Top Sounds - F
FACE VALUE - Rode Hard, Put Away Wet: Clevo HC 89-93 {Smog Veil} Excellent package of this Cleveland HC band’s finest years. Totalling 31 tracks that go by in a 71 minute blur of incisive riffs, inventive tempo changes and arrogant, old-skool vocals. This compiles the 1990 ‘Coming Of Age’ 7", 91’s ‘Price Of Maturity album, four cuts from 93’s ‘Kick It Over’ album and the original ‘89’ demo. Soundwise, the band mixed YOUTH OF TODAY, JUDGE and UNIFORM CHOICE HC but threw in some distinctly Rock-influenced chops. Guitarist Anthony Brown could certainly give any Thrash Metaller of the time a run for their money - check out the lead work on ‘Open Wound’! Although Rock infused the sound, FACE VALUE never went the all-out Metal-Crossover path (even if the riff heavy ‘Kick It Over’ tracks came close!). This package not only includes the 31-track CD but a 15-track DVD. The footage is, obviously, fan-filmed on a single camera with varying audio quality but all of it is smoking, chaotic, Yank HC action. It’s packaged in a fold out sleeve along with an excellent poster of notes from vocalist Tony Erba. This is an all-you-need account of an unsung USHC band that, as collections go, Smog Veil has made this something special. (18.12.09)
FALSE ALARM/ YOUTH GONE MAD - Split {False Alarm} Album-a-piece from these two closely linked bands outta LA. Both bands do a variation of NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll with both enlisting the services of a NYC Punk legend. FALSE ALARM is up first with the ‘Fuck ‘em All We’ve Already (Now) Won’ album featuring DEAD BOYS’ Cheetah Chrome. The sound is the sleazier, nastier DEAD BOYS vintage although I kept hearing a clear D.O.A vibe (check ‘My Destruction’ and ‘Day Is Night’) with hints of WIPERS (‘In My Mind’) and even the barroom bop of the REPLACEMENTS (‘No Choice’ and ‘Can’t See The Sun’). Cheetah throws in the DEAD BOYS classic, ‘High Tension Wire’ and lays down some slaying lead guitar work - just listen to ‘I Could Care Less’. Other guests include Rick Wilder (BERLIN BRATS and MAU MAUS) and De De Troit (UXA). YOUTH GONE MAD features FALSE ALARM’s guitarist and drags in a legend known as one Dee Dee Ramone. In fact, this is reputed to be Dee Dee’s last recorded work. It’s an oddity too, taking elements of the sound of DEAD KENNEDYS (‘Bego Bego’ and ‘Yellow’) while Dee Dee adds that classic RAMONES rock. ‘I Gotta A Right To Love Her’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Vacation In L.A’ and ‘False Alarm’ all provide highlights. Then there’s the bizarre country-fried (yes, fried) freakout of ‘Stinky Punk’ that’s evocative of MEAT PUPPETS gone bad! It ends with ‘Dee Dee Deceased’, seemingly written and recorded in late 2002 after Dee Dee passed away. It’s not a sentimental slushy track; it’s fitting to who and what Dee Dee was. Both albums are entertaining and essential for the NYC Punk aficionado. FALSE ALARM has the edge for me (much as I adore anything RAMONES). The disc is dedicated to the memory of FALSE ALARM vocalist, Dylan Maunder who passed away in 2005. (13.01.10)
FLIPPER - Love {MVD} Let’s face it - FLIPPER was never a band to which you could happily tap your foot and this, the band’s first album since 1993, doesn’t change that at all. Krist Novoselic (who used to be in little-known combo NIRVANA) comes in to replace the departed Will Shatter and does a commendable job at those depth-charge notes of sludge the band is renowned for. Bruce Loose is still a provocative, antagonistic vocalist but not quite the confrontational Punk of ‘Generic Flipper’. Highlights would have to include the relatively jaunty opening pairing of ‘Be Good, Child’ and ‘Learn To Live’, ‘Triple Mass’ sees that damage-inducing guitar wave of noise of Falconi’s at its most effective while the epic closer ‘Old Graves’ could easily fit onto ‘Gone Fishin’’. While comparisons to the band’s original couple of albums is unavoidable, it could be a great error to blindly dismiss this. As an album ‘Love’ stands up admirably in its own right as a slice of strident sub-sludge Punk Rock that old fans will accept -willingly. I sure did! (25.07.09)
FLIPPER - Fight Live {MVD} "We’re a band, are you an audience? About two of you answered - the rest of you are bystanders," spits Bruce Loose before this new live album starts with a crushing ‘Way Of The World’. A lumbering, petulant ‘Shine’ follows that’s riddled with Ted Falconi’s sledgehammer swaths of swampy guitar noise and takes us back to ‘Generic Flipper’. The last 25+ years evaporate. Of the remaining seven tracks, four are from the album above including a colon-contorting ‘Triple Mass’. This was recorded at two shows in 2007 with Krist Novoselic doing a decent job on the likes of ‘Ha Ha Ha’ and the grinding, bilious closer ‘The Lights, The Sound’ while Loose is his obnoxious, belligerent self. As with the above, this is produced by Jack Endino (he did NIRVANA’s ‘Bleach’) and he captures the jagged, seemingly spontaneous waves of noise with suitable aplomb. After the disappointing ‘American Grafishy’ these two discs show a return to form for one of the most individual and out-there bands of USHC. One oddity though is the absence of ‘Sex Bomb’. Bar that, you may not find a better introduction to the band for the FLIPPER-curious. (25.07.09)
FOUR LETTER WORD - Staring Down The Barrel {No Idea/ Newest Industry/ Damaged} No matter who plays in FLW, as long as vocalist Welly is at the helm, you know you're gonna get barbed, gnarled and tip-top quality Punk Rock. This 4-track 7" is another cracker in the armoury of what is arguably the best band in Britain. Opener ‘Some Cautionary Tale’ features a great melodic vocal line which erupts in a rage. ‘To Be Confirmed’ attacks those who use Punk for the quick buck before shipping out. The flip is the highlight with ‘Bible Black’ railing against the bible and its translators who use the book for means of war. Finally, ‘Punk Rock Ghetto’ reworks ‘Rich White Ghetto’ from the ‘A Nasty Piece Of Work’ album and, again, Welly’s observations on Punk as a commodity as opposed to something original, biting and political are spot on. As ever, the graphics accompanying the (white) vinyl are exceptional, adding depth to the words and displaying a genuine care that the finished product is something to provoke and savour for the listener - not something a downloaded MP3 can achieve. Another FLW release - another mandatory purchase. (19.06.09)
F.U.A.L. - Fuck Up And Live {Boss Tuneage} A timely reissue for the only album this excellent Irish Anarcho band recorded. I remember buying this second-hand in the early 90s and being gutted for missing out on the band in 1990 when it was released. Lyrically the band was incredibly political, questioning/ attacking soft drink corporations, child abuse, the troubles of Northern Ireland, passivity, green issues, animal rights and a great deal more. Musically it’s a mix of early CHUMBAWAMBA (ironic as the opening track ‘20 Years On’ has a dig at CHUMBA for not fully understanding ‘The Troubles’), MOB subtleties and an early 90s HC approach similar to the excellent JOYCE MCKINNEY EXPERIENCE. Highlights have to be ‘Suffer Little Children’ which is bitter, passionate and includes some stunning drumming, the thrash fest that is ‘Soft Drinks’ and the morbid, realistic sobriety of closer ‘Rest In Pieces’. Besides the album, you get the ‘Veganic Wind’ demo from ‘89. It’s all been remastered and packaged with a great booklet filled with lyrics, graphics and a historical overview. Another hugely impressive BT reissue and essential for those who remember the band or loves the sound and ideals of Anarcho Punk. (25.07.09)
FUCKED UP - The Chemistry Of Common Life {Matador} Second album from this visionary Toronto HC band. It took a few plays to grasp; it’s obviously not the full-on HC of the early singles, nor the bombastic revelation that the debut album, ‘Hidden World’, was. But after six plays the caustic, piledriving power of the songs ingrain themselves not just in the ears but in your guts. Religion is attacked without compromise on over half the songs with opener ‘Son The Father’ and ‘Days Of Last’ being particularly scathing. Highlights elsewhere include ‘No Epiphany’ (which, apparently, features 18 guitar tracks!), the HC psychedelic mysticism of ‘Royal Swan’ and the colossal closing title track. There is probably not a band in Punk/HC besides FUCKED UP that could make an album this musical, adventurous, powerful and confrontational and remain so relentlessly HC in what it does; the band make the limits of HC seemingly boundless. And while the band is making statements like those in ‘Twice Born’ and ‘Days Of Last’, all I can say is carry on fucking things up, FUCKED UP. "Was it always this simple and obvious, we were only held back by faith-based malaise. The hubris of the fallacy that only God can judge me, was it only arrogance or were we simply that naive." (20.04.09)