“Punk” (Used 37 times)

Suicide may have lit the torch in the mid-'70s, but one could argue that by decade's end, its carriers lived on the other side of the country -- in San Francisco.  Sure, L.A. had the Screamers and some other odd ducks.  But SF hosted an impressive number of bent bands who used synths, tape machines and other electrical apparatus to extend punk's mutated left end by leaps/bounds.  Informed by avant garde composers and performance artists, fueled by apocalyptic abandon and paranoid pop twitch, groups like Tuxedomoon, Nervous Gender, the Residents, Factrix, Minimal Man, Chrome, and Pink Section would release timeless slabs of aggresively bizarre noise -- as would the Units, whose Digital Stimulation LP (415 Records, 1980) remains a personal favorite.  The album's a lush and moody salvo if there ever was one, and I was thrilled to ask former lead synth player and vocalist Scott Ryser (right) a few questions about the band and its M.O. by e-mail last week.

Dans l´cul Danku! is a 3 day Festival held at the Sub071 Multipleks squat in Leiden, now on its second edition. Unfortunately Noise Problems couldnt attend but to celebrate and spread the good word we posted last year gigs from Theme of Laura and Les Louise Mitchels that we managed to record amidst all the DIY madness.

In their own speak Dans l´cul fest "is a DIY (do it yourself) and non benefit fest. The only purpose of this fest is to share and meet together in happiness with concerts, infostands, workshops, eat & cafe and whatever. All money done are only to cover general costs as electricity water, food, drinks, materials and cover a maximum gazcosts for the participants (bands, people giving workshops)..."

There were good vibes and good music, good food and good movies!!! It was awesome and indeed happiness was ever present. For the this years edition line-up check out the new site. Theme of Laura is screaming emo-punk from Strasbourg. Les Louise Mitchels are free-rock jazz-punk from Paris. Oh la la! Dans l´cul danku!!!

And I don't care about what the prying eyes can see, i'll keep on walking without pants in the middle of this school of fish that never stop screaming; keep on dancing to not die in a life where death has more place than the laughter of fools. I'll not cry anymore and my hatred torn of my veins, thrown to the sheep, i prefer to live too much until a soon death, rather than die slowly on my shit. One more or less, you can tell about me what you want, soppy, silly, crazy, in the twisted right way or not, I would stay at attention under the banner of fools, flag I will burn before to run into the storm."

Dans l´cul Danku! is a 3 day Festival held at the Sub071 Multipleks squat in Leiden, now on its second edition. Unfortunately Noise Problems couldnt attend but to celebrate and spread the good word we posted last year gigs from Theme of Laura and Les Louise Mitchels that we managed to record amidst all the DIY madness.

In their own speak Dans l´cul fest "is a DIY (do it yourself) and non benefit fest. The only purpose of this fest is to share and meet together in happiness with concerts, infostands, workshops, eat & cafe and whatever. All money done are only to cover general costs as electricity water, food, drinks, materials and cover a maximum gazcosts for the participants (bands, people giving workshops)..."

There were good vibes and good music, good food and good movies!!! It was awesome and indeed happiness was ever present. For the this years edition line-up check out the new site. Theme of Laura is screaming emo-punk from Strasbourg. Les Louise Mitchels are free-rock jazz-punk from Paris. Oh la la! Dans l´cul danku!!!

And I don't care about what the prying eyes can see, i'll keep on walking without pants in the middle of this school of fish that never stop screaming; keep on dancing to not die in a life where death has more place than the laughter of fools. I'll not cry anymore and my hatred torn of my veins, thrown to the sheep, i prefer to live too much until a soon death, rather than die slowly on my shit. One more or less, you can tell about me what you want, soppy, silly, crazy, in the twisted right way or not, I would stay at attention under the banner of fools, flag I will burn before to run into the storm."

So it goes with "heavy" bands nowadays; it's the ones that defy easy genre-fication that are closest to my heart. Sure, black metal is amazing, but it's the projects that don't let the sound play them that really shine. And so it is with punk-noise bands like Drunkdriver, Tinsel Teeth (ed., avoid name dropping), and our guests a few weeks ago, Wretched Worst.

Wretched Worst appeal to me in the same way Flipper does, that feeling of almost falling off the building, as though things might get reckless in the room at any moment. And they carry on the tradition of anything-goes experimentation, forged by the Subterranean Records scene in the 1980s, where one can just grunt, or make one very sparse, metallic noise with great earnest, or let a good, collective drone just go, for five or more straight minutes. Noise-brut, one might call it. These indefinable, maniacal songs are regardless quite pleasing to the ear.

But make no mistake, one could also hear Wretched Worst and get none of what I just wrote, and just find their head swirling in heart-jarring thrusts, very sexual and wildly human. Hard as hell. L'humian désenchaîné.

So before I take on airs even more, let's just get to their set, and let that be the proof in the pudding. Quite righteously engineered LIVE by Diane Kamikaze.

Thanks to singer Matt (Matt Minter, WW vocalist), who does most if not all of the band's record-and-tape packaging art, and is a unique talent; maybe the closest references I could cite would be Raymond Pettibon, and 80s, L.A. punk-flyer art in general, but with an ultra-modern, disturbing-horror angle as well. Thanks also to the band—Aaron, Thad and Brian (who will join us again on The Castle, playing drums with The Gate on April 27), and thanks to Tracy Widdess for mashing up my (and possibly Diane's) captures of the band, to create the glorious portrait that accompanies this article.

Dig it! Wretched Worst on bandcamp.

Top Surprise is a four-piece from Minas Gerais in southeast Brazil. Their bedroom punk recordings that draw heavily on US underground sounds from late 80s and early 90s, from You're Living All Over Me and Daydream Nation to Slanted & Enchanted.

"Saturn (The Season)" has an especially Sonic Youth-y vibe. This jam can be found on a 7-inch as well as on the Everything Must Go cassette. Both releases are freely downloadable under a Creative Commons Music Sharing license courtesy of Pug Records.

Pug Records just released a split of Pavement covers featuring Top Surprise and Lê Almeida, available for free download here:

Top Surprise will be in the US for this year's SXSW Festival, so keep an ear out if you're heading to Austin!