Urgh!

 

Yesterday's post has tempted me to once again Urgh! A Music War, a film from the eighties. Director Derek Burbridge's concept is simple in principle: go to concerts in London, New York and elsewhere and film the current punk, wave and reggae scene.

The result is a fantastic overview of this music from both sides of the Atlantic. I can still remember having to drive to the next bigger city with some friends to see this film. Some of the artists were known to us by name, but very few of them performed in southern Germany at the time. 

After this film, each of the three of us had a band that we particularly liked and bought a record from them as quickly as possible. For me, it was Echo and the Bunnymen and Gang of Four, who I have followed faithfully ever since.

What also makes the compilation of concert recordings special is that it features musicians who were far removed from the normal clichés of punk, such as John Cooper Clarke and Klaus Nomi.

While the British bands are still holding back, The Cramps and Dead Kennedys show us the true and raw energy that characterized punk.

And finally, some film documents of bands that have unfortunately been forgotten, such as Au Pairs and Alley Cats and bands like Magazine and XTC, who played a major role in shaping new wave and punk.

The Trapper's Act

A new post-punk band from Leeds came to my ears this week with their first single. Yard Act are one of those rare bands building their sound on harsh guitars, a drum machine and an accented bass (borrowed by Stevie Wonder's Superstition). It is the sound Arctic Monkeys tried to make in their early days, citing Hacienda-inspired tunes and vocals like something between Nick Cave and John Cooper Clarke. A rough diamond in these days.

Yard Act · The Trapper's Pelts

The Year Punk Broke

A few weeks ago Cherry Red released a three CD-Compilation of music that made punk-rock as we knew about it. The first punk singles were released in 1976 but the first album came to our ears one or two years later when the bands were able to play more than three songs in a row. This compilation is a retrospective to the very early sound of this movement. Most of the songs were under two minutes and showed us the possibilities of what could happen. Mostly raw and full of enthusiasm for a new kind of music that made me change my fondness to a new kind of music. Fast, different and loud - what made me stamped until now. 

John Cooper Clarke - Innocents

The Only Ones - Peter and the Pets

The Cortinas - Defiant Pose

The Count Bishops - I Need You

Doctors Of Madness - Bulletin

Post War Glamour Girls ...

... are a four-piece band from Leeds and they are active since seven years. Their sound is in between post-punk with an Bad Seeds-atmosphere. I never heard of them before until I got the news that they will release their third album Swan Songs soon. It is a perfect production torn between the sound of the early 80's and the musical possibilities of today. Most songs are lead by an hypnotic bass, steady drums and sporadically guitar outbursts. For me it is one of the best records that find the perfect way between old traditions and today's sound. As far as I know the band's name is inspired from a song  by John Cooper Clarke and if it is true it wasn't the worst inspiration. Some might call it retro but I just call it great and at the hight of time. The more I listen to this record I think it is one the best one's this year so far.  Give them a listen - it will be worth.