• Music

    Vtoroy Etazh Porazhayet – Kraynosty

    Vtoroy Etazh Porazhayet (2nd Floor is Striking) are a Moscow post-punk outfit, and it seems both Russia and Belarus are producing a lot of these days.  They are released by the French record label Belka Records.  Their sound will appeal strongly to those who are into the post-punk renaissance of the past five years or so.  

  • Music

    Strawberry Switchblade – 1982 4​-​Piece Demo

    Strawberry Switchblade were my first musical crush, and perhaps the most charmingly twee band I heard during the 1980s and there was a lot of competition in those days. This EP from 40 (!!) years ago sounds as fresh as their eponymous debut album, but the sound is far rawer, more post-punk and less synth-sounding.  Rose McDowell, of course, went on to work on many worthy solo projects and collaborate with acts like Current 93, and Jill Bryson started writing music in 2013 with a new band called The Shapists, but this album reminds me of just how good Strawberry…

  • Music

    David J – What The Patrons Heard

    David J should need no introduction, but if you’re new here, he made his name as the bassist of Bauhaus and the leader of both Live and Rockets and Tones On Tail. This new album, What The Patrons Heard, was 34 years in the making. He combines his post-punk roots with a singer-songwriter vibe he has mastered since his early solo releases on record labels like Situation Two and Glass, among others.

  • Music

    Old Time Relijun – Musicking

    Though I’ve followed his work for years, this is the first chance I’ve had to review Arrington Dionyso’s vast body of work, specifically his more rock-based project, Old Time Relijiun. From the first note, it felt like getting hit by a block of cement (in a quite good way).  The first track, Break Through, sounds like a mighty clash between the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Can during its rawer and weirder freak-outs.  Bionic Trunk provides thunderous drums that would compare well to mid-60s garage-rock smashers like The Monks and introduces a bit of throat-singing, of all things.  The cornerstone…

  • Music

    Black Ink Stain – Incidents

    Our friends over at P.O.G.O. Records have released a record which relates very well with acts like Big Black and The Jesus Lizard.  Black Ink Stain are from Belgium, and I have to say this album is as brutal as anything labels like Touch & Go Records released at their peak.  The production is a bit raw, but it makes the album sound like an authentic post-punk record.  The magazine Muzzart does a good review of the album in French here.

  • Music

    Yat-Kha – We Will Never Die

    Albert Kuvezin (Альберт Кувезин) is a legend in the ethno-rock and World Music community.  He was one of the founders of the band Huun-Huur-Tu, which brought throat singing into prominence.  He went on to form his own band, Yat-Kha, who I came across in 1993.  He was managed to meld together traditional Tuvan music (the region in Russia close to Mongolia and not so terribly far from China) with post-punk and even country music. On June 21, Yat-Kha’s latest album, We Will Never Die, is due for release as a download and will be available on CD and vinyl. The…

  • Music - Soundcloud

    learningtodive – Norwegian Pop

    learningtodive · Norwegian Pop (Album) learningtodive hail from New Zealand and made a lot of waves with this, their debut EP.  This is a nice blend of post-punk, post-rock and synth-based music.  For those who prefer to stream this, I point you to their Spotify page.  I’d much prefer to see them on a platform where I could download their music, but as it stands, I’m pretty happy having the chance to hear this on any format.  Quite good stuff.

  • Music

    Brendan Perry – Songs of Disenchantment – Music from the Greek Underground

    Dead Can Dance singer and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry is absolutely enamored with Greek culture, and it’s obvious because a lot of DCD’s work has an affinity towards it.  Perry is especially appreciative of rebetiko, the local variant of the blues in Greek culture.  This album is his paean to his adoration of rebetiko, and is perhaps the first time some of these ballads have been recorded in English.  This disc is a labor of love.

  • Music

    Emil – Само сам знам / Only Alone I Know

    Emil Biljarski has had a storied career, first as keyboardist of the seminal Hungarian psychedelic rock band Korai Öröm, and who continued the psychedelic, world music and even post-punk stylings in bands such as Fókatelep and Meszecsinka.  His pedigree is impeccable. He graces our blog with a new album which is a projection of music best described as a mish-mash of well-crafted pop songs, interludes which would be reminiscent of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Bowie-esque prog-pop, ethnic music from Southeast Europe, and on occasion, the bass playing on this track reminds me of a mid-period Killing Joke.  Well crafted, well…