Top Sounds - J
JACK AND THE RIPPERS - I Think It's Over {Dirty Faces} Never heard of this '77 era band from Switzerland before. And with a band name that cheesy, it's unlikely I'd forget! This is surprisingly good stuff and still quite vital sounding. You get 10 tracks culled from the band's '78 album and a 7". The sound is a really faithful take on London Punk with first album BOYS and EATER both being worthy comparisons, if mixed with a vague XTC-pop feel in parts. As was par-for-the-course in this era, there's a reggae influenced track, but it's no 'Johnny Was'. The buzzing ' Safe And Secure', 'Down' and 'Don't Pretend' are the highlights while the band's take on Lennon's 'Cold Turkey' suggests an understanding of rock 'n' roll pre-Punk. A totally enjoyable history lesson and one that's essential for '77 revisionists.
JAG - Demo {DIY} Some kinda bizarre and rather freakish mix of SEEDS Garage Psychedelia, STOOGES-style scary, destructo nihilism, HAWKWIND acid rock and BUTTHOLE SURFERS mindwarp. It’s kinda interesting but ultimately this will appeal to the hashed-out, flared-up, switched off Hippy more than most Punks - even though the band resolutely supports the independent, underground nature and values of Punk. I’m sure the band is appreciated much more in a live situation. The band is from the Netherlands and can be contacted via
peeyaki@yahoo.com
JINGO DE LUNCH - The Independent Years {Boss Tuneage} Here’s a rocking name from the past. JINGO... was a band from Berlin during the late 80s playing a forceful, ballsy rock-meets-Hardcore brand of sounds. This compilation takes the highlights from the band’s output between the years of 1987 and 1989. You get half a dozen tracks off both the ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ and ‘Axe To Grind’ albums place the entire, ultra-rare ‘Cursed Earth’ mini-album. In fact, ‘Cursed Earth’ contains a couple of covers that perfectly display the welding of influences JINGO... utilised: BAD BRAINS and THIN LIZZY! The band was fronted by Canadian, Yvonne Ducksworth, who had a forceful, enraged voice. Unfortunately, the band wielded Metal guitar solos in such a quantity to make me wince! If you can get round that, JINGO... was an interesting band that was possibly a few years ahead of its time. The band reformed in 2007 and continue to play today.
JOYCE MCKINNEY EXPERIENCE - Love Song For Kirk {Boss Tuneage} Absolutely fan-fucking-tastic!! JOYCE... was a band from the UK in the late 80s with a dual female vocal attack and played some of the best music of the era. This essential 45 track double CD compiles everything the band ever released including the classic, incredibly overlooked album, ‘Joyce Offering’. There’s also the band’s Peel Session from ‘88 while the second CD is virtually all unreleased demos. In terms of sound, the band initially played melodic Hardcore not too dissimilar to the INSTIGATORS driven by a pair of angry, powerful women but mixed with up with early SENSELESS THINGS/ SNUFF accessibility. Lyrically they bordered on the principals of Anarcho with strong and intelligent socio-political lyrics. It’d be futile for me - someone who saw the band several times in the 80s and loved every minute - to highlight specific tracks but, as I said above, the ‘Joyce Offering’ album is a true classic and now, 20 years on since its release, it still sounds as fresh, vibrant and exciting as ever. The demo tracks are interesting - they show a more mature approach with an emphasis on mood and a less political bent about the lyrics. I cannot recommend this highly enough - anyone who was involved in the UK scene in the mid-late 80s should know this band; anyone reading this who is unaware should be hunting this stellar reissue out now.
JOY DIVISION - Unknown Pleasures, Closer, Still {Rhino} What I can impart on the legacy of JOY DIVISION fails me - especially in light of fact that I was never a fan. I’ve heard ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and rate ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, but generally the band was too depressing for me. The prospect of reviewing these reissues - which each come with a live CD - left me more than a little daunted! As most will know, JOY DIVISION was from Manchester, UK in the late 70s. Singer Ian Curtis eventually committed suicide after recording two albums (rendering him akin to a Kurt Cobain deathwish icon for the post-Punk brigade) while the remainder of the band formed NEW ORDER. The sound was harsh and dark. It pushed the boundaries of what Punk was - and what it could be - back in the late 70s. If you take the experimentation and sonic isolation of VELVET UNDERGROUND and mix it with the iconic lyrical imagery of THE DOORS but place it in the downtrodden, socially desperate arena of Manchester circa 1978 you’d have an idea of the sound. Add the claustrophobic bitterness of a de-politicised CRISIS and the haunting, melodic strains of early (‘A Forest’) CURE and you are closer.
This trilogy of releases begins with ‘Unknown Pleasures’ - the debut album from 1979. It kicks off with my favourite JOY DIVISION track, ‘Disorder’, something much harder and more accessible than I ever recall. Add ‘Interzone’, the stunning ‘She’s Lost Control’ and ‘Shadowplay’ and it’s apparent why this album is held in such high regard. It’s a stark, barren and compulsive sound; there IS something going on that had never been attempted by an urban UK band before - let alone one born of the late 70s Punk scene. The additional live disc (recorded at the band’s spiritual home of The Factory, Manchester) shows a much harsher, guitar-laden potency that the studio album eschewed - or had washed from it.
The following year saw album #2: ‘Closer’. Songwriting progression is evident. While stylistically the band stayed with the sombre, brooding and macabre power of ‘Unknown Pleasures’, ‘Closer’ also offered something that looked forward to a new horizon. Keyboards played a greater part on this album with (one of the highlights) ‘Isolation’ and disc closer ‘Decades’ both being keyboard lead. ‘Twenty Four Hours’ is probably the highlight for me. As a single piece of work, the album is another towering achievement that mirrors the desolation of the debut while reaching out to something more accessible. The live disc (this time 8 months on at London’s ULU) shows a band growing as a live force. As with the live disc with ‘Unknown Pleasures’, this starts off with the antagonising, rolling guitar assault of ‘Dead Souls’ and the inclusion of the classic ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
Come the posthumous release that was ‘Still’, my posthumous interest had run somewhat dry! Originally released as a double album - one part studio, the other live - it includes a great studio version (finally!) of ‘Dead Souls’ and a version of VELVET UNDERGROUND’s ‘Sister Ray’.
Each reissue has been remastered and comes with an informative booklet. On a negative, I would like the albums augmented with the singles of the time - ‘Transmission’, ‘Atmosphere’ and, obviously, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ in particular. As a set of reissues though, even for someone who was never a fan, these prove to be quite a revelation. The additional live discs display an increasingly angered version of the band when compared with the studio discs and the booklets really are a step above the usual reissue fair.
JUANITA Y LOS FEOS - s/t {Dead Beat} Crawling out of a degenerate uber-pop gutter club on the bad streets of Madrid comes JUANITA AND THE UGLIES, fusing howling mid-fi blues with techno-pop melodies and a STONES-esque proto-Punk howl. The band sings totally in its native Spanish and structurally bear a striking resemblance to REVILLOS but played with the 77 San Fran twist of CRIME and recorded on TEEN GENERATE’s gear. Juanita herself has a decent spikey yet melodic voice. Highlights for me included ‘Reina Por Un Dia’ (check out the sound of smashing glass on that track - especially in headphones), the rolling fuzztones of ‘Footing’ and opener ‘El Agujero’. Definitely a band that has an affinity with fellow Dead Beat band THE INTELLECTUALS and one that is as pleasing as a free daily pint of Guinness!
JUDGE - What It Meant {Revelation} Of all the early Rev bands, JUDGE was the one that I never really took to. The band's brand of militant, zealous Straight Edge shouted over a torrent of metallic NYHC turned me off more than it appealed. This is a 28-track discography disc compiling all the tracks from the 'New York Crew' and 'There Will Be Quiet…' EPs and the 'Bringing It Down' and 'Chung King Can Suck It' LPs. As an additional attraction for fans there is an unreleased demo version of 'Just Like You' produced by Don Fury. The packaging is great with liner notes from Porcell, lyrics and plenty of photos. I'm still unconvinced by the band in general; it all still sounds too much like tough guy bravado to me.
Top Sounds - K
JOHN KASTNER – Have You Been Lucky? {Boss Tuneage} Debut solo album from this former DOUGHBOYS frontman and an accomplished 12-tracker it is. Anyone who is familiar with Kastner’s work will know his penchant for songs over noise and this exemplifies that. There’s a distinct BIG STAR influence throughout, be it the opening energy rush of ‘Kick Back’, the piano-laced lushness of ‘It’s All Too Familiar’ or the introvert sparseness of closer ‘Most Upsetting Song’. You also get plenty of those great Kastner rockers like ‘Hold Me Up’ and ‘Can’t Get Outta My Own’. There’s even a guest appearance from FEAR’s Lee Ving and the guitarist from Rush! Solo albums can be egotistical and sooooo far removed from the artist’s bands that they alienate a large percentage of fans; but not so here. This is justifiably a ‘solo album’ but also decidedly Kastner – and an on-form Kastner at that!
K DAVIS - The Good Fight {Eugene} Interesting 6-track EP of gravel-voiced acoustic tunes. K DAVIS was the drummer in the INFECTED but, due to drug problems, was kicked out. Six years on and clean, this is his debut solo release. Think ‘Tonight’s The Night’/ ‘Comes A Time’ era Neil Young but going via ‘...And The Horse They Rode In On’ era SOUL ASYLUM countrified rock ‘n’ roll and you’re close. Some of the vocal pitching is hit and miss (‘Two In Four Days II’ in particular), but generally the bourbon and nicotine growl works great. Highlights are the subtle opener, ‘Ryan And Wyatt’ and a sublime acoustic workout of the INFECTED song ‘Try Again’. Keep on keeping on!
KILL TOBY WYATT - North To South. Vs. East To West {Eugene} Great 9-tracker that combines a big JAWBREAKER feel with a good helping of LEATHERFACE and smaller servings of PENNYWISE and LEFTOVER CRACK (minus the Ska!). The whole disc seems to reverberate with pulsating, relentless rhythm that - like JAWBREAKER - relies on dynamics and power rather than simple, basic speed. Highlights include opener ‘As Long As’, ‘Happy New Year’ and the reflective ‘Last Night’. At 29-minutes, it’s clear the songs have been worked on and thankfully never overstay their welcome. Eugene Recs keeps releasing one great band after another these days - most of which seem to be from Kentucky. It not too hard to imagine KILL TOBY WYATT on a label like Fat Wreck as the band would fit neatly beside SMOKE OR FIRE and PAINT IT BLACK.
KING BLUES - Under The Fog {Household Name} Ever wonder what a stripped-down LEVELLERS playing THE SPECIALS via THE CLASH’s ‘Bankrobber’ with the politics of CAPDOWN may sound like? Wonder no more. Gotta say, this bored the shit outta me on one listen. Repeated plays saw the funky-dub vibes and acoustic acidity of the sounds mixed with a snarling political bite take a feeble hold. This is quite a departure in sound for Household Name Recs and, I have to say, one I expected a lot more from. I’m guessing the band is at its best live, in an intimate backroom or squat. As the record stands, it’s a grower but with pretty limited appeal in the House of Scanner. File with P.A.I.N.
KNEEDEEP – Demo {website} Six track CDR from one of the newer names on the currently thriving Ipswich, UK scene. The tracks are recorded live, unmixed and unmastered so it’s a blood and guts, warts ‘n’ all deal, rough and ready around the edges, resolutely British (especially the vocal delivery) and Punk as nobody’s business. The Punk spew this trio belts out brought to mind, for some reason, SUBHUMANS played by HDQ and given the snotty attack of PANIC. It’s good stuff too, with ’13.30 Till 14.30’ and ‘Idea Of Change’ taking prizes for the best tunes. It is a little loose and a tad chaotic in parts, but as a basic representation of the band, it’s a fair testament. There’s a full album due soon on Ippo label Corndog – looking forward to that.
KRUM BUMS – As The Tide Turns {TKO} Can’t tell you much about this 5-piece from Texas bar the fact this is a caustic, embittered, snotty attack of choice Punk Rock. It’s a fast and brutal sound but exceptionally well played – the interpaly between the guitarists particularly stands out. Visually and lyrically there’s a neat Anarcho vibe about the whole deal but played with a distinctly modern thrust. Think LEFTOVER CRACK meets FOUR LETTER WORD via POISON IDEA and ICONS OF FILTH. There’s plenty of highlights, be it the killer ‘core of ‘Scratching On The Eight Ball’ and ‘Last Breath’, the broiling ‘Sometimes’ or the near-perfect barbed Punk assaults of ‘Fall’, the title track and ‘Disregarded Youth’. Production shreds too – clear yet biting with everything clearly defined and not suppressed. A cracker from start to finish.