What some have called the most original and best album of the original punk generation was unleashed forty-years ago in November 1978, Germfree Adolescent by X-Ray Spex stands as the pinnacle of what punk would accomplish in its first incarnation.
The dynamo that drove this punk-rock strike of defiance was loaded with anti-capitalist view which all spewed from an unlikely young girl, only nineteen at the time of its recording but this respectable, well-mannered young girl with braces on her teeth which were a feature when she smiled, but then she would open her mouth to sing and the shy, quiet Marion Joan Elliot-Said would transform into the high-priestess of a revolution, Poly Styrene.
The album opens with a four-syllable disdain:Ar-ti-fic-ial! as it phases the music launches and this Richard Hell in knickers summons up the powerful and depressed emotions of the day in a twelve-track assault. It becomes clear that Poly Styrene delivers conviction in every word she sings, every sneer and roll of the tongue, each phrase is delivered with the same oppressed intensity as the last.
As for the musicianship of X-Ray Spex, they provide the perfect backdrop for Styrene to wage a verbal war, this album contains some of the best drumming on a punk record over which a very loud, old-school guitar pumps distorted rock and roll riffs that build in intensity throughout the albumthe inclusion of a saxophone to give the songs an extra depth may not be not common on records of the ‘Generation-X’ but it works here in galvanizing the sound.
The songs themselves are not love songs as such, they are rather the points of everyday society such as; Warrior In Woolworths, Plastic Bag, I Am A Poseur and of course the title track, not many bands could make songs about personal hygiene and supermarkets cool, though these themes make the album relatable and accessible to the youth of the day and stands as a time-capsule of late 70s culture.
Germ Free Adolescents
I know you're antiseptic, your deodorant smells nice
I'd like to get to know you, you're deep frozen like the ice
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
Cleans her teeth ten times a day
Scrub away, scrub away, scrub away the S.R. way
You may get to touch her if your gloves are sterilized
Rinse your mouth with Listerine, blow disinfectant in her eyes
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
Cleans her teeth ten times a day
Scrub away, scrub away, scrub away the S.R. way
Her phobia is infection, she needs one to survive
It's her built-in protection, without fear she'd give up and die
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
Cleans her teeth ten times a day
Scrub away, scrub away, scrub away the S.R. way
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
She's a germ free adolescent, cleanliness is her obsession
Cleans her teeth ten times a day
Scrub away, scrub away, scrub away the S.R. way
The original 1978 track list:
Side A;
Art-I-Ficial
Obsessed with You
Warrior in Woolworths
Let's Submerge
I Can't Do Anything
Identity
Side B;
Genetic Engineering
I Live Off You
I Am a Poseur
Germ Free Adolescents
Plastic Bag
The Day the World Turned Day
Kevin Burke November 2018
New PALAIS IDEAL single and video clip with unique choreography by Burning Bridges!
New wave / post-punk duo PALAIS IDEAL (NL/UK) are proud to present their brand new single and video 'Context Collapse'. The new single has been produced by John Fryer (Depeche Mode, NIN, Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, HIM). A moody, minimal and highly energetic video for the track has been choreographed by renowned dance company Burning Bridges.
Title track 'Context Collapse’ is reminiscent of early The Cure and The Sound, while the second track, 'A State Of Confusion’, boasts a Gang Of Four-inspired fiery groove.
PALAIS IDEAL combine melodic songwriting with a 'vintage' early 80s sound and vibrant live performances, developed at numerous international gigs. The duo's debut album 'No Signal' currently continues to receive international critical acclaim. A follow-up album, also produced by John Fryer, is currently in the making.
New album by BORGHESIA - Proti kapitulaciji (Against Capitulation) - Out now!
Against the capitulation of art, curiosity, equality, solidarity, mischief, diversity, wonder, empathy, sympathy, nonconformism, spontaneity, civil society, utopia, doubt, dreams, freedom, passion, revolt and critical thinking...
Slovenian electronic music pioneers and video art trailblazers Borghesia return with the new full-length album ‘Proti Kapitulaciji’ (‘Against Capitulation’) based on the timeless Pan-European poetry of Slovenian visionary Srečko Kosovel (1904-1926). During the eighties, the duo formed by AldoIvančič and Dario Seraval contributed to the blossoming of the European electronic body musicscene. Their releases for the cult indie label PIAS are considered as one of the heights of dark electronic sounds of the period. The band went on a hiatus just before the new millennium. A new Borghesia was formed and its membership expanded in 2009. Their comeback album ‘And Man Created God’(Metropolis Records, 2014) opted for a more orchestrated sound that crossed genre boundaries. A similar mindset governed the creation of the new LP.
‘Proti Kapitulaciji’ fuses erratic new wave and haunting industrial sounds with their trademark morbidly sexy ambience. The main novelty is a newfound soft spot for bowiesque arrangements. As the free-floating opener “Odprite muzeje” sets the pace, the air is permeated with fear of unrestrained nationalism. While primordial and rough, songs like “Kons” and “Moj črni tintnik” boast with their signature libidinal grooves. On tracks like “Destrukcije” or “Evropa umira”, the band’s experimental tendencies break loose, culminating in cinematic synth-driven soundtracks for the dying Europe. There is also the club-ready “Jaz protestiram”, an off-kilter industrial stomper worthy of Helena Hauff’s DJ set. The drowsy, hypnotic and chilling tones from singers Dario Seraval, Irena Tomažin Zagoričnik, Jelena Rusjan and Ivo Poderžaj provide the perfect foil for the groovy and paranoid instrumentals by guitarists Andraž Mazi and Sašo Benko. This multi-layered sonic collage of rhythm machines, samples, field and instrumental recordings, Stravinsky, volksmusik, cut-up sonic fragments and vocals, inspired by Luigi Russolo’s The Art of Noises (1913), was attentively crystalized and put together by Aldo Ivančič.
The album revolves around the striking poetic language of Srečko Kosovel. During his short but fruitful life as an adherent of unrestricted technological change, “the Nikola Tesla of modernist poetry” grew into an ardent critic of European politics. Years before Burroughs and Bowie, he invented the cut-up technique and wrote a poem called “Heroes”. His verbal explosives calling against sterile politics and petit bourgeois provinciality are now resurrected by Borghesia.
The album was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Aldo Ivančič. The cover comes from the talented artist Matej Stupica. Live visuals are provided by Boštjan Čadež and Lina Rica. “Proti kapitulaciji” will be released on October 23rd, 2018 on Moonlee Records in digital, CD and double 12” formats.
While in 2018 young producers opt for a rehash of the original EBM / industrial tropes, Borghesia aim for fresh explorations in sound. The result is an uncanny sonic examination of the European heart. It sounds murky and psychedelic, evoking a macabre feeling of emergency – as any urgent call against capitulation does. Borghesia loudly declares: It’s high time we put Europe on the shrink’s couch!
Tracklist:
1. Odprite muzeje 2. Kons
3. Na Piramidi
4. Ljubljana spi
5. Razočaranje
6. Jaz protestiram 7. Evropa umira 8. Razočaranja I 9. Moj črni tintnik10. Destrukcije 11. Rodovnik
12. Blizu polnoči
Borghesia will present their new album on two promotional concerts brought to you by Moonlee Records, Layerjeva hiša and Dvocikel:
30.10.2018 (Tuesday) at 21h – Kranj, Prešernovo gledališče Kranj
FB event // tickets
02.11.2018 (Friday) at 20h – Ljubljana, Stara mestna elektrarna
FB event // tickets
“Autobahn” was released to an unsuspecting public in November 1974, it is day zero of electro, minimalist, ambient and synth-pop, the very moment which inspired the synthesizer-experimentations of the late-1970s and the new-wave sound which dominated the 1980s.
Not the first ambient-electronic style release, not even by Kraftwerk but it was the first successful one. The album even contained a surprise hit, an edited down version of the title track broke the top-twenty in the U.S and U.K in May 1975, this release marked the arrival of the most influential musical-force since The Beatles.
An album based on the concrete infrastructure of Germany, the Autobahn, Kraftwerk take us on a journey, from entering the automobile to speeding through the landscape to tuning the radio and all the time the monotonous electronic-beats mirror the repetition of the journey.
With treatments of vocoder-sounds and organic voices the only natural comparison to vocals appears here as the remainder of tracks are entirely instrumental, however, do not be mistaken for thinking this is a completely electronic affair as instruments such as flutes, violins and guitar appear throughout mainly contributed by Klaus Röder, where as Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider structured the electronic development of the album.
This album is anything but aged, there is no deterioration in quality or style unlike some of the bands which gained inspiration from “Autobahn” and Kraftwerk as a unit.
From Bowie to Blondie, through to New Order and Siouxsie And The Banshees they all took direction from this point and into the future released by Kraftwerk.
Ralf Hütter – vocals, electronics
Florian Schneider – vocals, electronics
Klaus Röder – violin, guitar
Wolfgang Flür – percussion
Original 1974 Track Listing;
1.Autobahn
2.Kometenmelodie 1 ('Comet Melody 1')
3.Kometenmelodie 2('Comet Melody 2') 4.Mitternacht ('Midnight')
5.Morgenspaziergang ('Morning Walk')
VARSOVIE is a dark-rock / post-punk band created in 2005 in Grenoble (France) by Arnault Destal (lyrics, drums, music) et Grégory Catherina (vocals, guitars, music).
KILLING ANNA is taken from the third album of the band, COUPS ET BLESSURES, out in May 2018 on Sundust Records and recorded at Drudenhaus studio, Bretagne.
THE VIDEO was done in the spirit of the Film Noir by Guilherme Henriques in Porto (Portugal) with the actress Teresa Queirós.
In KILLING ANNA, the notions of threat and ever growing tension are constant. A woman signs with a name that reminds us of Anna Karenine from Tolstoy - a character who threw herself under a train. Either fictional double, fantasy or projection. Someone is ready to do something irreversible. Whatever the motion may be, the vertigo heightens, as if the night was decisive. The song incarnates such a night, when life seems to hang only by a thread, that can break at any moment.
Facebook : www.facebook.com/varsovie.propaganda
Bandcamp : www.varsovie.bandcamp.com
