War On The Dancefloor - 23/01/2015

Another great night of industrial and associated musics, all played at The Q Club Cambridge. The next one should be in the later half of April, keep an eye out at on the Facebook page for exact dates and then come along to enjoy it all. It's a small night but with a growing following, and whilst it might not have the art noise idiocy that was Noise Bastard it's certainly got the tunes (and two of it's DJs, but being sensible for once).

My sets were:

10:00 till 11:00
Blood Rave - Blade OST
Destroy all dancefloors - CTRL ALT DEL
Angel of ruin - The Chaos Engine
Dead shall rise - Flesh Eating Foundation
Dead planet - Frontline Assembly
Trip like I do - Filter & The Crystal Method
March of the pig - Nine Inch Nails
Precipice - Rabbit Junk
Don't stop - Inner Party System
Velocity - Neuroticfish
One drug - Audio War
Police State - Birmingham 6
Lamb of God - Psyclone 9
Bunch of Fuckers - Petrol Bastard

12:00 till 1:00
Headhunter V2 - Front 242 (possibly a request, in that it was lined up to play and then someone asked for it)
Nemesis - VNV Nation
I am the rain - Assembly 23
Access & Amplify - Icon of Coil
Starsign - Apoptygma Berzerk
Hardcore Motherfucker - Ultraviolence
Futile Nazi Bastard - Velvet Acid Christ
Angels of the dark - Studio X
Weep for me - Aslan Faction
What I want - Aktivehate
Jesus Christ buried alive - Alien Vampires


The main booth discussions were: , how cold weather buggers up club nights, if digital hardcore counts as industrial (Yes Nick, it does. Get a fucking grip), how to cover up a choke and stay sexy, if cohesive community experiences stopped happening on the alternative scene after 2003 & if that was a good or bad thing, and how utterly off-genre music goes down brilliantly if just the right track is played at just the right time,

The Mindsweep - Enter Shikari

The St Albans fab-four are back, bringing another collection of tunes for folks into subjects like the growth of the corporate-state , the imminent ecogedoon  the failings of capitalist greed, and high-energy mixing of big-beat trance with post-hardcore guitar rock. So four albums, 11 years, and no real changes to their whole operation. Although, as they motor into their 30's as flag-bearers of a musical sound that never defined a generation but certainly gave some of it it's own feel, they sure as heck seem to have mellowed out in places.

For example first single "The Last Garrison" starts up as one of their traditional onslaught masterpieces of socially aware observations but then grows into a more thoughtful slow piece. The singalong glory of the main hookline "Head's up and thank fuck you're still alive! There's still air in my lungs, still blood in my veins" isn't the call to arms of youth, it's the pause, consideration, and consolidation of experience that knows it's still got a long way to go. Very powerful, very moving, properly progressive on so many levels. It's a feel that goes through all the album, still powerful but with a bit less frantic and a little more confidence that they don't have to be doing a million things all at once.

"Never Let Go Of the Microscope" is another prime example, with a couple of sections in-between the thrashing that are not far off reggae, and "The Bank Of England" is a slow paced tale of caution rather than what would previously have been a  nonstop scream of disappointment. "Myopia" and "Anesthetist" are more of their classic sound, but even they have a touch less constant drive to them than previous tracks. For long-term fans it's more of what was found on A Flash Flood of Colour than Take To The Skies and Common Dreads, for new listeners it's going to be that little bit more accessible and also demonstration of a greater range. Live it's going to be fantastic, as with longer sets and more options it's going to be a roller-coaster rather than their previous 1000 foot drop.

It's not a radical departure, but a change never the less, and one that works incredibly well. As a band with a very distinct, and in many ways singular, sound they could have easily refined and concentrated the "hardcore with rave bits" approach to diminishing returns. Instead they have expanded and embraced areas of both dance and rock, grown as a band and grown up as an act in the best possible way, to give more of a range and depth of sounds. They have shown that they are going to continue to expand, continue to grow, and continue to make albums as amazing, energizing, thoughtful, and joyful as this one.

Stomachaches - FrnkIero Andthe Cellabration

First out of the gate with a solo album after the demise of My Chemical Romance, Frank Iero's offering shows a good slice of what he brought to MCR but also enough of how he's going to take things now he's out on his own. It's a difficult sound to pin down as the album lurches between styles, something that the befits a project that started out as someone playing music just for themselves.

It's got a large dollop of the simplicity and direct, clean sound of alternative/punk in there, along with a good amount of thrashing and urgency. But it also has moments of complexity and eclecticism that give it a post-punk / new-wave feel in places, included an understated and subtle use of electronica and EDM sounds. Lyrically it's very personal and powerful, not in the big emo manner of his previous band but in a playful and triumphant manner that just enjoys the sound and feel of the words without worry too much if the listener gets anything more than a sense of meaning and a touch of it's power. He can also sing, rather well, and is great at getting the emotions across without doing an overblown performance. Stand out tracks go to the two singles, "Weighted" and "Joyriding", the sing along fun of Tragician, and the slowmo epic that is Guilttripping. However if you like guitars and a bit of pace then there is bound to be something here for you.

This all combines into something that is joyfully all over the place, playing around with sounds & feelings to produce something that is exciting, experimental but also accessible & immediate. It's the bastard lovechild of Rites of Spring, non-Nevermind era Nirvana, Brand New after a couple of pints, your favorite muso's speed up bar band, and someone just discovering what can be done with some wubs the DJ left over from last night. It's also quite possibly suffering from ADD, as not all the ideas and sounds become as developed in the songs as you could have hoped for. And that gets frustrating, as whilst non of it is in anyway 'bad' it also means little of it is as 'good' as it could have been. Quite where it will end up I have no clue, but it'll be worth keeping an eye out of Frank's next album and for his tour.

The End Of Silence - Rollins Band

Three things become very clear within the first couple of minutes of listening to this album: that
Henry Rollins can't sing in anything resembling the conventional manner. that the Rollins Band are a fantastic collective of musicians, and that Henry Rollins is an outstanding lyricist. After a couple more tracks it becomes even more clear that words like "alternative" and "rock" really don't do credit to the sounds being created, as the usage of jazz, funk, and noise experimentation push beyond what had, even in the heyday of the Alternative 90's, was becoming a defined and codified genre. This is primal stuff, what Miles Davis could have made if he had discovered a Marshal stack or what John Lennon may have done were he born 20 years later. Lean, powerful, disciplined, and out to destroy so that it can rebuild you in your own image. You will have two reactions to this album: you'll either turn off the music from ill-ease or sit and feel the hairs on your neck twitching up.

Lyrically there are two main themes: improving your lot in life and the ills of love. Opener "Low Self Opinion" is an anthem to faux angst and the call to becoming all you can be, whilst "Another Life" is a call to recognise the life you are leading whatever it may be. On the other side of the anger coin "Tearing" is a song for when all the love has flushed out of the relationship and "Blues Jam" is primal scream therapy for the terminally resilient, with the howled refrain "life won't break your heart, it'll crush it" managing to sound dignified rather than the petulant or  overwrought angst that someone who hadn't lived through it all would of presented. Musically there is one main theme: slow, steady and powerful. It goes at the speed it needs to, never breaking into a sprint but never walking along. Tempos change and melodies switch, but everything is done as is needed with zero fat in the sound. Everything is where it needs to be, nothing sounds flashy in the way that only precision musicianship can allow. This is a jaguar of a band, prowling with restraint and confidence. With the two elements put together it's a titanic sound, a rumble of power and majesty.

That this album could get so much acclaim twenty-two years ago and still sound as fresh and vital as it does now is it's true testament. By working outside of trends and fashions, by being such a definitive statement of it's own makers (and quite possibly Henry Rollins greatest post-Black Flag musical work), it has manged to neither age nor weaken. I would encourage anyone who has the slightest interest in what rock can be, in finding out the sounds and rhythms that can be forged from the deceptively simple line up of drums and guitars and in lyrics that can be personal and triumphant without reveling, to give this the listen that you have been missing from you life.

Why you should listen to The Cramps

Rock & Roll isn't a genre, it's a primal force: It's the melding of the blues, country, and gospel that
has the beat of the heart and the sway of the hips. It's also a rare and elusive beast, at least in its original of forms, and the last great champions of its were The Cramps, who spent 33 years sweating it out from every pour they could find. Never quite fitting into whatever was hip at the time they were listened to and loved by a lot of people who knew music, but never really got huge so you may know the name but never listed to them, which you should because....

They Are Rock & Roll!

I mean really rock and roll, as in 40s to 50s USA original. Not the sanitised version you remember from the Beatles or the Stones in the 60s, not the mutated form in the 70's that became Hard Rock to Heavy Metal, and not the 80's disco and dance infused revivals. We're talking thick, simple, and likely to cause pregnancy at 20 paces. Something like this:

When Lux Interior says "Rock & Roll" it's not a boast or a claim, it's a simple fact of life. It's the voodoo yell, the reason the instrumental "Rumble" got banned for inciting violence, it's Rebel Without a Cause with none of the family friendly elements. It's not anti-social, it just doesn't want to socialise on your terms, but it sure would like to get friendly with you...

They covered every topic teenagers care about, ever
Sex, death, sex, intoxication, high weirdness, sex, alienation, and sex. Nothing else, nothing more, nothing less. Tracks like "I was a teenage werewolf" should be given to every adolescent so they know that someone understands the pains they are going through, "It Thing Hard-On" should follow it up so they know how great things are going to get, whilst "Ultra Twist" needs to taught as a basic mating ritual with "What's Inside A Girl" for what to do once things get personal. Simple, universal, and eternal because no matter how old you get you can just listen to it and tap into the energies being given off. And the lyrics are a joy to behold, "Garbage Man" is a feast of metaphor, "Journey To The Center Of A Girl" is filth without a single offensive word or term, and "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns" is just joyfully daft whilst expressing Americana in its rawest forms.

They sound like noone else
Especially on the first couple of albums, because they had no bass player. But even when they got in a four stringer they just had too much locked into Poison Ivy's buzzsaw playing style and it gave everything so much bite and tenacity. Add in the groundwork of Nick Knok showing how much could be done with so little on the drums and you've got a tight and simple sound that uses no tricks and leaves space in the sounds so you can hear everything yet have it all group in as one. Others have tried, but they either went too dense or too sparse and it just falls apart.

They were dedicated to their cause
All they ever did was play their thing. Musically there was minimal progression in style or tone, other than getting better and better, and lyrically it was all just as above. But it isn't in a bad way, and it hasn't got a gimmick feel to it. It's just a real definite approach and a dedication to a cause, which means it just gets better and there isn't a 'bad' album amongst their catalogue, only 'better' and 'best'.

So, please, give it a listen and come back to me with what you think.
It'll be good for you, or maybe just bad for you in all the right ways.

We Have A Ghost - We Have A Ghost

"Haunting" isn't a word I use often, mostly because it's been so badly used before, but for this debut album I'm going to roll it out and throw it around with gusto. Ten tracks of slow to mid tempo (mostly) instrumental music that just sits with you, on your shoulder, and plays a series of varied tunes that are both happy, filled with drive and melancholy, filled with slow, purposeful thought (quite often at the same time).

Musically it's a broad church, mixing in trad industrial, triphop/breakbeat, rock, prog, light alterative, and just generally anything that happened to be lying around and that sounded good. And, very importantly, it isn't a mess. It's not 'an eclectic mix' or anything randomly put together, it's a very clear vision of a sound that just happens to have a lot of facets to it. It's got bits that sound like the intermissions on a Nine Inch Nails album, bits that could be 69DaysOfStatic, bits that reminded me of some forgotten 80's mid-west guitar act, and a whole lot that could have come from American Horror Story if they needed a club scene. And it's a debut album from a one-man act (I think, the material on it is rather vague but surprisingly not annoying).  The only thing it doesn't have is a best track, as they all work so well together that I don't want to pick anything out for closer inspection and instead just want you to listen to the whole thing.

Human Zoo - Electrix Six

It turns out that Electric Six did more than just release four of explosively daft disco-rock singles in 2003, and rather than a comeback attempt (as I first thought) this album is their 11th. So, having missed the last 11 years of their development, I'm wondering "how much have they changed?". The answer is "not really", as this is 13 daft disco-rock tracks but with a slight touch of lounge-funk and soul thrown in because it just works really nicely. It's also rather good and it's always cool to see people carrying on with what they enjoy and focusing on fun over form, but still having the time and the skill to play around and prove that they really know their craft.

There is also no Gay Bar instant-easy-classic, so don't expect anything on here to become the ubiquitous nonsense song of the year (decade?). Rather it's a batch of enjoyable and well crafted, slightly less manic, tunes. "It's Horseshit" is a steady slice of disco-heaven, "Alone with your body" has got soul coming out of all of its hot and sweaty pores, and "I've seen Rio in flames" has a 50's-musical feel to it, giving off more than a one trick pony pony. Then again "Worst Movie Ever" and "I need a restaurant" are thumping guitar fun, so we're not a hundred miles away from their known sound. As you might be able to tell they continue to be both obtuse and ridiculously trivial with their lyrics, "Who the hell just called my phone" and "Good view of the Violence" being particularly daft in so many wonderful ways. Sadly fewer mentions of "fire" compared to their first album, but I suppose some things have to change for the worse.

So whilst this CD may not change anyone's life it may certainly being a bit of joy to your day, without being overtly soppy, and it should definitely put a rye smile on your face. If you want something to play at a party or just to get a bit of lighthearted bounce into your life then this album is for you.