Merchandise - (Strange Songs) In The Dark (2010)/Children of Desire (2012)

Artist: Merchandise 
Album: (Strange Songs) In The Dark
Release: 2010
Label: Katorga Works, Drugged Conscious

Tracklist:
1. Loss
2. I Locked The Door
3. Foolish (Her Song)
4. I Get Lost
5. Worthless Apology
6. In The Dark
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Artist: Merchandise
Album: Children Of Desire
Release: 2012
Label: Katorga Works

Tracklist:
1. Thin Air
2. Time
3. Become What You Are
4. In Nightmare Room
5. Satellite
6. Roser Park

So to say I've been slacking hard on this blog is an understatement. I appreciate all of you that have dug through past posts in my absence. Focusing on such small niches of music so intensely for a while has burnt me out  a bit, so what I plan to do is open the scope of this blog a bit (don't worry, 80's punk in all its various forms will still rule). To start here are two albums from a band very strongly influenced by the goth movement, but who have done something refreshing in a period where Christian Death and Discharge clones roam abound. I mean lets be serious, not everyone can pull it off like Deathcharge. This band, Merchandise, is probably not new to you, as even hoards of Pitchfork followers are discovering them, but I highly recommend both of these releases if you haven't given them the chance they deserve.

The first, '(Strange Songs) In the Dark', is more outwardly influenced by many other bands on this blog. Depressing, synth heavy, drum machine, dark crooning, its all there. But something else puts this band a step above many other contemporary acts. In fact two somethings. The first is that, while definitely residing in the wake of Ian Curtis, Adrian Borland (The Sound), etc, the vocalist for Merchandise, Carson Cox, has an identifiable, heart-wrenching voice in his own right. The second is that guitarist David Vassalotti writes guitar riffs of all kinds, so good they'll make you dumb. And when I say all kinds I mean it. Check out the last song on the Merchandise demo (pure 90's gold), his solo work under monikers Dads, D.Vassalotti (lo-fi noisy pop), or his work with Cult Ritual (riff dominated hardcore). All fantastic, and I haven't even delved into the Neon Blud discography quite yet (another solo project).

These two records will make you sad, they will make you sing along, they will make wish you could ever write a song so fucking good. Start with my favorite below. In my opinion the best of many great songs they have written. If you like what you hear, watch Katorga for represses, 'Strange Songs' already has been repressed once, and I'm sure Children of Desire isn't too far off.



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DEEP HEAT - Low Lights (2011)

Artist: DEEP HEAT
Album: Low Lights EP
Release: 2011
Label: s/r (as far as I can tell)

Tracklist:
1. Sideways
2. Green Box
3. When It Hums
4. Low Lights
5. Clean Break
6. Negative Though
7. Tangent Circles
8. White Light

Sharing several members with the recently toured Infinite Void, these Australians came through Willimantic, CT for round two last night. They played at Willimantic Records as before, and were equally as kick ass under this moniker/line up change. DEEP HEAT's frantic brand of dark pop is outwardly darkwave influenced, filled with fast paced hooks and dreamy atmosphere. Vocal duties are shared between three members, imparting some diversity to their sound. And the ever-grooving base lines are sure to please. Check it out, you surely won't be disappointing:
 

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Sin Dios - Alerta Antifascista (1993)

Artist: Sin Dios
Album: Alerta Antifascista
Release: 1993
Label: Potencial Hardcore

Tracklist:
1. Alerta Antifascista
2. La Huelga
3. Hambre Negra, Expolio Blanco
4. Cancion De Amor (Celda De Aislamiento)
5. Las Carceles
6. Poema
7. Imigrante Ilegal
8. Unas Flores Con Sorpresa
9. La Historia Que No Cuenta
10. Actua
11. Nuevas Generaciones
12. No Queremos Paz Sino Victoria

Sin Dios are a hardcore/anarcho outfit from Spain that formed in the late '80s and have been around through the aughts. This particular full length was released in '93 and is mostly full of straightforward hardcore. Here and there other influences will peak from behind the torrent of power chords, a bit of ska here, a dark riff there. Even some traditional Spanish guitar finds its way onto this release. While I'm not always in love with these departures, when they work they work well, and they definitely bring a diversity to this release that sometimes is lacking on hardcore LPs. Check it out:



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Haldol - Demo (2011)

This hardcore/deathrock demo was submitted to me by way of Nashville, TN. Self-proclaimed influences include Japanese hardcore legends active in the Burning Spirit scene, which is evident in their murky, riff-filled sound. Tracks surge between unsettling, slow-tempo builds and noisy hardcore. This EP is a solid first release, and Haldol will be releasing an LP followed by two EPs in the not so distant future, so for now head over to their bandcamp for a pay-what-you-will download, and watch out for new material to come. Check it out:


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Crass - Stations Of The Crass (1979)

Artist: Crass
Album: Stations Of The Crass
Release: 1979
Label:  Crass Records

Tracklist:
1. Mother Earth
2. White Punks On Hope
3. You've Got Big Hands
4. Darling
5. System
6. Big Man, Big M.A.N.
7. Hurry Up Garry
8. Fun Going On
9. Crutch Of Society
10. Heard To Much About
11. Chairman Of The Board
12. Tired
13. Walls
14. Upright Citizen
15. The Gasman Cometh
16. Demoncrats
17. Conaminational Power
18. Time Out
19. I Ain't Think, It's Just A Trick
20. System
21. System/Big Man, Big M.A.N./Banned From The Roxy/Hurry Up Garry [Live]
22. Women/Shaved Women/You Pay/Heard To Much About [Live]
23. Angels/What A Shame/So What/G's Song [Live]
24. Do They Owe Us A Living? [Live]
25. Punk Is Dead

Obviously Crass needs no introduction, so I'll forgo the usual background and simply point you towards the omniscient Wikipedia. I would do such an influential band no justice anyhow. What I can say is that 'Stations Of The Crass' is the band's second full length LP, and is full of the noisy, hectic, politically obsessed sound that has made the group so iconic. I'm still exploring their vast discography, so I can't really accurately rank the release, but if you're like me, and have put off Crass for too long, this is definitely a great place to start.


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Dirt - Object Refuse Reject Abuse (1981)

Artist: Dirt
Album: Object Refuse Reject Abuse
Release: 1981
Label: Crass Records

Tracklist:
1. Hiroshima
2. Unemployment
3. Democracy
4. Dolls of Destruction

Four tracks of muddy, unrelenting early 80s anarcho punk from Crass contemporaries Dirt (Death Is Reality Today). Nothing much more to say than that. Highlights on this debut include squealing female vocals and the fact that there's not one dud on this thing. Not one to miss.

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Infinite Void - s/t LP (2012)

Artist: Infinite Void
Album: s/t LP
Release: 2012
Label: Poison City Records

Tracklist:
1. Creeping Symmetry
2. These Days
3. Pull Apart
4. Give Up
5. (You're) Still Sour
6. Pay For What Its Worth
7. Still Waiting
8. The Weight
9. Distant Light
10. Something is Lost
11. What's Left

Saw these guys last night at Willimantic Records, home turf in Willimantic, CT. They're in all the way from Melbourne, Australia, touring the US supporting their new debut s/t full length, so I was really excited to catch them. Infinite Void plays a melodic brand of dark post-punk with dancey beats, female vocals,  and swirling 80's guitar riffs that impart a dreamy element to the sound. All in all the band's aesthetic is borrowed from all the 80's regulars, but not definitively derivative of any one act I can think of. Great stuff, look out for tour dates near you, and if there isn't one, but you're dying to get your hands on a copy of the LP, head over to Poison City Records. Links below.

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