MAY 2004

On the turntables this month in Montpellier:

Motormark : Pop:Up (Popchild).
Katastrophy Wife : Blue Valient (Integrity Records).
Satirnine : Void of Value (White Jazz Records).
(Hooker) : (Hooker) (Hookersounds).
Tamara Williamson : The Arms of Ed (Ocean Music).

On the turntables this month in Oslo :

Rhythm king and her friend : I am disco (Kitty Yo).
The Butchies : Make yr life (Yeproc).
Juju Queen : Violence (Selfrelease).
Deerhof : Milk man (5 rue Christine).
Lali Puna : Faking the book (Morr music).

What Calamity wrote about you.......

.Hara kiri : Ha-Haha (self-release).
Pønk rawk Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrlz , here we go. The she-samourai will make misbehaved gentlemen prefer die by their own hands through some ancestral, suicidal tradtion... rather than go through theses Belgian Walkyries’ punishement. They will take your life, starting with your balls (in case you wondered, yes, Ah-Haha does open on 'Castration') Fast and efficient, tight abundantly sweaty, this album is CBGB's good, oestrogene powered and spits electricity on the face of sexists. They are often compared to x-ray spex because of the use of a sax, but besides this characteristic and their common punk taste, the exultant mood they have in common, the likeness should not be pushed too far., well, that my opinion, at least. The ladies are a bit more crude and sexually straightforward than x-ray Spex was. They actually remind me more of Les Batons Rouge, especially on a track such as ”Never trust a Man with a Tie.” Nothing really original, really, but a good, tight and pleasant album.

.Juju Queens : Violence (Self-release).
The record you have been longing for is finally available. Yes, dear readers, hear this mesage and rejoice, for the juju queens are back! After the excellent 3 tracks (Duties. Overthrow. Feed the Dogs) wrapped in (milk?) cardboard sprayed in black and red, we were all breathlessly waiting for their amazing new tracks of the purest post-punk we had loved at their gigs to be recorded (see, I told you you would be out of breath). 7 songs of the best rhythm deconstruction-reconstruction, of the most exquisite vocals alchemy of tones. A free musical exploration that turns into an odissey. The Au Pairs (with a couple more Lesley) meet the Raincoats in a Gertrude-like wonderland. This record is incredibly inspiring, empowering, straight to the point on every side. It introduces you to stripped rhythm-vocal duals evolving into stormy full band discourses. ”Vanish” could not give you a better representation of human communication-miscommuniation. ”Muder and Create!” Then it is ”Crux,” with the bass oopening and Iam sorry, it is such a great song I do not seem to be able to listen and write simultaneously. ”Female Behaviour” is pure genius with The Capricorns/Blue Monday-like vocals. It is about what they say and how they say it. Nothing is left out, this work is full, round and bouncing, heartbeats of all human intensities.
This record is perfect and necessar www.jujuqueens.com

.Rhythm King and her Friends :I Am Disco (Kitty Yo).
You might be familiar with the ladies’ sexy electro-beats if you have heard the remarquable ”Pants” on the Toxic Girls compilation, if you managed to find some of these amazing Kitty-yo vinyl e.p.s or if you saw them perform live in Germany or elsewhere (you, lucky bastard). If you do not have a clue about who we are talking about here, well, just say this, if asked: ”oh yeah, Rhythm King and Her Friends, they are the coolest, brightest, the most musically sensual trio with an amazingly attractive distant attitude. They are bathing in the milky jacuzi of the trendy electro world, out of which they are taking the piss. Of course I know them!” If you want to incist on the drum and bass (wow!!!'One Two'!) or clubby rhythms samples with Le Tigre-like vocals with a more playfully arrogant tone, you can as well...Let’s face it, it will not be the first time you pretend like this knowing something by parroting somebody else’s attitude. I did it too sometimes, wondering why, the every second I was doing it. Anyway, as long as you keep this record on the shelves next those by Electrelane and Le Tigre in your discotheque (you have to bend this alphabet a bit) and confess you are addicted to quite a few of these tracks, you are sure not to be shot in the by DIY, revengeful record reviewer.

.Deerhof : Milk Man (5 rue Christine-Kill Rock Stars).
Are you ready for some avant-garde pop? On your mark, set, go.... The first hint is on the cover. When I took it out of the envelope, the back showed first. First and revealed to my unbelieving eyes... the drawing of a strawberry skin opening on a bright yellow banana. First sample of the Twilight Zone jingle.... the first in a long series. It is a very fruity nightmare before Christmas this (undead) milk man is going through. 13 incredibly strange stories told through rhythm breaks and fragile Blonde Redhead-like vocals with dramatic, thrilling keyboards (”Giga Dance” rule!). Weird combination... like some pop jazz with a drum machine. The poor ghastly creature is being attacked by sharp strawberries and monstruous bananas...This album is a trip, nothing to do with the pre-chewed, predictable soup we get fed day in, day out. Deerhof is reinventing something that was not existing before.
Viva iconopoptica!

.
.Kai : Oregon (Mr Lady records).
The soft side of the punk rocker that talks to you personally and takes you to a farm in Oregon. It smells like childhood, fresh wood and 8 mm filming form the 70s. 11 tracks of folk guitar, confessions and a few enjoyable surprises: "The World's Greatest Haircut," addressed to feminist icon Amelia Earhart and "Catch", a cover of the Cure. Yes, it is a very personal piece of work (although The Butchies' Melissa and Alison appear on some tracks, among a couple of other musicians/friends), but isn't there where the political starts? This record is hers and mine and yours, personal, as I said.

> go to page 2
> go to the ups and downs archives section