LULU'S JUNE 2023 NEWSLETTER

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Featured in this newsletter

V/A - "200PLUS VOL.1" LP
(200PLUS)
Gabber, Breakcore, Speed, Rave, Fast, Acidick, Electronic. Brand spankin' nu label 200PLUS have release their first offering to the pace-godz and it's a worthy one. Housed in an appropriately raw and DIY disco sleeve this is weaponous fodder for speed weapons. If you are on such blessed soul who's got the need for extreme tempo electronic raveables this will surely whet your whistle, with a fairly eclectic mix of tunes ranging from hectic sample mashups to twitchy'n'glitchy breakz to OG fast'n'hard bloody fist pumpin' stylings. Aforementioned pace-godz are surely gurning with glee.

GELD - "CURRENCY // CASTRATION" LP
(Relapse Records)
BOOM! Just like that - Geld with the knockout. They continue to meld the stylez of slammin' NYHC, Burning Spirits Japanese neck snappers and dys-dys-topian THC infused pedalwashed psychedelicks. C//C is the fruits of a well oiled machine; these lads stepped up to the plate fucken big time these past few years, maturing into easily one of the most reliable and powered up live punk bands in the country who rain, hail or hangover (or pneumonia or broken bones) will give anyone a run for their currency up on that stage - and all of this should be damn evident on record. Geld bottle turmoil into song form raging ahead, brute forcing your mind in a mid tempo, or crawling into an abyss, it's all a battlefield to them and the battlefield is their playground. And it ain't that they're just built different, they've dedicated countless hours punishing their ears and minds so that you can do the same. Everyone pulls and pushes their weight on this recording, flexin' heads and fast-twitch muscles like it's nothin' and the result is KO in the fifth. The fix is in; Geld are the creme.

THATCHER'S SNATCH - "WHITE COLLAR MAN" 7"
(Hardcore Victim)
Thatcher's Snatch are back with another stab at the neck of UK82 punk. Opening with a Dead Boys riff is a bold move but I'm gonna have to pay it 'cos they had the courtesy of throwing a phaser on that smokin' gun and we love that. It's interesting to hear that classic dirge riff used to different effect here, bemoaning (literally) yuppie zombie apocalypse white collar clones rather than being the fuse on a stick of dynamite igniting Stiv's electronic dream. The B-Side is made of hot riffin' guitar along with busybee bass work, snappy tremolo and downstrokes around every corner with punktuated breaks every so often for slogans to stamp their disapproval; orforit'y, disco shit and class wankin' traitors sitting in the crosshairs. I suppose shit really hasn't changed much in the last forty years ('cept the price of beer and smokes, bloody hell) and Thatcher's Snatch knows it.

TOQUI - "WIRE OWL" LP
(Self Released)
Darkened prog rock/jazz from around the corner. Opening track 'Night Rise' is takes the heaviest steps into King Crimson's court but those traces remain throughout the album - even in their gentle, subtle moments Toqui lean toward the dramatic and heavy-in-vibe rather than relying on breathy nothings or skronky squawks. There certainly is an undercurrent that you're being pulled along with and though the destination remains shrouded with the unknown, it's a wonderful journey through what one can ony presume is the night.

SEVEN RIVERS OF FIRE - "HAIL STAR OF THE SEA!" 2xLP
(Ramble Records)

The sound of ritual is strong on 'HAIL STAR OF THE SEA!'. Comprised of rich lo-fi drones from all sorts of instruments (bowls & bells & harmonium & rosary beads & field recordings & acoustic guitar & the spooks and creaks of a home after midnight. Much like spiritual ritual it is partly improvised (enflamed with passion) and partly composed (directional and intentional). The twenty-minute 'Crossing The Abyss / The Magician's Journey' is truly breathtaking, teeming with a special kind of raw come sublime energy - pure expression of intangibles through music - music as language and poetry - music as soul - music as a call to the other planes. Hihly recommended if you have an interest in ambient drone, fingerpicked folk guitar, experimental DIY home recorded chamber music, spirit contact or esoteric pathways to revealed knowledge.

NAUJAWANAN BAIDAR - "KHEDMET BE KHALQ" LP
(Ramble Records)
Naujawanan Baidar (Farsi for Enlightened Youth) are back with more banging, fuzzing, heavy pulsing Afghan American psych rock. Employing traditional instruments and melodies to coalesce with Kraut/Psych and more than a slice of alternative punk style driven fuzz makes for a powerful trip. More directional and militant than their previous volumes, these are tight and dense songs that imbibed in the right headspace will stir the heart as much as they rumble your stereo system. For fans of Faust, Goblin, OM, and liberated rock.

BRICK HEAD - “BRICKS FOR BRAINS” CS
(Self Released)
The new tape from Brick Head feels more well defined and architecturally sound than their 2020 debut. Hammering their way through nine tracks of Wire cum PJ Harvey cum Saints solo construction; if the melancholy minor progressions and lead layers are the concrete mix then the binary kick/snare is the grout, with thrown lo-fi Iggy/PJ vocals putting the cracks in the walls. Some songs are more immediately punk’d up and quicker with some of that a-n-g-u-l-a-r attack but the drawn out and strung out slower numbers are where the feelings grow in these ears.

DX SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
DX first show was at Sydney Opera House on Sunday June 4 with Low Life and Iceage. DX is a band featuring Greta Balog, Michael Hassett and Micky Grossman (of Den) playing with Josh Neutron (of Diat) and DX (of Total Control). Joined on this night by the sax lord Nick Kuceli.
From their biography, written in collaboration with Michel Houellebecq and titled ACID HARDCORE (publishing in June, 2033): “think Japanese acid hardcore, Croatian post-punk, Russian literature, French wine, psychedelic warlords… these songs are the result of experiments with travel through time to revisit past lives and future lives. Melodies are stolen from the folk music of future civilisations, rhythms were shared with them by interstellar travellers, their lyrics map and describe the fault lines under this fake world… point to a way out… a way through…”.