems I've been writing only about Pekinska Patka for the last 12 months. I openly admit they became some sort of obsession for me - I guess it started when I was 9 and saw them on TV for the first time. They turned me on to punk in 1979 and 'nothing has been the same since then'. |
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"Plitka Pozeija" was first released in mid 1980 on Jugoton label. It was recorded in autumn 0f 1979, but its release was put on hold due to President Tito's illness. I guess the moment was very 'serious' for such a record. The album was chockablock with short and fast punk anthems, all 16 of them clicking in around two minutes or less. No wonder it became the most sought after Yugoslavian punk album.
Pekinska Patka's debut sold some 11 thousand copies, at the time not enough to satisfied blood-thirsty record label's moguls. Soon after they released "Bila je tako lijepa" 7" and controversial second album "Strah od monotonije", finally calling it a day in 1981.
This newest bootleg of Pekinska Patka comes, presumably, from Western Europe. Whoever did it deserves a medal, but seriously, is there a reason for all the secrecy when it comes to recent Yugoslavian bootlegs? Do the bootleggers think somebody is actually going to sue them over such matters? Gimme a break! I suggest to all potential bootleggers of Yugo stuff to go and do it straight away. Slim chance even the band members would hear about it, and if so, they're probably into other stuff now (you know, wife, kids, mortgage...) and couldn't care less about some freaks re-releasing their past embarrassments.
Anyway, the job is well done and the sound on this 12" vinyl is superb considering poor quality of Jugoton's original vinyl. I wouldn't be surprised if they filtered it through some computer software, but who cares? As a kind gesture, bootleggers added Pekinska Patka's first and third 7" and even three songs off their second album. The cover is excellent reproduction of original, including pics of the covers of the rest of their releases.
Do I really need to recomend it more or should I get the big stick and whack you on the head?
*ACID KING - "BUSSE WOODS"
CD
*THE DESERT SESSIONS
- "VOLUME V & VI" CD (both on Man's
Ruin)
Welcome to the wonderful
world of freebies! Just keep sending 'em in - if they suck there's planty
of hock shops around.
These two came from Man's
Ruin and we'll be kept as I dig 'em these days. I'm the last person that
can comment on latest stoner rock craze that sweeps the planet, but those
kinda bands are popping everywhere, even here (mighty Jed Whitey).
Of these two, Acid King
are the slower, darker and louder, hence it took me good three listenings
to begin to like it. They wear their influences up their sleeves (is there
a stoner
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rock band not influenced
by THAT band?) but Acid Kings are sure capable of writing great songs.
The Desert Sessions on the other hand are more fun to listen to, which I prefer these days. "Volumes V & VI" are two 10"s with added bonus track and it's a mixed bag of punkish/r'n'r tunes and some other 'weird' shit. As you know, The Desert Sessions consists of members of Dwarves, Kyuss, Queens of The Stone Age, Fumanchu, Miracle Workers, etc. so you should have a vague idea what this sounds like. I'd only add: it actually sounds much better than that! |