Davova Psychoza - Antropofobia LP 

Label: Papagajuv Hlasatel Records; Year: 2015; Format: Vinyl LP

In 1979 my parents fled the former Czechoslovakia and its communist regime and we ended up in Switzerland where I spent most of my life. Davova Psychoza are from Bratislava in Slovakia where I was born and are active to this day, as a matter of fact they just embarked on their 35 years of Davova Psychoza Tour across Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Antropofobia was their first LP and was originally released in 1991 on Opus, a Major. According to the insert of the repress I am reviewing here the band even got some flack back then for doing so but Opus was a relatively small company and a DIY network barely existed after the fall of communism hence the band was happy someone took a chance on them and released the record. Totally understandable. Davova Psychoza formed in late 1987 and recorded their first demo two years later just before the communist party lost control. According to the liner notes inside the repress the band members remember that time as a once in a lifetime experience where the whole country was in a positive mood and the future looked bright. It was in this environment where Davova Psychoza wrote the material for this record and frankly one can hear it in the songs. Musically speaking the band was influenced by North American acts like Verbal Assault or SNFU, hardcore punk played fast but with lots of melodic hooks. On the other hand being from Bratislava with a tradition of older UK punk influenced bands such as Zona A or Extip some songs are just great mid tempo pogo punk hits. Lyrically it's an interesting album as well with some being very personal and others more about fun and drink. The production and the band member's fitness on their instruments and vocals add to an overall really enjoyable album from a band that on an international level is sadly not well known at all even though they have been going all these years having released five albums in the meantime. Highly recommended!