COMMENTS? contact chrismccousin@gmail.com

NICK CAVE AND THE PISSED JEANS; THE ACCURSED!

Reviewed; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds " Push the Sky Away", The Pissed Jeans "Honeys", and The Accursed! "Up with the Punks".



  

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS

PUSH THE SKY AWAY

VINYL EDITION WITH BONUS 7”

Nick Cave has featured in my record collection in various guises since I began record collecting in the Neolithic age. I started collecting Birthday Party stuff, which, at the time wasn’t on CD of course. There was quite a bit of fodder for a collector; apart from the albums. There was plethora of 7”s, 12”, and bootlegs to be had - 4 different versions of “Nick the Stripper”, for example. I managed to collect nearly all of them, different covers, coloured vinyl, I’d say I have a 99% complete collection of Birthday Party stuff. More stuff has even appeared on vinyl in recent years, mainly semi-bootlegs of the Boys Next Door.  Now and then I’ll put on a Birthday Party record when the mood strikes, but mainly I played them to death when I was younger.

This translated to an interest in Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and when I saw them in ’88, at Selinas and the Tivoli in Sydney, they put on some pretty intense shows which are forever etched into my memory. I also had the early records, and “Your Funeral my Trial” is one of my all time favourites to this day still. On vinyl, it has a wonderful aural and visual quality, being two 12” records all containing two songs a side, there is a different feeling almost for each side, yet it all flows together. The sound is amazing; there is plenty of “air” to let all the instruments breathe and have their own space alongside the vocals. Yet it’s still an intense and beautiful sounding record. I got the “remastered” CD a few years back to see if there was any difference in the sound quality, but I can’t say I could detect it. The accompanying DVD doco was interesting in that people interviewed extol the virtues of the vinyl version of this record.

I kind of kept collecting Nick Cave vinyl over the years, and when he puts out a new one, I’ll get it on vinyl. I had a hell of a time getting the last one for some reason, although I eventually sourced it. I pre ordered PUSH THE SKY AWAY, only to find a proliferation of this on vinyl in several shops.

So now to PUSH THE SKY AWAY. I reckon this is Nick’s best outing for quite a while. DIG LAZARUS DIG was rambunctious, THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS/ABBATOIR BLUES sprawling.  This is more back to basics, and there is a haunting beauty that permeates the record that reminded me ever so slightly of “Your Funeral My Trial”, and there are elements perhaps of “No more shall we part”, and “Nocturama”. Its stripped back, essentially letting the Bad Seeds do what they could do really well on past records, understated beauty with an element of danger. There’s less clatter, but it’s no less intense. Again, there’s plenty of “air” to let everything be heard. If you’re a fan, you may have already checked out the opening song “We No Who U R”, which gives you a pretty strong indication of the atmosphere on this record. The minimal instrumentation works well together, and provides the just the right element to each song.

Of course Nick’s trademark lyrics are well intact. Who else could get away with a lyric like “Hannah Montana Does the African Savannah” (Higgs Bosun Blues) and make it work?

“Jubilee Street” is another that got stuck in my head; the guitar in this one makes it the song that it is. Throughout the album, you can hear elements hiding away on repeated listens on this album. A standout for me is the closing title track, which is one of the most stripped back, yet emotionally rendered songs, based on keyboards.

I was intrigued to discover that this has gone to number one in several countries, including Australia. I was also intrigued to learn that it was put out independently by NC&TBS.

Nick Cave (or his previous record label) has always treated vinyl collectors well. “Push the Sky Away” is no exception. There is a “standard” issue vinyl album, but this is the edition with the extra 7” record (and download code) which seems to be most widely available. Package wise, this is a nice item. The quality of the cover is great (nice thick cardboard, excellent quality printing) and there’s a lyric insert which is well done. A minor whinge from me is there is no lavish booklet (as accompanied Dig Lazarus Dig and Lyre of Orpheus). The extra 7” is bonus, obviously, and designed to be separate from the album, and played at the listener’s discretion. The A side “needle boy” is a somewhat interesting and unsettling little tune. Side AA “Lightning bolts”, ditto, although less unsettling.

 

 

THE PISSED JEANS

HONEYS

Vinyl edition

The Pissed Jeans have been on my radar for a few years now, but unfortunately other records have also vied for my attention. So I thought I better make sure I got a copy of “Honeys”

 This sounds a bit like Black Flag jamming with the Melvins. Sludge –Punk. This is great stuff! Not for polite alternate lo-fi types though. It’s not easy listening, but therein lies the appeal.

“Honeys” starts out with the manic sludge-fuzz punkerola of “Bathroom Laughter”. Then to the drone of “Chain Worker’. Then back into fourth gear for “Romanticize Me”.

I read a review of this that compared it to The Birthday Party’s “course droning guitar and grimey vocals”. Maybe if you fished long and hard one song may scrape into this parallel, but ............. not really, I don’t see it. The Pissed Jeans are on their own wavelength. There may be a parallel with the black humour lyrics though. “I am a chain worker, caught in an infinite loop....... my chain provides me with safety” (Chain worker). Or as a self-deprecating male, trying not to stare too hard at (attractive) women (Male Gaze) “It’s just the male gaze -it’s in me, I know it”. Or trying not to go to friend’s houses because they have cats, “I thought that maybe things would change but every cat house is the same”. (Cat House). Or my favourite “Health Plan” – “It’s time to choose a health plan. You wanna know my secret? I stay away from doctors”.

I  like the track running order, more or less fast/dirgey/fast. Side two opens with the instrumental “Something about Mrs Johnson” which almost sound like a jam session. There’s a relaxed looseness about “Honeys” that gives it part of its appeal though.

Package wise, this pretty good. The cover and graphics are put together well, as is the lyric insert. Good quality vinyl. The record sleeve is semi-embossed with a hole in one side to view one of the record labels through -  interesting.  Download code for those interested.

THE ACCURSED!

UP WITH THE PUNKS (1983)

VINYL ONLY

I have to admit, I didn’t know much about this record before I got it. It did have instant appeal for me as a mid 80’s UK82 piece of vinyl, and I was pretty sure it was unreleased on CD, (which it isn’t).  I got it home, I played it, I liked it, and I did some research on it. Opinion seems to be divided on this record, which is reasonably sought after, and appears on people’s want lists. Some people therefore want it, and presumably like it. One blog site I stumbled upon listed it as part of a top 10 all time punk list, along with more standard punk albums. Other people hate it, think its terrible, and that the band, particularly the drummer, are sloppy and out of time.

As I said, I like it, a lot.  It may not be a mid 80’s punk “classic”, but it definitely has its own flavour, and is not bog standard oi! or UK 82 stuff. OK, it is slightly sloppy; a couple of songs sound like they’re a demo or rehearsal. In that respect though, the punk element is definitely there, and it’s part of the appeal of the thing. There’s a reckless kind of quality going on here; they don’t give a fuck; it’s just “bash out the tunes”, which is bloody marvellous.

It opens with “Up with the punks”, a downtuned thrash-punker with a slight metallic tinge, which sets the tone for the rest of the album. A point of reference may be a guitar sound similar to Bones from Discharge/Broken Bones, but don’t take these guys for Discharge clones.

The band have produced it themselves, which I have to say, is OK actually. The production seems to work for the sound they’re after; there’s a wall of noise, but you can still discern all the instruments. The solos have to be overdubbed over the rhythm guitar layer - there’s only one guitarist.

Lyrics, aren’t a strong point, and are a bit run of the mill for the time (High Speed) about, you guessed it, taking speed, “Underground music” has a constant refrain of..............”underground music”. My favourite though is “Nuclear War” - “Aaaaah, nuclear waste spreads so fast, nuclear waste is going up my arse/Wind down from your head/You’ve got to be undead/Atomic war is no more/Atomic War is on the floor”. Other song titles are “It’s my life”, Listen to me”. But it hey, it channels the angst, absolutely!

In keeping with the DIY theme of the record, the band has done the cover themselves. It’s a black and white hand drawn cut and paste affair, which, again while I like it, could have been done a little bit better. (As in, a little bit more effort could have gone into it). Again though, it’s part of the appeal of the record. A lyric sheet would have been a bonus as well.

If you’re a collector of UK82 stuff, I’d definitely recommend this one. For vinyl collectors, this is not on CD. Of course, you can download the bloody thing if you want to.

 

ENGLISH DOGS, BASTARD SQUAD, RUST, RUKUS             

2 March Valve Bar, Tempe, Sydney Australia

Being a fan of the UK 82 genre, I started collecting English Dogs vinyl a while back. I now have a semi-complete collection of their stuff from ’83 to’86, all of which gets trotted out fairly regularly. I love this early stuff, and both the “punk” and “metal/crossover” sides to the band. I think the cover of “Mad Punx and English Dogs” is great, with the massive spikes and mohawks, and also the art and gatefold on “Forward into Battle”. I even reckon the ambitious “Where legend began” is pretty good, sound and cover wise, this one also has a gatefold sleeve and Tolkien-ish art and lyrics.

Long standing Wollongong chaos punkers RUKUS are up next, priming the crowd with their rowdy UK82 influnced oi!. These guys are great! Covers of THE LAST RESORT and THE ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE give an idea of where they’re coming from. Ironically, given their cover of “Violence in our minds”, the bass player got into a bit of a stoush with a hard-nut skin later on......... A few hard lookin’ skins out this evening......... 

Dependable Sydney boys RUST are up next. With a new guitarist, their meat and potatoes oi! now has a bit more of a metal edge. Tunes like “Sprit of the ANZACS” and “Black Rats”, and their cover of the 4 SKINS ACAB ain’t too bad at all.

BASTARD SQUAD, who always seem to come out whenever an old UK 82 punk band are, in the words of vocalist Jason, back with a vengeance. And that they are. Even guitars difficulties didn’t slow ‘em down. No nonsense flat out Oi! Influenced by their heroes, but they definitely have their own flavour.

Sporting a cardboard sign around his neck that says “I like drugs” ENGLISH DOGS vocalist Wakey encourages the crowd to get into it when they come on stage – “Come on Sydney, It’s Saturday fucking night!” then they are into “Brain Disease” (it’s evident in the lyrics and his stage persona that Wakey embraces the erm, slightly weirder side of life), a new song from their split CD with Bastard Squad. Another new one, and then “The fall of Max” from their 1983 classic “Mad Punx and English Dogs”.

Formed in the early 80’s, the ENGLISH DOGS were one of the classic UK82 bands, although they lacked the profile of GBH or THE EXPLOITED. After the first two records, “Mad Punx and English Dogs” and “Invasion of the Porky Men” Wakey departed and the line up changed, with a new vocalist and guitarist coming in. This line up released the punk/metal crossover classic “Forward into Battle”. (A separate line up of the band toured this record last year).

After several reformations in the 90s and 2000’s which saw Wakey return, and several different line ups of the band  put  out various recordings, Wakey again reformed the band proper, only to split again, seeing him form a completely new line up for the “punk” version of the band, with the “metal” version also touring.

So it’s the punk version tonight. Although he may be getting on a bit, Wakey has plenty of enthusiasm.  Interspersed with newer songs were also classics from “Invasion of the Porky Men”, the cover of which was a huge backdrop. With slightly younger fellas making up the rest of the band, they tear through classic ENGLISH DOGS stuff; “Psycho Killer”, “Left me for dead” “World War 2”, “Newsflash”. Great to finally see the ENGLISH DOGS, I thought they put on a great show. No encore, unfortunately, Wakey politely waves goodbye, and that’s that.

DROPKICK MURPHYS

SIGNED AND SEALED IN BLOOD      

2 X LP

I’ve always loved the Dropkicks, and always get their new one when it comes out. Some of their vinyl has been well packaged, others less so. Some of their early releases on Hellcat are very nice, with posters and lyric inserts etc.

This is the 8th album from the longstanding Boston punks. Everything’s turned up! Everything’s the same, yet different. The Christmas tune “The season’s upon us” even got a run on a commercial radio station, but then again so did “Shipping up to Boston”, probably. More gang backup singalong vocals than ever, (which detracts somewhat from everything else). It opens in classic Dropkick’s style with “The boys are back”, and continues with “Prisoners song”. Then I do start to wish they would speed things up a little sometimes on this one.............. the celtic/folk theme is more overt than ever on this record, (similarly with the last one ”Going out in style”) as opposed to the hardcore/punk element. Chugs along nicely though, and we can’t expect them to make another “Do or Die”, can we. If you’re already a fan you’ll probably like it, and annoy your kids/neighbours/wife with the singalongs. If not, well, it may not be the one to win you over.

A nicely packaged double LP set, in a gatefold sleeve. No lyric inserts, although the lyrics are on the inside gatefold. Good quality vinyl, the sound is nice and full, allowing all the instruments to be heard (although again, the gang vocals do detract a little bit for me). I’m a little puzzled as to the reasoning behind the 2 records, with 13 songs, inclusive of the extra track “Shark Attack”, (which is one of the faster tracks). All the songs could have fit on one LP. Perhaps something to do with the width of the grooves; 12” 45RPM’s are cued louder than 33’s (this is a 33 though). So there’s 4 songs a side, and the extra track comprising an entire side. Also included is a download code if you’re interested.

MARCHING ORDERS

LIVING PROOF

This one’s a cracker. Melbourne’s Marching Orders, have been around for a while. They’ve been on quite a few compilations, have had their own various releases, and “Living Proof” is their latest. This is oi!/streetpunk for now; true to their influences without being derivative. The roots of good old 80’s oi! are definitely entrenched in their DNA, and they’ve taken that to a new level.

If the two opening tracks “Dog eat dog” and “Guilty by suspicion” don’t hook ya in from the outset, go and listen to the Offspring or some other shit. Well executed twin guitar riffs, with distinctly Aussie vocals. As on the rest of the record, there’s plenty of melody and hooks and singalong choruses. It’s all about reality here, there ain’t no sugar coating ,they’re just calling it as it is. Side one closes with “Hand of Fate”, a vocal and guitar only song which is nonetheless still powerful, and packs a wallop. Side two opens with “Spirit of ‘84” as I mentioned, they’re true to their roots (“after all these years oi!’s the beat of the street”). The last song “Songs of yesterday” (Do you remember singing along to every word of every song/when the music seemed to mean much more yesterday/there’s no substance being played on the radio today/the music seemed to mean much more  yesterday/We’ll sing the songs of yesterday”) – too true.

A nicely packaged record (which is always good, as that’s part of the appeal of vinyl), this one’s yellow vinyl. The sepia-tone alley way cover indicates life’s realities for the working class, and is another nod back to mid 80’s oi! . Comes with an insert with lyrics, and although the band-against-the-wall photo has been done many times, I like it. This has great production too. That is not to say the record’s over produced or “slick”, but it’s got a great warm and full stereo sound. There’s also a download code for those interested.

 

This here revolves around VINYL RECORDS of all kinds; LP’s, 12” EP’s, 7”s, hell, I even acquired an 11” record a while back. The sounds are PUNK-GARAGE-Oi!-ROCK’N’FRICK’N’ROLL and all things related and in between, with an emphasis on the old school. New releases, or second hand, I’ll discuss the vinyl I get my hands on, sound-wise and package-wise, and whatever else I can think of about the record. There’ll also be the odd live review.