Kassyus Clay come to us from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and sound nothing like samba or bossa nova. Instead, they bring a brutal instrumental sound that crosses post-rock with Sonic Youth.
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In a land of amazing bands and ensembles, MAiKA have managed to forcefully grab my attention. While they call themselves an alternative dance-punk band, there’s so much more to the music. The energy is amazing, the voices cut right through you in a way that most indie music can’t, and the fact that they combine brass band music with punk gives the music an authentic, punchy feel. From their Bandcamp site: “From the perspective (both musical and visual) of MAiKA, Balkan is an absurd mix of contrasts: religion and tradition combined with modern technology, natural beauty with destructive politics, mud with…
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Les Rencards are a band based out of France which produce a garage rock-meets-yé-yé sound, made up of a Frenchman, a Brazilian and two Catalans, released by the erstwhile Groovie Records out of Portugal. Their sound is raw and authentic.
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The Boomtown Rats and I seem to be on the same wavelength. Serbian summers are nasty!
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Jukebox Babe by former Suicide frontman Alan Vega hasn’t been in print since 1981, so this 7-inch slab of new wave synth-pop is a welcome addition to the Suicide pantheon.
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As we observe Christmas Eve and the Nativity today and tomorrow based on the Julian Calendar, we share an avant-garde take on “Christmas” music. The French experimental record label Camembert Électrique have released a 94-track comp of some rather interesting takes of some Yuletide classics, as well as a fair number of originals. Some of the artists included include Anastasia Vronski, Sean Derek Cooper Marquart, James Hoehl, and our dear friends, Lezet. It’s not a conventional compilation for the season, but it holds its own rather well.
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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.
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No review today because we had to send my brother packing to his new home, so in honor of his new abode, I present you with the song perhaps best associated with the city, albeit in a slightly surreal form, courtesy of the Dead Kennedys.
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Sounding like a band crossing the energy of American garage surf gods The Lords Of Altamont, French punks Les Thugs with the legendary Motörhead, Frau Blücher combine a poppy, but aggressive garage-punk with hints of metal. The band name comes from a running gag from the movie Young Frankenstein, and you can read about the history of the name here. Gags and comedy aside, Frau Blucher make great power pop.
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jhusel · Los Saicos – Fugitivo de Alcatraz I’d like to point you, dear readers, to a magnificent blog called The Listening Post. Each post includes a new song of the day, and this one is a treasure out of Peru from what many fans call the first proto-punk band, Los Saicos. You can read the blog here.