LULU'S OCTOBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

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Featured in this newsletter

ACT NOW - "LOUIS ADONIS / WOW FACTOR" 7"
GIN SATOH - "UNDERGROUND GIG TOKYO 1978-1987" BOOK 
TOSHIO IIJIMA & HIROKAZU FURUKAWA - "CHIRASHI: TOKYO PUNK & NEW WAVE '78-80S" BOOK
GHOUL - “JERUSALM” 7”
NABAT – “1981 DEMO” LP
METALLICA - “RIDE THE LIGHTNING” LP
YUTA MATSUMURA- “RED RIBBON” LP
ATOXXXICO - "TU TIENES LA RAZON" LP
SEDICION - "EXTINTOS" LP
BLITZ - "SECOND EMPIRE JUSTICE" LP
TEMPLARS - "PHASE II" LP
TEMPLARS - "1118 - 1312" LP
DEAD MOON - "DEFIANCE" LP
DEAD MOON - “TRASH AND BURN” LP
DEAD MOON - “CRACK IN THE SYSTEM” LP
HARRY HOWARD - "SLIGHT PAVILIONS" LP
CLOUD ICE 9- “CIRCUS ST” LP

Hello to all of you lovely folks out there in the world!

It’s Spring down under but a lot of us still like to get into the Spooky SeasonTM because why not? Anything pagan is better than not and costumes + scary movies + tricking + treating + letting a bit of your ghoulish side come out and play is a really good way to spend your time if you ask us. With that said; while it’s fun and games and even empowering to wear a mask, make sure that deep down you’re always being true to you.

Some seriously wicked stuff has arrived this month at Lulus. There’s god-tier punk, groundbreaking heavy metal, vibrant elektroxx, incense, scarves, printed things for your eyes and mind, soul wax, Japanese guitar psychedelics, even umbrellas, and two of the loveliest punk flier/reference books we’ve ever seen (and way more of course!)

So sit back, sink your teeth into life and death and books and music and for heaven’s sake; watch the sumptuous feasts for the senses that are both Suspiria movies.

Oh and the “final” Halloween movie comes out this month. RIP ‘The Shape’... Or maybe not?

NEW ARRIVALS

ACT NOW - "LOUIS ADONIS / WOW FACTOR" 7"
Trevor Records

New collaborative project from big big brains James Vinciguerra and Tarquin Manek. I imagined in my mind's ear what this might sound like on paper (dubby skronky drum machine wig outs?) and was absolutely delighted to find that, yeah kinda that but also soo much more. There's a cheekiness here that seems obvious in retrospect - calls to mind Tarquin's old band Bum Creek in that respect (do the kids even know about Bum Creek any more????)

Don't get me wrong; this is no joke - it's cheeky. It's also stylish and classy and very clever. It's the person you wanna be talking shit with the day after the party. It rewards repeat, attentive listens. It's dumb IDM. It's fun to be around.

Absolutely busted mad genius shit. Comes with a two-page zine / poster featuring v insightful interviews with Jarrod Zlatic on Line Music and Cooper Bowman on Altered States.

GIN SATOH - "UNDERGROUND GIG TOKYO 1978-1987" BOOK &
TOSHIO IIJIMA & HIROKAZU FURUKAWA - "CHIRASHI: TOKYO PUNK & NEW WAVE '78-80S" BOOK
Slogan

Unbelievably privileged and stoked to have these two to offer.

First up is the new printing of GIG, the legendary photobook by Gin Satoh. First published in 1987, the book chronicles the Tokyo punk and noise scenes from their birth; capturing the likes of Les Rallizes Dénudés, G.I.S.M., The Stalin, Gauze, Hijokaidan, Keiji Haino and pretty much everyone else in the punk, new wave, and noise scenes at the time.

Playing tiny venues like Minor and Yaneura, Satoh tracked these scenes from their infancy; immortalising now legendary moments such as Yamantaka Eye driving an excavator through the back of the venue during a Hanatarash show, and Les Rallizes Dénudés playing tiny rooms to a handful of enchanted masochists.

Rarely reprinted since '87 and immediately selling out whenever it does, this latest printing is the most complete yet - a huge A4 tome numbering over 650 pages and weighing in at over two kilos. Includes an index of the bands featured in both English and Japanese, making it a great resource for those looking to either get a start or deepen their dive into the apparently bottomless well of this fertile scene (just don't have Discogs open at the same time... you don't wanna know, trust me.)

Accompanying this is CHIRASHI, an incredible new publication from the team behind Tokyo's Record Shop BASE. Covering the same period of time as GIG, CHIRASHI is an beautifully curated archive of flyers for live shows happening in the Tokyo punk, new wave, and noise scenes from the 1970s to the mid-80s.

Presented chronologically, the styles are immaculate and truly must be seen to be believed. It is our hope that the dissemination of CHIRASHI via Lulus wil lead to a direct uptick in the quality of flyers in the Melbourne underground. No offence but some of you could learn a lesson or two from this tome.

GHOUL - “JERUSALM” 7”
Crowmaniax

Ghoulish and macabre punk mayhem the way those fully charged axxxing bomberz in Japan did best. They knew something you don’t, like when to change direction into a phantom of the opera glassy reprieve and back to breakneck “screw you, you that’s why” hardcore assault. This is why we listen to these dirty gems with the fervent ardour of the faithful at volume of a godless tsunami wave rumbling by your minuscule ear drums.

NABAT – “1981 DEMO” LP
PnV Records

Totally filthy Italian punk/oi disasterpiece. The razor to your throat guitar fuzz fuzz fuzz fuzz and endlessssss riff has a hell of a lot in common with cretinous black metal demo tapes, which is to say - it is as killer as it is primitive (read: very). You could say this is unimaginative and dumb, but to that I say; no, you.

METALLICA - “RIDE THE LIGHTNING” LP
Blackened Records

Headbangers unite. The sticker says something about "HIGHEST SELLING THRASH METAL ALBUM OF ALL TIME" and yeah, cool. But let us instead focus on how just how much damn ass it kicks. I would never recommend bad behaviour, but this record would, and I would recommend this record. Every single track is iconic beyond words - and played with downstrokes. Deal with that for a second. Anyone who says Lars Ulrich is a bad drummer can fight me, the man throws so much titanic swagger into these already enormous compositions and really gives them their soul. Lord knows he sucks now, but at some point in time he was clearly a total champ and devotee of world-shaking metal and heaviness. It's easy a quarter-way through the 21st century to take for granted the songs on Ride The Lightning, but the creativity and sheer ferocity is just out of this world. My suggestion is as follows; grow your hair, listen to this record, open two cans of beer, smash them together and pour them down yourself. When the time comes to flip to Side B, do it again.

YUTA MATSUMURA- “RED RIBBON” LP
Low Company

In the last decade or so Yuta Matsumura has had his hands on some of the absolute crème of Sydney's underground; Low Life, Oily Boys, M.O.B., Orion, and most recently Lulu's 2022 favourite Th Blisks. Red Ribbon is his first full-length solo LP.

Following a cassette of low fidelity industrial techno thumpers on Altered States in 2019 (as was the style at the time), this release at first feels like a massive departure from his previous solo work - though after listening to them side by side tendrils of continuity begin to appear. Both reflect a conscious decision to move away from guitar as the primary tool for songwriting - the 2019 cassette used drum machines and electronics (I assume), this LP was composed mostly on piano.

In terms of the continuum of his wider work, this year's Th Blisks LP seems like the most obvious reference point at first (although I believe this was actually recorded prior). We enter the album in that LP's familiar dubby, stretched pop zone (though with a vocal melody that feels as though it fell directly out of a lost Orion track).

On the flip however, the entire record opens up to us. Shaking off the dub and grit, the album's second side glistens. Calling to mind fragments of Another Green World, Virginia Astley arrangements, and our very own Alex Macfarlane, we enter a twisted chamber-pop zone that feels like entirely new, vital ground for Yuta.

We close on what might be my favourite moment on the record; Zookeeper's Trial, a chugging, slippery piano/synth/drum machine instrumental that feels like a lost Toshifumi Hinata track from a very slightly different world. Really, really beautiful stuff.

ATOXXXICO - "TU TIENES LA RAZON" LP
PnV Records

Raw, hard and loose rudo punk from Mexxxico! This heavy hitter comes at you from more angles than your tenth sparring lesson. It's easy to hear the similarities with bands like H1000's and Die Kreuzen, just to give you an idea of what we mean by RAW and HARD and LOOSE. Lots of big riddim changes, tight hi-hat crimes and the odd idea where you find yourself scratching your head at how? and why? but grateful that they did. That god-awful bass tone is elite and plays nicely well with the scratchfuzz guitar tone - in the way that dogs look like they're trying to kill each other but they're just playing nicely. Nowadays punk bands could and should take note; this is a killer slice of 'tude.

SEDICION - "EXTINTOS" LP
PnV Records

Everything about EXTINTOS is as it should be. It has everything one should look for in the punk genre; unbridled energy, high tempos, mid tempos, staunch and righteous aggression, neanderthal wit, dopey time changes, silly ideas made titanic flesh based on pure energy alone, the almighty riffs, and perhaps above all else - conviction. This is as good as Agnostic Front, Black Flag, Negative Approach, Discharge, Urban Waste, CCMF, Gauze. Are the guitars and bass in tune? Debatable. Did the drummer understand maths? Debatable. Did the group care much about timing? Debatable. Did they use more than one microphone to record the album? Debatable. What is absolutely undebatable is that this is one of the best hardcore recordings to ever exist. It is perfect. May love and appreciation for this record never, ever die.

BLITZ - "SECOND EMPIRE JUSTICE" LP
PnV Records

Hardcore and punk, truly glorious hardcore punk, evolves poorly - the primitive force of the music is its appeal - bored songwriters tend towards complexity to illustrate their personal growth - as their hair gets long, their songs get long - as their hair waves, their songs wave - as they age, their friends and family are more embarrassed by their bloodstained shirts and concussion - they long to express their feelings, exhibit their prowess, demonstrate their style.

The crossover thrash era of a band will rarely trump their early hardcore brilliance, and rare doth the studio save the ponderous post-punk band from sounding bloated in contrast to their early lean, hungry incarnation. There's plenty of exceptions, of course - Lulu's stocks EXCEPTIONS - but generally it's shit hardcore becoming good rnr, which isn't our focus here.

SO, here's an exception: Blitz become sensitive skins! Second Empire Justice is an exceptional post-punk record, treading similar territory to Warsaw's development into Joy Division or Crisis into Death In June, the startling contrast between the raw hardcore of early era Siekiera and their Killing Joke obsessed masterpiece Nowa Aleksandria.

TEMPLARS - "PHASE II" & "1118 - 1312" LPs
Templecombe Records

To begin, choosing The Knights Templar as the gimmick for your Oi! band is simply fantastic. Bravo. It lends an odd heft and bizarrity that just so perfectly suits what's going on between the grooves - which is late 60's inspired rebellious rock and roll from a dapper (for the 90's at least) & multiracial cast of Skins from New York City. Why they're fascinated with the mysterious Knights Templars is never made clear, aside from the fact that they are an inherently fascinating subject. The TEMPLARS sound is mostly made up of guitar moves you'd expect to hear in early tunes from The Who or Yardbirds accompanied by dumbbeatles basslines and super crude and tightly-wound drumming (sometimes sped up sometimes not). It's this drumming that anchors their sound to the streets of punk/oi with brash, burly and most flagrantly unsubtle vocals finishing off the job. Mentally blend Townshend with Negative Approach and you'll get the idea. The important thing to note is just how insanely hooky everything they do is. There's talent in simplicity and that's what these lads had. A real anomaly in their sound is the Intro/Land Of The Free from Phase II, which for my money is one of the most underrated one-two gems in punk - the songs aren't back to back but share a melodic motif so I'll still claim it as an all-time combo. Perry, Phil and Carl gave their lives and kept the tradition alive and so it is your duty to sit back and enjoy it.

DEAD MOON - "DEFIANCE", “TRASH AND BURN” & “CRACK IN THE SYSTEM” LPs
Missippi Records

Dead Moon are one of the great cult rnr stories of our time - one of those bands you hear once and immediately know every song - you've carried them with you, since the womb, since your ear developed - a hard scientific fact that Lulu have attempted to address in stocking every available Dead Moon record at every opportunity.

This is primal rnr, stripped down to the core... for the liveliest party or the loneliest comedown... a band for all seasons.

HARRY HOWARD - "SLIGHT PAVILIONS" LP
Self-Released

Since the late 70s, Harry Howard has played a role in drawing international attention to the Australian underground.

His work with and contributions to groups like The Birthday Party, Crime & The City Solution, These Immortal Souls and his late brother Rowland S. Howard’s material have earned their place in punk history and gone on to influence generations by this point.

His latest release, ‘Slight Pavilions’ sees him making his solo debut with a slightly different set up and utilising a variety of drum machines, guitars, bass and synthesisers.

Minimalism was definitely a focal point in these compositions and from the pristine, bass driven, shimmering minimal wave of ‘Blood is Gold’ to the Spacemen 3 style guitar O.D of ‘Suitcase’, ‘Slight Pavilions’ covers a lot of territory.

The use of effected ambience and space throughout recalls some of These Immortal Souls classic mid 80s material, albeit through a more modern lens, and adds a lyrical slant that finds the spectres of the past and current state of affairs colliding with a world weary, existential dread and delivered with that trademark Howard family wit.

Part Nikki Sudden style troubadour, part second album era Suicide with a little minimal synth peppered in for good measure?

Fans of classic Oz post-punk and minimal wave - give this one a spin.

Lulu’s has limited copies of Crane Records (FR) press on pink vinyl w/ onion skin overlay insert.

CLOUD ICE 9- “CIRCUS ST” LP
Happy Tapes

This second Cloud Ice 9 LP is freaking me out. I'm murky on the details, here's the clues I've been able to glean; it's a Happy Tapes joint, seems to maybe be a Happy Tapes family band type affair, the person behind Body Clock is in here (still thrash that Body Clock tape btw, essential for anyone interested in rotting cyclical tape music). They're big on costumes.

Musically this album GOES PLACES. We've got a bit of drum-machine boogie rock a la old favs Nightclub, a kind of cybernetic Country Teasers vibe sometimes, hard turn into bedroom-Vangelis tinged stadium rock. All really beautifully cohesive despite the sudden twists.

Aesthetically it feels like a bad trip in Second Life. There's a narrative here I'm still picking away at, but is engrossing to be inside.

Ideologically Circus St reminds me of the Zingers album insofar as it's a world unto itself, content to just do it's own thing and wait for people to catch up (though admittedly not nearly as full of contempt for everyone else as the Zingers LP lol). I hope they do catch up, I wanna talk to more people about this album.