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.