Got some new submissions coming up, but in the meantime how about a dive into Bandcamp new releases, see what type of crazy stuff's come out in the past few weeks.
Critical Threat -- 4 song demo, Arizona oi:
Brand new nutty French powerviolence -- 21 songs, around 20 minutes. One song is called "Our Kids Will Spit On Us," and if that's not a reason for you to check this out, I dunno what you're even doing here. On this planet, I mean:
Three song release from Spanish hc trio Chimpancé:
If it's punk and from the Netherlands, odds are I'll like it. Those folks know how to do it:
Poland's Syf Records, who I've featured a number of times on CNQ, because they're awesome, has another awesome release:
I think I missed this August 2021 release from Omaha's best, BIB:
And finally, shameless self-promotion dept., the Legless Crabs have a new album out on Metal Postcard Records, and between you and me, it kicks ass:
Back in late July I posted a good review of Brooklyn-based ambient producer and musician Corntuth's latest album The Desert Is Paper Thin, and since then it's been a feature on Bandcamp Daily, which is always nice when I get to scoop them. (Bandcamp Daily I used to think was uncool, but I have since come around and now I think they're doing a good job). The vinyl for The Desert Is Paper Thin is now 80% funded. Meditative "Ambient Americana" is a good way to describe it, take a listen, and if you like it, you should head over to Corntuth's Bandcamp page to contribute so the album gets funded. I did, it's great stuff and should sound rad on the hi-fi:
You know Syf Records has been cranking out the jams, as that's what they do. Here's some of the newest stuff from the lo-fi, high powered Polish micro-label, and not what you'd expect, either. Instead of the raw, noisey rock y electro that Syf typically trucks in, WSZY's debut EP, .GNIDY is post-rock -- or maybe, heavy jazz, man, yeh -- Polish heavy jazz. I think you would dig it the most. Like a lo-fi cross between Morphine and Tortoise, the 3 song instrumental EP is certainly a lot more intentionally musical than previous Syf releases, the ones I've heard anyway. Syf cranks out a lot of material, which is a good thing, but I'm not able to keep up with the expanding catalog like I'd like to. At any rate, you can order WSZY's .GNIDY on cassette via the Syf Records Bandcamp page, and you should, this is exceptional stuff, a ton of fun:
That Little Beards single, "What's The Point (It's Funny)", from their forthcoming album The Legend of Spectacular Living, is now streaming, and you can pre-order the album on Bandcamp. Smartwave gothy post-punk from Dallas, check it out:
Kingfisher is a rock duo from Sweden and their new single, "Lover to Discover," is available on Bandcamp. They describe themselves as a combination of '90s MTV Rock and 00s British indie, which I think sums up this single nicely:
A desire to scratch a symbol on a cave wall, or beat a drum, or ululate, or tell a story.
Imagine that.
Imagine being present at the beginning of our history, and then, hundreds of thousands of years later, being present for the end of it. Like you lived all that time. I bet you'd be glad to finally see shit wrap up.
Loyal CNQ readers will know Sean Hocking's Metal Postcard Records is bad-ass and indispensible if you want to stay hep af in our modern age.
Halfway through 2021. Scratches on a cave wall.
"Love is a Healing Force" is a taster single from a new act called The Kessler Cascasde. 7 minutes of off-beat bedroom blue-eyed soul with a positive message. I am inspired:
Also from Metal Postcard, Graham Domain has a new 9 song album out. A lot of the songs on it are also long. Here's a shorter one though. Graham's a serious talent:
Speaking of 7 minute long tracks from Metal Postcard, and the opposite of real talent, I'd be remiss to not feature "Abandon All Dope," the last track off Occult Character's new Metal Postcard release, The Song Remains The Stain. Around an hour of lo-fi histrionics, courtesy yours truly:
I did an interview with Syf Records a while back and they've been steadily releasing stuff since -- now they've got their first cassette release, which is exciting. It's all their KILØFF EPs in one place:
This first cassette released earlier this month was quickly followed by two more cassette releases!
Soma Crew is based out of York and has a new "twin" vinyl release, Out of Darkness/Into Light courtesy Vinyl Eddie Records. The 12 songs are all around 5 minutes, give or take. I haven't listened to the whole thing, but the four or five tracks I listened to are rad. Psych in a Brian Jonestown Massacre vein.
Here's a video for their single, "Mighty Forces:"
Uchylak is from Wroclaw, Poland. Going back to 2019, he has eight albums and eight EPs on Bandcamp, and I love an artist who is so prolific that his friends tell him "I can't keep up with your output." I can relate.
Super-cool instrumental electronic music, the artist says it's "a mix of techno-industrial, ambient, drone and lo fi." This song has a Ministry vibe I love:
The Poppermost is a one-man band from Glasgow with a new album due out on the 30th called Hits To Spare, which will be made available on vinyl and CD in the US courtesy Think Like A Key Music. A Beatles/Bands Influenced By The Beatles-influenced project, "Up Against It" is the B-Side of the first single:
Velvet Blue Music is a label out of Huntington Beach, California, I'm interested in digging into their catalog a little more. There's a number of bands on their Bandcamp page from the DFW and Texas. I love this track from Dallas artist Bethan, whom I've never heard of. An eerie jazz vocal:
I look forward to listening to more of the Velvet Blue Music catalog soon.
Here in the Year of our Lorb 2021, there are so many people making so much music. What a time to be alive. And you'll never listen to it all. It's a wild scene, man.
The False Positives are out of Rochester, NY, and I have been there twice. They've got a really cool record store called The Record Archive that has a bar in it.
This is The False Positive's eighth digital single release since December 2018. Fun lo-fi power pop:
Swedish duo Pink Milk have got to be going places. Gothy shoegaze, reverb to the max -- and what a fun video:
That's half a month's worth of quality submissions right there. I'll try for the other half of July submissions here soon.
Predator is punk out of Atlanta, and they've got a new 11 song digital album called "Spiral Unfolds" due out May 28 from Total Punk Records. I've had a sneak peek at the full album and can attest to total radness through the length of the album:
Also got a sneak peak at Heavy Metal's "V: Live at the Gas Station Fighting the Devil," a 12 song digital release from the German band, also on Total Punk, and due out July 23. I wanted to like this rock'n'roll more than I did -- it's not bad, has some hits and misses -- the singles available for listen, "Motorbike" and "I Am Something" are swell, but the punky cover of "Burning Love," ("Gebrannte Amore") isn't as fun as the band thinks it is, and as the album was wrapping up I was kinda ready for it to wrap up. My favorite was "Centipede Venom," a brut piece that stood out from all the ironic garage punk pranksterism.
New CNQ fave Syf Records has been crankin out the hits, here's the latest, a two song digital release of lo-fi lovin':
Since I posted that Syf Records interview, the prolific Polish micro-label has cranked out three new EPs, including this, Kidz Against, featuring a 5 year old on vox and a 7 year old on drums. Ain't nothin' more punk than this 4 song EP:
Also from Poland, long established label Nikt Nic Nie Wie has this available via digital download, or cassette, but there's only one cassette left as of this writing. Two song release from 1999 by a presumably Polish band called TISSURA ANI. Cool alt-rock that could've been released today, doesn't sound dated despite it is 22 years old:
Here recently I fell in love with the noisy, lo-fi output of Poland's Syf Records. I reached out to Ingusz from Syf to get a feel for what, exactly, is going on here:
CNQ: So here is what I've gleaned from the Syf Records Bandcamp page. Syf Records is a small DIY lo-fi garage punk label out of Szczecin, Poland. Since February of this year, Syf has released 14 EPs from 12 different bands, each as lo-fi, raw and as rockin' as the previous one. From what I can tell, some of these are first time digital releases of old demo tapes going back as far as the 1990s, and some are new stuff recorded on Zoom or an iphone. Can you tell us more about who Syf Records is, and how it came to be?
Ingusz: Yeah, we already have 15 EPs and working on new compilation so probably we are one of the most productive labels aroudn the world haha. But this is due to the concept we adopted and which relates to our view of the creative process and its relationship to community.
We do not want to get involved in the typical process of creating albums, but we inspire our community to frequent meetings and creative work in the collective - hence the new releases, of which there are indeed a lot. Hence, there are new bands that are formed in new personal constellations, because it is very fluid situation between band. All members of the collective work together and have the power to attract other talented, creative people.
Of course, the pandemic does not make the task easier for us, for example Vulgar, a violent on stage and devastating drummer, often helps people as a paramedic instead of being with us on rehearsal room.
And yes, you’re right, we also have some stuff from the past, like Parole In Liberta, solo project from Szczecin from ’90. And this is not the last word of PiL.
CNQ: Despite some stylistic differences in these releases (i.e., some are a little more electro, some are more noise oriented, some are more post-punk, etc.), there's certainly an overarching lo-fi sound threaded through these. Does the label have a mission statement?
Ingusz: We don’t think about that as "mission statement” but for sure we attached to DIY way of thinking and I think lo fi sound is part of it. This is the best way to catch this special moment when few people combine their skills, their expression and create something. That's why you can find in SYF scary noise punk from INSTRYBUTR or more new wave / post punk from Salnos, more experimental attitiude from KILØFF or event lofi country from SZLAM. This is the moment that was captured. This is pure emotion and we love to make it possible to see it the light of day.
CNQ: I looked up Szczecin, on Wikipedia. For readers who, like me, had not heard of the city before, Szczecin is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Population-wise it's about the size of Tulsa, Oklahoma, here in the States. What can you tell us about Szczecin's garage punk scene -- a little of its history, is it generally political, anti-political, what's the current fashion, or anti-fashion -- anything to give us a feel for who's putting out these killer recordings?
Ingusz: Szczecin is a unique city in Poland because it is very ‘western’. It is located near west border, just over an hour from Berlin and this influence is very important, both in terms of lifestyle and art.
In Poland it is often said that "Szczecin is not Poland anymore". This is because until 1945 Szczecin was a German city, but after World War II the borders changed and Szczecin joined Poland. During the Cold War and the Iron Curtain, Szczecin was also unique, because as a port city it was a window to the world. We grew out of these feelings.
Today it is a city where different cultures meet and it has a great influence on art and music.
The punk scene has been living underground for years, organizing itself into various collective groups that cooperate with each other, and until the pandemic, concert and musical life flourished.
It is worth getting to know the compilation of Szczecin's DIY underground from the 80s and 90s:
Now we are trying to breathe new life in a more disorganized way. Seemingly.
CNQ: My touchstone for sound like this is Estrus Records, Homestead Records, and In The Red Records. What are some of the bands/labels that influence Syf Records and the bands on Syf? Are the bands on Syf all from Szczecin and the surrounding area?
Ingusz: We started as a local label associating people from Szczecin, but we are in contact with our friends from different parts of Poland and we do not rule out the possibility of extending the cooperation. It would be great!
Thanks for the appeal, it's great labels! we certainly draw from what grew up in the Szczecin underground, it is one of our inspirations. I have already mentioned the influence of Berlin. There are people with very open heads around Syf, so we soak up loud sounds from the USA or Australia, we are impressed by the egg punk trend, cold post-punk from Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and Russia, and experimental approaches to punk from Japan, California and the UK.
We have a lot of plans for the near future and there will certainly be new materials. Will the intensity be maintained? It does not matter, but this is the way we want to act.
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Check out the first Syf Records compilation, "Our Ugly 15":
Bandcamp Friday is in 7 days, and I plan to buy the entire Syf Records discography on that day. A micro-label from Poland that is cranking out the nuttiest, most lo-fi punk/electro/industrial/noise I've heard in a while. I think some of it is (probably first ever) digital re-releases from the last thirty years, and some of it is recent/new. I could be wrong. I'm going to try and get in touch with the label for an interview, I'm absolutely enamored with this stuff. Here's a smattering:
So anyway. I've been thinking about the blog and getting back into it. Here's a quick manifesto. I want to:
1. Have fun listening to and writing about new music. I reserve the right to have fun and write about other things as well.
2. Help underground artists reach a handful of cool folks with a discerning ear and a wide range of taste -- and yeh, after 9 years, I'm talking about you, friend-o! Turns out you're cool af.
3. Bandcamp, Youtube, and Soundcloud links are the easiest way for me to share your stuff. If you want me to disseminate your awesome sounds to my extremely limited audience, send me a Bandcamp, Youtube, or Soundclound link.
4. I want to keep up with the blog in a way that it doesn't become a headache for me.
So after kvetching about it for a good two or three years I finally tried my hand at actual music reviews. The end all be all of that experiment was, it made keeping up with the blog feel more like an assignment, or a job, than a fun way to listen and share music I like and my dummy thoughts. And jeeze, all I wanna do is have fun -- doing something actively not fun is just not in my DNA, if I'm not doing it as a transactionary precaution so I don't end up homeless. Thanks Capitalism!
Moving forward, I'll probably get a wild hair to do actual critical reviews every now and then, but mostly I'd rather listen to something, say 'hey that's cool,' share it on the blog with a quick note on where the artists are from and what kinda music it is, why I think it's cool, and move along.
If you contact me and I don't respond or post about your tunes, I hereby apologize.
I'm currently playing Cyberpunk 2077, and really getting into it. In upcoming posts if I rant a little about my leftist politics, or reminisce about some old music video or album I enjoy, don't give me shit about it.
That's all I was doing with CNQ for the longest time anyway. Maybe there is a place for CNQ in the current 2021 music-related blogosphere. Maybe some people like the same stuff I like, and enjoy suggestions.
Since its inception in 2012, CNQ has been ad-free. So there's that.
Syf Records is a DIY label from Poland. The catalog is 9 releases, all noisy lo-fi weird shit. Some of it snythy. I've really been enjoying it, especially this:
Plaguestate is hardcore scream-o stuff from the Bay Area. At first the vocals turned me off, that type of screaming typically is just not my bag, but by the end of this 4 song EP, I was impressed. Recommend a listen:
From Buffalo, NY's Swimming Faith Records, the score to an invisible horror movie Surf punk excellence:
