So
yeah, BRATAKUS have finally dropped their debut EP / three-track
demo, and, as expected, it's awesome. For those that missed our
interview with them in the last issue, they're a two-piece of sisters
from up in Scotland who play riot-grrrl punk with influences like
BIKINI KILL and THE DISTILLERS, with even a bit of an old-school
MINOR THREAT vibe in the vocals and lo-fi production. The lyrics are
actually really cool for such a young band; they're pretty angsty,
with vegan and feminist subject matter, and it's so fast vocally, I
have no idea how Breagha fits some of these lines in! The vocal
harmonies work well, the bass and guitar riffs and progressions are
really catchy, the drum machine programming sounds cool, and the
whole EP is fast (the first song lasts about 70 seconds), energetic,
and a really fun listen. There are some SIMPSONS quotes (I think)
between songs which made me chuckle, and the very DIY packaging /
artwork is class, especially the collaging of random newspaper and
magazine headlines. An awesome little release from a band that are
doing punk-rock how it should be done, and that hints at ace things
to come. Go and check out 'I Know Nothing' on Youtube for something
to go on. Nice one!
This
is awesome stuff. Punk rock without any guitar; just solid, riffy
bass, tight, almost mechanical drumming, shouted female vocals, and a
keyboard that sound somewhere between KRAFTWERK and low-budget 70s /
80s horror film soundtracks (think CREEPOZOIDS or anything directed
by LUCIO FULCI i.e 'Zombie' or 'House by the Cemetery'). It's rare to
find stuff these days that sounds genuinely different, but this
really is; the synth sound is somewhat creepy and isn't something
that I've heard much in this style, and the way it marries with the
highly strung, desperate but angry vocals is something you need to
hear to appreciate. Every song on this four track is really catchy,
both vocally (with great lyrics) and musically, and has some great
vocal hooks that, owing to being based around repetition, will
inseminate your mind like few things can. This is especially so in
the final two tracks 'Girls' and 'Cheer Up Luv', and the respective,
unforgettable lines "it's not a competition; we're not the
opposition" and "cheer up luv, it might never happen".
Brilliant stuff with a unique quality, the greatness of which is
tough to describe.
We interviewed indie-rock / Riot-Grrrl punks IDestroy for issue nine of 'The Screever'; here's what they had to say to a few questions we threw at them towards the end of their 'Vanity Loves Me' EP tour.
Heya guys, please introduce yourself/ves, tell us what you play, and
who makes up the rest of IDestroy.
IDestroy
are Bec (guitar/vocals), Becky (bass/Bvox) and Jenn (Drums).
So you're currently on a UK tour; how has it been? Have there been
any stand out shows?
Tour
has been a lot of fun. One of our favourite shows was our recent
return to London, playing at The Gunners pub. The quality of the
venue really surprised us (knowing that its main focus is on
football), the sound was great and there were a large number of
people there to see us - we recognised a good number of the people
there from our last London show, so we were very pleased that we have
started gaining a following in another city!
How long have you been a band for now? How did you three meet?
We
all met whilst studying in Bristol and became good friends before
forming the band. We’ve been together around a year and a half now.
Your music seems to have a number of influences, including rock,
punk, blues, and indie; who would you say are your biggest
influences?
This
is always a tough question as we enjoy so many different types of
music. The band has definitely been influenced by riot grrrl bands
such as Bikini Kill and Sleater Kinney. We hope you will also hear
the older punk influences such as Iggy Pop and The Runaways.
So you released your first EP called 'Vanity Loves Me' this year; how
has it been received? Are you all pleased with what you
created?
We’ve had some really great reviews from the
likes of Classic Rock, Punktastic and Fred Perry Subculture as well
as being enjoyed by the independent bloggers on the DIY circuit. We
are so happy that it has had this wide appeal to all rock n rollers,
and we hope its reach will keep growing. We are proud of this
release, but we are certain that the next one will only get better!
Did you enjoy making the video for the title-track from that CD?
Where was it filmed?
It
was good fun, although a long day and very hard work. Being a short
song, you get to hear it a lot of times when filming for it over a 10
hour day! The silliness at the end of the video was a new experience
for all of us. As perhaps you can tell, we’re not all that
interested in make up and other ‘girly’ things, so it was cool to
experiment and see what came out! We filmed it at Farm Studios in
Bristol with Nick Pitt.
Can you give us a brief run-down of what the songs on the EP are
about lyrically?
I try to avoid the “what is this song
about” question, mainly because I’d rather the listener think for
themselves. When I hear great lyrics, take Kurt Cobain for example, I
personally don’t want to know what he was singing about. Why would
I? When I can pretend he’s singing about everything I feel right in
that moment.
Having said that, this EP is very much based on my
observations of modern day life. I’d like to think it’s a pretty
relatable listen.
What else do you guys do outside of IDestroy? Are any of you in any
other bands or anything?
Bec
plays guitar and song writes for art rockers ‘The Blue Aeroplanes’
and Becky plays bass in metal band Triaxis.
Ph: Jake Matthews
So what do you have planned for the rest of this year? Any more
touring or recording in the pipeline?
We have a few more
‘Vanity Loves Me’ tour dates left (Southampton, Minehead,
Stalybridge and Birmingham). After these shows we will spending some
time songwriting and preparing to record the next release. We have a
couple of festival appearances and other gigs this summer, but now
the ‘Vanity Loves Me’ tour is over, our main focus is on the new
material.
Cheers for answering these! Any last words, links, shout-outs, or
anything?
So yeah, ecstatic to say that we'll have these totes with us to sell at Northwest Zinefest next month. Lee's been a massive Daria fan for yonks, and this quote of Jane's is pretty appropriate for what we're about here at 'The Screever'. They were screenprinted by the lovely Lou at 13 O'Clock(go and give her Facebook page a like!) and any that we have left over will go up online afterwards. Ace!
As
soon as the first track from this six song tape from Italy's (I
think) FOLGORE dropped in, I thought of LOMA PRIETA. So yeah, they
play pretty awesome melodic screamo / post-hardcore that is
aggressively and distortedly vocalled throughout (save for some
ENVY-esque spoken word), and crashes through abrasive fuzzy riffs and
the odd bit of finger tapping, backed by chaotic drumming, and
interspersed with pretty, picked, melodic sections. I especially dig
the second track 'Likho', but this has a consistently similar song
throughout (save for the more brooding, largely slower penultimate
track 'Mediocrita'), so if you like stuff like LOMA, RAIEN, or LA
QUIETE, then this should be worth a listen.
CADY
(named after Lindsay Lohan's character in 'Mean Girls' of course)
features former members of FOR THIS WORLD IS HOLLOW..., and follows
on from the intensity of that band, playing awesome blast-beat
infused proper-screamo with some really heavy bass, abrasive
chordwork in the guitars, accompanied by some ace underlying melody
and delay-effect leads, and some seriously chaotic drumming that's as
tight as anything. There are parts that make me think of KAOSPILOT,
others of TRISTAN TSARA, and others of SAETIA, so hopefully that
gives you something to go on. The packaging on this is ace too, with
hand constructed, monochromatic cardboard sleeves, and with a little,
albeit tough to read, lyric sheet inside. Physical copies may have
sold out by now, but go and check this out on their Bandcamp if you
like your proper screamo, and listen to opener 'Goodnight Clark
Adams' for something to go on. Great stuff.
This
7" contains two tracks of what I can best describe as
psychedelic surf-rock that is a bit 70s and reminds me a bit of bands
like FRET and YOUVES and maybe THE MURDER OF ROSA LUXEMBURG in places. Both songs have a really funky, catchy lead
riff, on bass in 'Scary Eyes', and on guitar in 'Graveyard', helped
along by some tight and pounding drums that marry rhythmically with
said riffs. There are also some cool, heavily reverbed yet reserved
(and suitably spooky with regards 'Graveyard') vocals on both tracks
that compliment the music by way of adding extra texture to the
rather awesome musicianship rather than being a focal point, which I
really liked about it. A great little two-track record if you like
garage-y surf rock with a psych vibe.
Bloody
hell yes, this is pretty much exactly the kind of thing that I hope
will drop into my inbox to review. Fast, no messin' about, thrashy
hardcore with immense drumming that flicks between blasts, double
time, and lightspeed fills, that complement the awesome, tight guitar
and bass riffs perfectly, and multiple vocalists, all with very
different but equally pissed-off sounding tones. Every song on here
is brilliantly structured (that's what 9 years of experience will do
for you), from the 66 seconds of 'Dogsbody' (one of my personal
favourites, and featuring one of the best thrash-inspired riffs on
here) to the slower but no less furious 'Cunt of the Litter', and the
rather odd, somewhat amusing, yet still awesome 'Blinded by Leaves'.
If you like your hardcore how it should be played i.e. fast, heavy,
and abrasive, well-produced and with no nonsense, and that reminds
you of stuff that used to come out on DEAD AND GONE RECORDS (FIFTY ON
RED, BREAK IT UP, etc.), then this will please you a lot. This 12"
also comes with their last album 'Seaside Resort to Violence' on the
other side. Ace.
Ta-da! Issue nine of 'The Screever' is done! 56 A6 black and white pages of awesome-ness, featuring interviews with Bristol indie-rock / RiotGrrrl punks IDestroy, comic writer Dan Barnes of Dead Bride Comics, Jamie Brewer of skate collective GNARGORE, fantasy zine illustrator BODIE H., and Stourbridge hardcore kids Unhinged. Plus a bunch of reviews, a couple of recipes, puzzles, stencils, and a guide to making a pinhole camera; what more could you want for a quid?!
