SERENE FALL - Demos 2003

Considering that their last record is already four years ago and this autumn their new 10'' Silent World comes out on Major Label I thought it's time to post some partially unreleased demos of my favorite dark punk band from Mönchengladbach (would a pity if they were going to die in nothingness). Serene Fall create once again the balancing act of aggressive melancholy songs, which always held personally, and fascinate. The sound is quite good and here yet as four piece combo: Maul (vox + guitars), Udo (bass), Nico (drums) and Rainer (guitar) and the 2nd guitar is clearly noticeable what the songs even more power gives, meanwhile they have shrunk to three members. Serene Fall is music I can always put in. Don't know who this send in but you have my frank thanks. Who wants/needs more stuff I recommend to use the search option top left.

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EL VICIO - Born To Be Wild EP 2009

All Right, time for something new and completly different, haha... - First info: 390 copies with an full color sleeve and 77 with a one color silkscreened sleeve on black cardboard and 33 on a grey cardboard with a different front and back cover. And El Vicio is a garage punk'roll band from Perpignan/France. I think these boys are using drugs, TV-News, Heino platters or whatever to recording such a heavy record like this. Four trashy numbers, first is a definitive fatal sound of 'Born To Be Wild', then we have two awesome rather "quiet" (the tempo was slightly lower) numbers, and the record ends much too quickly with a monotone version of Suicide's 'Cherie Cherie'. Puuhhhh, I'm sweating, this is an amazing record and if they released an album, I would buy it immediately. Check these weird frenchmen take a listen to their sound and all softies should better let your fingers off!

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JAWOLL - Rendezvous 7'' 1983

One of my favourite songs from the 80's is this one by an interesting band that I would not denote as a typical NDW band, rather German Rock. And who is behind it follows in this small description:

Jawoll was founded 1981 at the Kassel Art Academy, where singer Kornelia Scholz and drummer Matthias Kutschke studied. As the guitarist was an Englishman the lyrics of  'Taxi' was initially in English. But after the appearance of the first Ideal album they decided only to sing in German. After a few gigs the band was discovered from Hamburg Rüssl-Räckords-Verlag, who procured them an elaborately staged appearance in the former cult broadcast Bananas. After the broadcast their first 7inch 'Taxi' scrambled into the Top 20 of the charts. A tour throgh Germany followed and the second single 'Rendezvous' made it to number 49 on the charts. After several changes of record company the third single 'Ich Bin Verrückt Nach Dir' appeared in 1984 and reached number 2 in the ZDF Hit Parade. In 1986, the band broke up and the members left the music business, except for the guitarist Robert Foster, who emigrated to Canada, and with singer Jann Arden celebrated international success and to this day he is still active as a musician. Sadly Kornelia Scholz died 1988 from leukemia (Info by Matthias Kutschke, thx!).

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GNÄ GNÄ - The Terrible Unexpected Brainstorm 1987

After an interesting afternoon at the Main (Yeah!) and now listen to the Disco Zombies (I Love Those Fuckin' Tunes) live tracks and before the second match SGE - FCA starts a quick post with a nice swiss combo. Here we go: The four-member punk band Gnä Gnä from Basel existed from about 1982 to 1990. They played a noisy mix of pop & punk. Most of the songs have the guitarist Ramon and singer Helen wrote. Steff was on bass and Dani on drums. This band have announced their first gig on 11. September 1982 at the school festival of Holbein Gymnasium in Basel. From then on they were playing regularly, initially in the area of Basel, then in Switzerland, (Zurich, Bern, St. Gallen, etc.). In the spring of 1985 bassist Angelika left the band and Steff came in her place. After that they played also in Germany and Scandinavia. In 1987 they recorded their debut LP on Sick Records and in 1989 appeared on the German label Positive Destruction their second album 'Lost In Time And Space' and a few singles that were also partially split with other bands. Helene left the band in late 1988, and for her came Smada and took the Micro for about one year. Shortly thereafter Gnä Gnä broke up. All members played in the following years in various bands, including Helene until 1999 as back-vocalist for the last album of Touch El Arab. Interesting LP with varied songs and beautiful booklet.

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TOTAL EGON - 7inch Collection 1987-1989

Time for another 7inch collection (check out this Blog for others) by this one man band from Stockholm: Total Egon is Mart Hällgren, better known as lead singer/bassist, songwriter and frontman of melodic punk band De Lyckliga Kompisarna (DLK). 1979 started Hällgren his first punk band called Likström. Ten years later he formed De Lyckliga Kompisarna with Bjorn Gunér. The band was active until 1997 and reunited in 2008. Besides he always had some other bands like Dr.Anti-Skval, Crudity, Brackor, Ubba and Greven & James. Total Egon was created in 1984 because he didn't managed to play in Egon Egoist and has been around since 1984 and has been more or less active due to Mart's involvement in other bands. He connected two tape recorders and started to play drums, bass and guitar by himself. It was music without any arguing in rehearsal room. Since then it has become alots of recordings, and nowadays there are computers to arrange the music. "Sure it's nice to play in a band, but home on your own the music become its best." So this file contains all three 7inches he made, all self-released. In individual: Fördomar Mot EP ('87), Guldkängan EP ('88) and the Män EP ('89). Musically he's at home in solid melodic punk rock embellished with "quiet" passages and fast ass kickers. Great talent, decent songs, keep it up!

- Special Thx to Fredrik -

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V/A - H'Artcore 1981

H'Artcore is a compilation that was published by H'Art Records with various punk bands from the Ruhrpott area, where some variables of the local punk scene, such bands as Upright Citizens were present today, others are only here to hear and then fade away. In 1999 the label Teenage Rebel Records has been re-released this record. The name of the compilation is a play on words and refers to the represented music on this album, which was then still referred to punk as it does not use the term 'Deutschpunk'. "The somewhat strange title is derived from the name of the label H'Art in 1981 and still new term Hardcore, which at that time for the harder, faster punk stood here on the sampler (the term German Punk was not in use)." Well, that was back then. A brilliant soundtrack indeed and even nowadays very audible.

1.Verfolgt - CORNY VARIOUS

2.17 / Rebel Song - CLOX

3.Ich Will Hier Raus - BLUTTAT

4.Fuck The Army - UPRIGHT CITIZENS

5.New Wave Takt - DIE PHANTASTISCHEN 3

6.Dosenbier - ABFLUSS

7.Deutschland - FLUCHTVERSUCH

8.Braune Schweine - N.D.R.

9.Reinol - HECKTOR

10.Arbeitsamt - SUFF

11.Mikel - BLUTTAT

12.Bonzen - FLUCHTVERSUCH

13.Luftballon - CORNY VARIOUS

14.Du Traust Dich Nicht - LUZIBÄR

15.Stadion - THE IDIOTS

16.Politiker - ABFLUSS

17.Natur - EKLATANT AB

18.Alkohol - SUFF

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THE BLITZKRIEG BOYS - Back From Nowhere 1989

The Blitzkrieg Boys was formed 1985 in Tampere, when Marty Blitzkrieg (vox) got an idea to form a band that would be a mixture of the Ramones, Cockney Rejects and the Misfits. Soon he found Gil (guitars), Kukka (bass) and Jussi (drums), excatly the right guys to play this kind of music. In 1988 they relelased their first record in form of an EP on Raktor Records with seven melodic punkies. I bought that in 1989 at a gig in the Marquee in Hamburg when Broken Toys and the Schwarzen Schafe toured through Germany. I was instantly elated. After a period without Punkrock I came in the mid 90s in touch with their only album which was released on the German label Teenage Rebel Records in December 1989 (1000 copies, 225 in orange vinyl and the rest black). The production is bit cleaner (which is almost too much) than the EP but I love the ramonesque style and they make it perfect as well. In 2011 the Finnish label Woimasointu released an album called 'Too Old To Die Young' but I have not yet heard it. All Right, enjoy the Blitzkrieg Boys and a nice weekend!

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NIKKI & THE CORVETTES - s/t LP 1980

Formed in the late 70s in Detroit, Nikki & the Corvettes were part of the late 1970s/early 80s girl group revival that rode in on the tidal wave of PowerPop bands popular at the time. Their only album is a PowerPop masterpiece with a decent dose of punk rock, a perfect mix and they in top form. A lot of infos are present in the web so I use the following words because this review describes their LP very clearly: "If the hormones of teenage girls could talk, they would probably sound very much like this trio of singers from Detroit who have debuted with one of the most delightful records of the year so far. Nikki Corvette, Kristi Kay (who has since left the group) and Lori Jeri have recaptured the spirit of the old Shangri-Las and crank out enthusiastic tunes about partying, boys, drive-ins, boys, dancing and boys.And if they approach the "girl group" musical genre with less wit than Blondie, they at least have more conviction. Among the dozen originals (all penned by Nikki and lead guitarist Peter James) in this album are such cheeky offerings as Back Seat Love, Gimme, Gimme (who says the Me Decade is over?) and C'mon, which confesses "Don't know where I'm headed/But I still gotta go." The back-up band is less precise than the Corvettes (as is the technical production) but even that can't restrain the charms of the group's gee-whiz-thank-you-Ms. songs. For some odd reason, no major label has signed this cheery trio." (Picks & Pans Review, February 23, 1981, Vol. 15, #7) - Nikki & The Corvettes disbanded in 1981. At this time, it was still unusual to have a woman front rock band. The notoriety that Nikki Corvette earned for her role in breaking those barriers led to her being namechecked in the song "Gimme My Radio" by The Donnas. So this whole album is so damn catchy and you can't stop listening to it.

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THE LAST - She Don't Know Why I'm Here 7'' 1978

The Last is a Los Angeles based power pop band formed in the 1970s around three brothers: Joe (guitar + vocals), Mike (vocals), and David Nolte (bass guitar). They released several albums on SST Records and Bomp! Records. The Nolte brothers formed the band in 1976, and the band's sound was influenced by garage rock, surf rock, folk rock and psychedelic rock. After three self-financed singles, the band was signed by Bomp! Records, who issued the debut album L.A. Explosion! in 1979 (described by Trouser Press as "a near-perfect debut"). They reverted to their own Backlash label for second album Look Again (1980), and split up in the mid-1980s. The band were considered a major influence on the psychedelia-influenced LA bands of the mid eighties. The band was reformed in 1988 and signed to SST Records, releasing two albums in 1988 and 1989. The band went on hiatus in 1990, with Joe Nolte feeling "sort of disheartened" after the band's first national US tour (they had previously only played in California). So this is The Last's debut single with two melodic power pop tracks and they could really nail some harmonies that were pretty atypical in early punk. A true classic!!!

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STENGTE DØRER - Sangen Om Vår Vidunderlige Verden 1988

This is the debut album, released by the German label Double A Records, by this Norwegian language hardcore/punk band from Oslo, with origins in the environment around the Blitz house Pilestredet, started in the spring of 1985. Those who were behind the band was Anders Eide (guitar), Harald Tredal (drums) & Dag Rasmussen (bass) - all had a history in Svart Framtid - and Hasse Jørgensen (vox). The songs are all decorated in the typical merciless hardcore/punk sound which is a mark of quality and here I must not long explain what's on it. Tough and loud tunes, brilliant production and each number is a blast. They manage with their energy and untamed rage to ignite a fire. And for those who do not speak the Norwegian language, like me, an English translation is attached, one more plus point. - So, the holy thunder god Thor has once again slammed mercilessly. Great band, awesome record, download obligation!!!! 

- Huge Thx to Fredrik -

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