Remember 2012? Seems like a long time ago now doesn’t it? My plan was to post Part 1 followed shortly by Part 2 at the end of December. It then shifted to the beginning of January and I managed to post Part 1, confident that Part 2 would follow just a few days later. Anyway here it is. Part 3 is a theoretical possibility, depending on youtube links, but don’t hold your breath…
PARANOID VISIONS – ESCAPE THE AUSTERITY COMPLEX
Funny one this one. This album seems to have been a long time in the making and it souds like it. It sounds like a product of different sessions, and it veers all over the old school punk shop :angry rants, more low key new wavey stuff, and post punk experiments sometimes veering into self indulgence. It seems a bit overambitious, but that’s not a bad failing I suppose when many bands of their vintage are happy just to churn out what their audience expect. If I sound a bit lukewarm, that’s because Paranoid Visions have been my favourite band of the last few years and my expectations were probably getting way too high. The album still has many highlights from the tuneful, keyboard-led (!) Dangerous Rhythm, to the ominous Nuclear Victims. I would have just edited it a bit. Guess what? None of the tracks I want to post are on youtube. Here’s a couple of tracks anyway, firstly the surprisingly restrained single Poles Apart
And secondly Split Personality with guest Steve Ignorant shouting himself hoarse. I don’t think it’s either Paranoid Visions’ or Ignorants’ best moment but here it is anyway
THE WARRIORS – NEVER FORGIVE NEVER FORGET
A menacing title but old geezers The Warriors seem like decent blokes and follow the old oi motto of “having a laugh and having a say”. There’s two reasons why I like this album. Firstly, instead of basing their lyrics and worldview on Daily Star headlines they “have a say” about some of the things that are worth getting angry about like the cuts and encroaching state surveillance, as well as some issues close to home for a lot of bands– internet backstabbers and rip off gig promoters. Secondly they play good old fashioned oi with singalong choruses in the style of early 80s bands like the Business, only occasionally putting a foot into territory marked “rock”.
FUK – THE NEW WAVE OF BRITISH PUNK ROCK
Emerging a few years ago from the final line-up of Chaos UK, but adding the relatively fresh-faced Cliff Vicious as main shouter FUK have put out an indeterminate number of records mainly on Japanese labels which cost silly money to buy from the UK. They’ve recently released an album which may or may not be their first, for once I’m confused. It’s called The New Wave Of British Punk Rock, one of the cheesiest album titles I’ve heard for a long time which is presumably the idea. The racket contained within is noisy, manic hardcore punk with a song titles that sound like particularly deranged tabloid headlines – Asbo Hitler, Bomber Pop Terror, Post Code Killers. All good fun, ad someone has helpfully posted four tracks here. Although if you want tunes you might be wasting your time.
BUS STATION LOONIES – MIDGET GEMS
Actually from the dim and distant past (2010) but I’ve only just got it, this is the Loonies second album, appearing a mere 11 years after their debut. It’s a cheeky mixture of eccentricity, catchy tunes (often not their own admittedly) and a bit of politics. Interviewed in Ian Glasper’s latest book Armed With Anger , main Loonie Chris says the album “veers more into protest and politics” and indeed they tackle some weighty issues – the decline of the postal service, closing times at the Blacksmith’s Arms, and the threat of “death by wedgie”. Glasper describes them as Crass meets Splodgenessabounds, and that’s not far off. Dead Kennedys meets The Smurfs perhaps? Here’s their definitive political statement
CRYO-GENICS CD-R
A new band at last! Not that you should confuse that with words like “young” or “original” but I don’t care of course. Here’s a band that have that classic UK82 sound . The even have “UK82” boldly emblazoned on the cover of their CD-R. Opening track America’s War is the kind of thing you can imagine might have been released on Riot City records back in the day, and I can’t pay a much higher compliment than that!
Dear God !
As you know I’m a kind, gentle soul at heart but I have to be honest and say that this selection is pretty unpalatable to me.
That Paranoid Visions track sounds like some kind of hippy/Hawkwind thing from the 80s and the Fuk stuff reminds me of standard American hardcore from the late 70s-80s.
It’s like time has stood still.
Mind you, it could be just me getting old and semi-senile, of course.
Semi-senility could be the problem, although at least you can reassure yourself that a few of the artists I’ve included here are probably well on the way to senility as well.
I was in a bit of a quandary about Paranoid Visions – not my favourite tracks from the album as I say, Poles Apart has grown on me a bit, although I don’t think it’s the best musical backdrop for Deko’s “singing”.
You might well be right about FUK, if they were a US HC band I would probably have passed them by, but I got sucked in by the Chaos UK link,
I know the feeling, there’s lots of the Japanese stuff I “like” that I’m sure I would pass up if it came from anywhere else.
We all have our weaknesses.
We do indeed. Of course I could argue that FUK are honorary Japanese – gig more in Japan than here, most of their releases are on Japanese labels, CDs come with obis (don’t ask me what they are for but I’ve only ever see them on Japanese CDs).
I asked Sakura about that, she didn’t seem to really know either.
One Japanese CD I bought even came with 2 of the song’s music on a little fold out so you can sing and play along !
The obis are more a annoyance.
Took me a while to get to this, apologies. I am familiar with the Bus Station Loonies already, having seen them at the Elephant Fair or somewhere in Cornwall along with Concrete Geraniums and some others whose names I have forgotten, not sure about their sentiments in this song, but it’s groovy and I quite like it.
Listening to FUK now, I love your description of ‘relatively fresh faced’. It’s lively, I can see the appeal actually. Is the video covering several songs? The first 2 are better than the later ones, if so.
After pairubu suggesting that the songs might be a bit of a challenge, I’m picking the ones I think I might like first, hence the wrong order.
Paranoid Visions have a pleasing backing, but I didn’t get on with any of the vocals. The Warriors sound like their hearts are in the right places. I’m very glad to hear, through your posts, that bands like them still exist, even if I don’t spend very much time listening to them.
Cryogenics are less my kind of thing. Interesting to hear them though. Have you seen any of these live?
Concrete Geraniums?! Who?! There’s not enough bands around these days with utterly ridiculous names. Many years ago Chris from the Bus Station Loonies phoned me up looking for a gig causing my housemate who took the call to collapse in uncontrollable hysterics. When I finally got hold of the phone Chris said he’d forgotten what a ridiculous name it was.
I’ve seen all of these bands live apart from the Cryogenics who I keep missing on the rare occasions I get out to a gig these days. Paranoid Visions are the best live imho, although I’ve seen some great Bus Station Loonies sets – not quite as good the last few times as Chris was singing and drumming at the same time which never works as well, but there you go. FUK are the most physically painful to listen to, which they would probably take as a compliment.
I really like Deko’s vocals for Paranoid Visions – with the exception of this track! I fact the same applies to Steve Ignorant on Split Personality.
There’s 4 FUK tracks in the link – Instant Depression / More Nothing / City Centre Shit Kickers / Eye See You
good stuff – liked the Warriors and the Bus Station Loonies the best
Cheers – both albums are really good, in the case of The Warriors I think there’s quite a few better tracks, just a case of what I could find on youtube