Killwave - Death By Distortion (2015)

It is neat to hear how genres pile upon one another as time becomes compressed with the benefit (or disadvantage depending to one's desires and philosophies) of retrospection. This chronometric warping does allow for redevelopment of ideas to take place in interesting ways. A nice example is the aptly named Death by Distortion by Killwave.

The dudes in Killwave are familiar with a great deal of 80s British new wave. It's evident in throughout Death By Distortion, down to the vocals that seem to have taken on a mild accent, albeit not clearly a British one, but surely not what I know most Chicagoans to sound like either. Furthermore, Killwave isn't strictly a new wave band, they're a good deal heavier. They've woven in industrial rawness, metal guitar progressions and the vocals smack of what I've always thought of as horror punk. The lyrics vary from bizarre to comedic to mildly creepy, mostly encompassing all three at once in some degree. Basically, there's a whole lot going on here and whole lot of it is excellent. A very well-produced album, the effort the put in their irreverence is apparent and laudable. 

To be had here:
Killwave - Death By Distortion

YONI YUM - GREATEST (CL​)​HITS (2014)

What we have here is a very washed out post-punk album outta Minneapolis. YONI YUM are an echoey, chaotically surreal display of snyth-driven avant-garde. The songs seem as if they were recorded live, which very well could've been the case, and it has that oddly leveled balance of sounds that comes from a bootleg record, with lyrics that aren't intelligible, keys and guitars warped and even the drumming got fuzzy somehow. Basically, it is pretty fucking cool and a real treat for a lo-fi advocate like myself. Reminds me of some of my favorite live show or rather obscure bands I've only gotten to hear in similarly recorded manners. Videohippos and Bubonic Plague may be the best examples of what I mean, but I am sure most of you won't know either of those. Not the goddamn point, there is something analogous in your music listening experience if you're the sort that goes to house parties with out of town bands, galleries that have fucked up modern art on the walls and kindly weirdos playing instruments or even spend too much time in the less crowded corners of the internet.

GREATEST (CL​)​HITS is best heard with good speakers or headphones, for otherwise what little fidelity existing on the recording will fade into a nonmusical mess. That being said, it is also very good with some extremely cheap beer in the system and maybe a whatever else you've on hand. It is artistic, but is an non-artsy way. Anti-classly, and I dig that, especially when it involves snyths.

To be had here:
YONI YUM - GREATEST (CL​)​HITS

Menschliche Energie - Billy EP (2014)

While I normally throw a group of EPs together into a longer post, for whatever reason I want to say a bit more about Menschliche Energie. Perhaps it'll be clearer to both you and I by the time I finish this write-up. Now I'd never heard of Menschliche Energie before I discovered Billy EP after rolling around on bandcamp pages for a few hours. That's not terribly unusual for any of us at Spacerockmountain to do, but I've always felt a strange need to assume the role of a champion for the music I find in this method. Sure I talk up and will recommend the shit out of submitted material, even follow the band myself and make sure I am not missing out on new releases, but I always envision myself as a loud fanboy in this scenario. I am cool with all this, in fact I enjoy the fantasy, or slight reality, that I'm your buddy giving you a heads up on some cool tunes. It changes, however so subtly, when I pull out of the infinite depths of the internet a particular EP, whether or not these fellas are actively seeking promotion or not, and tell you, "This is some real tight shit."

It is that infiniteness that is the issue. It isn't just infinite to me, but to everyone using the internet, and I am just making more infinity every time I feel the need to write something up and publish it here. Truth is I want you guys to be like "yeah, that's cool" but most of the time I am just staring at a void full of endless more music to hear, books to read and movies to watch that can make one feel uncultured despite a lifetime of consuming memes and media.

Yet in a desperate hope that this does fall down some endless void, I'm telling you that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Menschliche Energie's Billy EP. It is unsurprising at how well-crafted their songs are once I knocked around their bandcamp page. They've got releases from as far back as 2003. These guys are veterans at what they do. And what they do is snyth-heavy post-punk rock. It's absurdly able to blend a James Dean, leather jacket rocker style with the ultra-Mod and flamboyant 80s music that succeeded that notion. The songs are brief and don't jerk themselves off in anyway for having been a longstanding band from Nürtingen, Germany, but rather show a seasoned musicianship that knows excellently how to cut off the excess fat, leaving just enough to make it tasteful but not chewy.

To be had here (NYP):
Menschliche Energie - Billy EP

Broken Cups - Slaves Of The Grave (2012)

Just like I suppose the readership of this blog enjoys, I too find it a neat thing to get solid recommendations for what to listen to. So from the same lady that sent in Nohopekids and plays herself in Piresian Beach, we're all in good fortune that she's spreading the word about Broken Cups. Like the other two mentioned bands, Broken Cups are from Budapest and play some remarkable lo-fi rock. What's different is that they've got that snyth-heavy post-punk vibe in full swing. A force to be reckoned with as they play it, namely dark and almost creepy while being loud and catchy all the same. Can't claim to have a bunch of reference points for this sort of post-punk (though I wish I had more) but it reminds me of Teenage Panzerkorps most of all because of the singing my feeble monolingual mind can't understand. Central European languages can sound awful wild to my ears but that's really only a bonus. Like contemporary acts, for example Little Girls or Girls Names, they've got that rapid beat backing them up that recalls Josef K and Orange Juice of Scotland's heyday of post-punk yet also has they all-pervasive snyth that makes me think of Suicide. Basically, I wanna say these guys did it right and I gotta say thanks Zsófia, this certainly made my day.

To be had here:
Broken Cups - Slaves Of The Grave

Horrid Red - Empty Lungs (2010)

Horrid Red is something else. Pretty sure I saw them on a blog somewhere or another, but I just got to listening to them over the last week. Like the band that it sprouted from, Teenage Panzerkorps, Horrid Red makes dark, eerie post-punk with singing comprised of rather haunting German. While Teenage Panzerkorps is intense, big and loud this is a more subtle and focused version. Brooding and echoic the music makes the German seem otherworldly, but there is more to Empty Lungs than the spookiness and foreignness. It is a remarkably well blended new wave and kaurtrock elements that makes for a real nostalgic feel to the album. I am unsure what would motivate one to make such sounds as these, but I am sure glad someone did. Finally, it is worth noting that both Horrid Red and Teenage Panzerkorps releases are available on bandcamp for the damned fine price of five dollars, even for full-length releases.

To be had here:
Horrid Red - Empty Lungs [256 VBR kbps]

The Prima Donnas - Drug Sex & Discotheques (2001)

This bands name always makes me think of high school gym class where the teacher and many of the upperclassmen had a habit of denouncing everybody as "damned prima donnas." Not to wax on about the hours spent playing an indoor form of curling, but this music was released just prior to my enrollment in high school (I like to place a date on myself). I sure loved this sort of thing in back then, noisy punk with a dancey rhythm, and as I have been stonewalled from downloading anything fresh and the way my PC won't work for more than a few minutes you are getting shit I remember liking at one point. The music is one of first in a slew that burst into the indie world at the turn of the century along with bands like The Rapture, The Fever, The Fitness, and ending with the popularization of Franz Fredinand and the like. Musically, they are heavily influenced by the 80s love affair with keyboards, adopting the instrument to noteworthy effect. Lastly, their page at peekaboo records is full of fun hyperbole, but they are English snyth-punk musicians, so it is expected.

To be had here:
The Prima Donnas - Drug Sex & Discotheques [192 kbps]