Lost Kids - Bla Bla LP

Label: Medley Records; Year: 1980; Format: Vinyl LP

I am glad that King Diamond is not the only musical export Denmark was able to produce, otherwise this Scandinavian country would not be even on the map, at least the one I am looking at on my wall. The ever growing fan base of KBD punk will of course be familiar with the "Cola Freak" EP by Lost Kids, but I would assume that not that many people have given this LP a proper chance. While it is true that a good third of the seventeen songs to be found on this LP are either silly pop or new wave, the ten other songs are still ass kicking punk rock smashers in the cola freak fashion with those awesome dual male/female vocals, clicking in anywhere between one and two minutes to keep your adrenalin flowing. I remember owning Bla Bla 2 as well, which moved even further away from the punk roots, and only had maybe a handful of good songs to bolster. Quite the contrary is the case here with the majority of the songs still being refreshing Dansk Punk!

Nog Watt - Fear EP

Label: Revenge Records; Year: 1985; Format: 7"Vinyl

Before I go on to say anything about this particular release I would like to ask why in the heck has this not been reissued yet? God, it's 2014 and nearly thirty years have passed since the release of this absolute classic from the Netherlands. These four women from Amsterdam just knew how to write angry and pissed off politically minded hardcore punk tracks, through and through. While the majority of the six songs on this EP are fast, and well executed, it is in my opinion the title song "Fear" that wins the title of the stand out track, a mid-tempo, mean and gloomy song, just plain perfect. I honestly haven't listened to this little platter in a good while, but when putting it on today I just held my breath, and realized how lucky I am to be still able to enjoy this sort of music. A superb release that should be made available again for a new generation!

Update June 2022: Eight years have passed since my original post and while reviewing the reissues of the two Rutto EPs from Finland I discovered that Final Doomsday Records has reissued this classic in 2021. Hurry up before it's too late!!!

Rejectors - Thoughts of War EP

Label: Fartz Records; Year: 1982; Format: Vinyl 7"

There is really not all that much that I intend on saying about this EP other than the fact that the Rejectors, who were from Seattle/WA, played politically-minded fast and furious hardcore punk that was typical for Reagan-era acts of this kind. This EP was recored in early '82 and delivers 9 angry numbers that are hard to distinguish from one another, yet will still convince anyone into early '80s US hardcore punk. The band went on to record a split-LP with much better known Seattle act The Accused a year after this EP was released. Good stuff!

Horrorcomic - I don't mind/England 77 7"

Label: Fan Club; Year: 200?; Format: Vinyl 7"

What we've got here is a bootleg pressing of an incredibly rare, and incredibly good 7" that was originally released on Lightning Records in 1978. Horrorcomic are a bit of a mystery when it comes to their band history, and in the past it has been said that the band actually recorded these tracks as '60s R&B act Downliners Sect in disguise. I could not find any information backing this up, but rather found facts that before becoming Horrorcomic, these fine gentlemen were active as the Crackers since the early '70s, and released a pretty good glam influenced 7" in 1975 with "Judy, Judy, Judy" on it. Since they didn't see any future in continuing playing that type of sound, they jumped on the punk wagon, and as a result of that released three 7"s, with the last one having been withdrawn and resulting to be the rarest of all of them as only a handful were pressed. The one herein reviewed was the middle one, and often viewed as their best one. Both tracks are stomping '77 punk hits at their very best with choruses and chords that will definitely get you out of your armchair to pogo around like crazy. The singer, Roger Rep aka Roger Semor, is an executive of the Sanctuary Records company and therefore it should be of no surprise that a compilation CD of the entire Horrorcomic catalogue was released on said label a few years back.

Kriminella Gitarrer - Complete Studio Recordings + Demos LP

Label: Klippan Records; Year: 1999; Format: Vinyl LP

A highly interesting release here by Kriminella Gitarrer from Klippan, a small town in Sweden. These first generation punk rockers were just kids when they managed to release three 7"s between '78 and '79, and all of them don't quite sound alike. The first one was apparently already sought after just two years after its release and was compared to the sounds of the swedish highways during rush hour. Well, I can see where the fanzine writer at the time was coming from, but I must add that the first 7" and the demo tracks on the B-Side of this collection are in parts noisy proto-hardcore, and we're talking '77 and '78 here, impressive for a group of 15 year olds from small town Sweden. It might have been the distance to bigger cities and those scenes that provided them with the ability to really build on their own sound instead of trying to sound like another band. The 2nd and 3rd 7"s, here to be found on the A-side, along the 1st one, are to a degree more melodic, musically more developed, and pop oriented, but in my opinion those are the best tracks the band has ever recorded as they are true '77 punk smashers. Apparently the band only ever played fewer than ten gigs, and this release looks like a bootleg even though it has an insert with all the info on the band and the history. While the original 7"s are impossibly hard to find and expensive, even this LP is not easy to get, and certainly not cheap. In the early 2000s a compilation CD with even more tracks surfaced, but the same problem prevails as it is hard to get a copy. A label specializing in reissuing hard to find international punk should really look into doing a proper release of this material as there are some exceptionally good songs Kriminella Gitarrer managed to crank out.

Gobblinz - S/T CD

Label: Nat Records; Year: 2006; Format: CD

This is a real mixed bag of a CD, compiling all the recorded material by UK band Gobblinz, whom were from Peterborough. Until I was given this CD by a friend of mine, I knew very little about this band, and looking at forums and groups on the net I discovered that their two original 7"s that came out in '78, and '79 respectively are sought after records. But, no worries, Nat Records also reissued those in their original artwork, and the five songs to be found on those two platters are the best this band recorded, and I mean by miles. And that's where I question a release such as this one, consisting of thirteen songs, of which two are pure disaster and could have been recorded by Queen for all we know, while the other six pass as okay, but not really worth the time. On a positive note though, and if you don't care whether you have their good songs on vinyl or CD, then the CD will save you some of your hard earned money. So, those five songs I have been mentioning, being "London", "Women in Love", "Love me too", "Communique" and "All this and more" are damn fine powerpop/punk tracks, without a single doubt. These guys came together as a band in 1975 and played in other bands before, which one can clearly hear as these people were seasoned musicians by the time they started Gobblinz, and the influences ranged from glam rock to pub rock, eventually being all incorporated into a New Wave sound. An interesting release for sure, but I would have been perfectly fine with just about half of the songs on the CD. Last but not least it might be worthwhile to mention that singer and guitar player Ian Graham went on to form The Name in late 1978, a band well known in the revival Mod scene of the late '70s. End and over.

The Sconeheads - Larry Grayson is a Gestapo Agent EP

Label: Nailed On; Year: 1999; Format: Vinyl EP

Larry Grayson was a well known English TV presenter, famous for hosting BBC's series 'The Generation Game'. I would only assume that the Sconeheads were not particularly fond of Mr. Grayson and made a Gestapo Agent out of him. All three songs on this EP were released posthumously and were originally recorded in 1981. The title track is my personal winner on this EP as it is an excellent primitive pogo smasher with really aggressive drumming, just loving it. The other two tracks are by no means bad, and I would describe them as sing along drunken punk rock in a real DIY way. This EP will appeal to people who like bands such as The Shapes for instance. Not an absolute must, but definitely worth discovering.

Cock Sparrer - Still A Teenager At Heart EP

Label: Unknown; Year: 1994; Format: Vinyl 7"

Cock Sparrer have become a world wide phenomenon in the last fifteen to twenty years, entertaining an ever growing fan base at festivals around the world, and they must have surely made a good buck out of that. I don't think they have seen a single penny from this release though, as this obscure EP came out well before they became everybody's favorite band in the new era of Cock Sparrer. While I have never been a huge fan of 'the Sparrer' I must say that the Decca years songs do appeal to me, and this EP contains six songs including smashers like 'Sister Suzie', 'Running Riot', and especially 'Run for Cover', an unbelievably good song. The difference between the Decca year songs, and the later material is that the glam/hard rock influence in the early songs shines through, whereas later releases started to lose that edge to them and evolved into more standard Oi-Punk. That's the way I have always felt, and many of you might see it very differently. I think you ought to be a die-hard Sparrer collector to chase this EP down, but if you see it somewhere laying around for a good price, then definitely pick it up as you won't regret it.

Tozibabe - S/T EP

Label: FV Zalozba; Year: 1986; Format: Vinyl EP

This 3-piece female band hailed from Ljubljana in Slovenia, and at the time of the release of this 4-track EP it was part of Yugoslavia. Tozibabe are probably to this day one of the best hidden gems when it comes to international hardcore punk acts from the '80s, most likely due to the scarceness of this EP, but above all as a result of four outstanding gloomy hardcore punk thrashers that could not have been any better. The desperation and urgency come through in each song, and these ladies knew how to write songs with an intelligent twist to them. A few years ago this was apparently bootlegged, but I for one sure hope that a label specializing in re-releases of this sort will pick this one up soon to give it a much deserved wider audience. A true classic!

Update September 2022: In 2015 Ne! Records reissued the 7" officially. Unfortunately those copies seem to be hard to get by now. 

TZN-Xenna - Dzieci z Brudnej Ulicy/Ciemny Pokoj 7"

Label: Tonpress; Year: 1985; Format: Vinyl 7"

TZN-Xenna were one of the numerous great Polish punk/hardcore acts that people in the West only started to discover well after releases as this one here have come out. Both tracks on this single are extremely well produced and fast-paced, but not to the point where the music just becomes noise and can't be distinguished from a Boeing 747 landing. The two songs are well crafted, and have due to the fact of having been recorded behind the so called "Iron Curtain" their own character. The band hailed from the capital of Warsaw and was founded as early as 1981, meaning they were one of the earliest punk rock acts from Poland. I need to seek out more recordings by this band that are in the vein of this 7" as this stuff is truly essential.

Terri Hooley & Richard Sullivan:  Music - Mayhem - Good Vibrations

Publisher: Blackstaff Press; Year: 2010; Format: Book

I would assume that anybody reading this review with an interest in DIY labels and the history behind them will be familiar with Good Vibrations, and the man behind the label and the various stores associated with it, Terri Hooley. Richard Sullivan, who has been an avid follower of Terri's fortunes since he was a teenager visiting Good Vibrations store in Belfast is the co-author of this book, and with having said this, it seemed like the right choice was made in regard to Terri's co-laborator for this book, which is a fantastic account of Terri's life with all its highs and lows, and there has been many of them. Of course I personally loved Terri's memories of discovering the Undertones, Rudi and countless other great punk rock/powerpop acts of the Northern Ireland scene, but I especially enjoyed the beginning of the book and the stories of Terri as a young kid and teenager, growing up in Belfast, being a hippy, and standing up for what he believed in, something he has done throughout his entire life. Needless to say that he hasn't just made friends, and this book also talks about arson, the paramilitaries and their actions against Terri, the many different locations his shop was forced to take as a result of that, and so on. This is a great read, from cover to cover!

V/A - Teenage Shutdown "She's A Pest" CD

Label: Teenage Shutdown!; Year: 2000; Format: CD

If you were like me a few years ago, and just started to really get into '60s garage punk, then the Teenage Shutdown series is definitely a good choice to start you off with, or at least one of the better ones. The songs on this particular installment are about girls, as the title "She's a pest" wisely suggests. Granted, the lyricists haven't had the best experiences with the fairer sex at that point, and I sure hope that in all those past decades since those songs were written things have drastically improved. The 18 songs are all revved-up garage punk hits, and there isn't a single song on here I don't like, but of course some tracks stand out, such as "Your Man is gonna leave you " by the Wind from California, or "I've gotta way with Girls" by the Lavender Hour, whom hailed from Texas. I promise you that I will review more Teenage Shutdown comps in the future, and even though I have this particular volume on CD, it is of course available on fine vinyl as well. All you need to do now is get a copy for yourself!

V/A - Vancouver Evolution EP

Label: Unknown; Year: Unknown; Format: Vinyl 7"

What we have got here is a must-have for everybody that loves early Canuck punk, or KBD punk simply because these four tracks on here are a fabulous time document of the very early Vancouver scene, including the Furies, the Skulls, the Stiffs and Victorian Pork. True fans of Canadian punk will know that the Skulls became D.O.A, and the Stiffs evolved into the Subhumans. All four tracks originally appeared on the Double-CD compilation Last Call - Vancouver Independent Music 1977 - 1988, hence my assumption is that some bootlegger just took them straight from those CDs and slapped them onto an EP, which includes a copied insert with information on the very beginnings of the Vancouver punk scene. Sure enough, an official release would have been nicer, but it is what it is, and since it's still readily available I don't see why you folks out there shouldn't own a copy of this!

Lepers - I wanna be God EP

Label: Unclean Records; Year: 1984; Format: Vinyl 7"

Very little is known about the Lepers from Colorado, except that they released three EPs between 1983 and 1984, this one here being the last one. You get to hear four strong hardcore punk numbers that vary in speed and are far from your generic fast hardcore that was prevailing in 1984. Instead you get intelligent and sarcastic songs stuck somewhere in the middle between more traditional punk rock and '80s hardcore. I have never heard the other two EPs, but should they be equally strong as this one then maybe some reissue label should slap all three on an LP. Just throwing out an idea...

Brain Death - Personal Affair EP

Label: Selfish Records; Year: 1987; Format: Vinyl 7"

Brain Death were one of the few Japanese hardcore punk outfits fronted by a female. Sachi, the vocalist, did a great job on this release as she must have screamed her lungs out when recording. With song titles such as 'Funny Dancing', 'Queer in the head' or 'Convert City' you certainly also get the sort of silly song titles or lyrics lovers of japanese hardcore punk bands have learned to appreciate. One can only presume that the band sat down and looked up words in a dictionary without being capable of actually using the right verbs and so forth. Regardless, it provides many of those releases with an added portion of humor, wanted or not. As for the 8 songs on this EP produced by Satoshi from S.O.B., you will not be surprised to learn that they're all super-fast, and noisy as hell. With Satoshi being involved in the production of this record, I can't help to feel that some of the songs have a bit of a Grindcore feel to them, but the record is certainly still a typical hardcore punk release on Selfish Records. A decent release, but not a must-have by any means. A bootleg version of this does exist, but to my knowledge is quite a few years old as well.

Gudon - Howling Communication EP

Label: Selfish Records; Year: 1987; Format: Vinyl 7"

Gudon were one of the many noisy hardcore punk acts forming in and around Tokyo, or any other major urban area in Japan throughout the mid-'80s. I am not aware where exactly they hailed from, but this 8-song EP was released on one of the prolific labels from Japan when it comes to this type of noise, Selfish Records. The ones amongst the readership familiar with these type of bands/releases will know exactly what to expect. If you haven't familiarized yourself with bands such as Gudon, then be aware that you'll be getting hardcore punk at its fastest and noisiest. The production on this particular record is great, something the Japanese often excelled in. The tracks are short, and clock in under two minutes. Here and there you get a bit of a Metal feel to the songs, but overall this is a solid release that will appeal to anyone into international hardcore punk from the '80s.

Nervous Eaters - Just Head 7"

Label: Penniman Records; Year: 1999; Format: Vinyl 7"

The Nervous Eaters from Boston, MA were one of the earliest punk'n'roll acts emerging from the 'Rat-scene' in Boston. Steve Cataldo on vocals/guitar was the main force behind this band, and originally this two-song gem was released in 1979 on Rat Records. None of the two songs are pure '77 punk, but rather a mixture of the punk-energy mixed with the raw sound of early '70s hard rock and glam rock, resulting in two hook-laden killer tracks that will blow your speakers. This is one of my favorite late '70s releases from the US, and everybody that equally loves the Real Kids or DMZ needs to have this in their collection.

GG Allin & The Jabbers - Occupation EP

Label: Blood2000 Records; Year: 2000; Format: Vinyl 7"

Who really needs an introduction to GG Allin, this true rock'n'roll legend from New Hampshire who would have turned 58 years of age yesterday. Many people will associate GG with his musical output and especially his antics from the latter stage in his career, the years leading up to his death in June of 1993 in New York City. A growing number of music fanatics will never the less know that in his early days GG produced some great '77 punk inspired punk'n'roll songs. This weird EP, apparently limited to 302 copies, is home to one rare track that was in the vault for nearly twenty years before this EP came out. 'Occupation' was recorded with MC5'ers Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson, and was originally planned to be included on the 'Gimme some head' EP. Needles to say that the song is an absolute scorcher, and testament to the greatness of the MC5. On the B-Side of this you'll find a decent live version of 'You hate me & I hate you' and a filler in the form of 'Pills', also live. Both sides also contain a few seconds of GG talking, but that's not what you need this EP for. 'Occupation' alone is worth tracking down this record, although it is scarce, and probably not cheap. I would presume though that the song can be found on another GG record...?

Malinheads - Probegepogt aus Spandau EP

Label: Pogar; Year: 1983; Format: Vinyl 7"

The Berlin based label Pogar released between 1982 and 1987 fewer than twenty records, but a good number of them are absolute highlights when it comes to international hardcore punk. This 3-song EP by Malinheads from Spandau/Berlin is probably one of the Top 5 german hardcore punk releases as the band delivered these songs in such a manner that easily put them on a level with Scandinavian bands such as Anti-Cimex, Rattus, Headcleaners, and so on. I heard the song 'Wargames' of this EP for the first time around 1986/87 when a friend of mine made me a compilation tape of various bands from around the world. The Malinheads song was one of the highlights on that tape and stuck with me for ever, hence I had to get my hands on this EP one day, which wasn't until at some point in the '90s. What you get here is scandi/discharge influenced hardcore punk at its best, brutal in delivery, and in my opinion unique when it comes to bands from Germany. While it is not easy and cheap to track down an original copy of this, Thought Crime Records reissued this classic in 2012, so no one needs to spend big bucks to get this must-have.

Sam Sutherland: Perfect Youth - The Birth of Canadian Punk

Publisher: ECW Press; Year: 2012; Format: Book

There was a time not even all that long ago, where I was asking myself why nobody has ever written a book on punk rock from Canada. It was a time when the first serious books about punk rock started to be published, and maybe it was just too early for this great land. But patience pays off, and in 2014 there is more than one book to be had about punk rock from those crazy Canucks. This particular one here though is special, in the sense that it covers the history of punk rock from coast to coast of this vast country. Sam Sutherland has done a fine job at doing so, and I understand that it must have been one hell of an undertaking to not only track down all the bands and its former members, but to actually organize the book so that it becomes clear to people not that knowledgable with Canadian geography where in the heck these guys came from. There are nineteen chapters in this book, and each one of them concentrates on a specific scene/city/band(s). While many of us seasoned punk rock enthusiasts are familiar with the historic backgrounds of bands such as the Viletones, Subhumans, the Diodes or D.O.A, I personally enjoyed most the chapters about the scenes I had very little knowledge about, such as Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan or Ottawa, to name a few. Winters in those places are harsh, brutal, and long, yet even in those remote areas scenes developed and flourished. It is those chapters that make this book a really great read, and I would have bought a book about those remote scenes themselves, but that's just nerdy me. Of course you'll also get to read about the scenes in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal and anywhere else in Canada. Great stuff, and I hope there is more to come in form of books and records that delve into the rich history of Canadian punk rock.