Puder - Ples divljih svinja

Yet another noise-rock band from Croatia, Puder were a three-piece from Split who have released this one tape during their existence (and appeared on the Feathers, Wood & Aluminium compilation). The tape features nine songs, but this archive adds another five rehearsal tracks, plus an unfortunate cover-of-a-cover (Kraftwerk's "The Model" via Big Black - it's not a bad version, but quite pointless nevertheless). Their sound is standard issue Amrep, but the tunes are quite good and it's not a bad listen.

Track listing:

1. Salon (2:29)
2. Krevet (2:05)
3. Ples divljih svinja (3:45)
4. Tebi dajem (1:39)
5. Bolnicki prozori (2:07)
6. Zovi me (3:21)
7. Mozemo jesti (0:59)
8. Baka (3:14)
9. Bolnicki prozori (1:31)
10. The Model (2:59)
11. Uniforme (2:30)
12. Voloder (1:10)
13. Skrivas (2:45)
14. Mozemo jesti (1:07)
15. Salon (2:16)

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Labija majora - Kastracioni kompleks

Labija majora from Baska on the island of Krk are another one in the line of interesting Croatian noise/alternative bands from the early Nineties whose material was released by the wonderful cassette label Kekere Aquarium. This is their only release, a five song tape from 1995, featuring four great catchy tunes and a throwaway "experiment" to finish it off. I have no idea what happened to them later, but I still enjoy this tape.

Track listing:

1. Refleks (1:51)
2. Brain (2:22)
3. Gorim (1:46)
4. Now (2:13)
5. Jela (1:02)

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Dare to Go - 1989-1993

So, two days after posting the Hell's Bells EP, I take out the next tape in my "to rip" box, and what do you know - it's Hell's Bells again. Or, at least the first two songs are: turns out that Dare to Go, a band I knew nothing about, was created from the remnants of Hell's Bells, and this anthology-type cassette contains the two songs from the A-side of the "Apage Satanas!" EP. I still don't enjoy those songs too much, mostly because of the lyrics and the vocals, although the bass playing is pretty solid, and for me the highlight of this version of the band. As for the later DTG material, it's less hardcore and more "alternative", but not in the post-Nirvana polished grunge sense - this was still the EARLY Nineties. The lyrics are in English now and the vocal is less prominent in the mix; I'm not sure if the singing is better than before, but this singer doesn't grate on my nerves like the original one did. Dare to Go later evolved into another band called Modrobradi, but I don't have any of their recordings to share; there's a Myspace page for you to check out if you are interested.

Track listing:

1. Probisvjeti (2:12)
2. Krv nije votka (2:54)
3. Hometown (2:37)
4. Without You (3:27)
5. I Don't Believe You (1:47)
6. For Me You're Nothing (2:07)
7. Skyline (2:39)
8. Now You Can Guess Why (3:33)
9. See You in Red (4:03)

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Hell's Bells - Apage Satanas!

Hell's Bells were a hardcore/punk band from Zagreb, Croatia (then Yugoslavia), who released this sole 7" EP in 1991; that's about all I know about them. Here's a rip of my copy of the 7".

Track listing:

1. Probisvjeti (2:11)
2. Krv nije votka (2:53)
3. Mojca (2:15)
4. Kosmar (2:22)

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Future of the Left - Demos

The handsome Mr. Falkous at last week's Terraneo festival in Sibenik, Croatia.

Some members of Future of the Left used to be in another band. This other band disbanded seven years ago as of this writing; in the meanwhile, FOTL have released three full-length albums, one mini-album, one live album and a number of singles. Therefore, I will purposely NOT mention the other band, which admittedly was great, but not SO great as to warrant FOTL still being called "other band offshoot" or "ex-other band". When I saw them last, my fourth time total (London with Against Me!, Zagreb, Pula, Sibenik), they were still badgered by the audience to play the other band's most famous songs; and even though the charmingly impolite Falco retorted with "That's like me saying your ex-girlfriend has better tits - which she probably does", they obliged. I did enjoy those two songs, but I still thought it was time to let them stay in past and concentrate on the here and now. FOTL's six years of existence have fruited several songs that absolutely deserve the term "classics", yet they are still vital enough to surprise with unexpected moves on new releases; and as rarely as that happens to me, I actually wished that they would play MORE NEW STUFF (especially a song called "A History of Men", which you can find on their current LP, "Plot Against Common Sense" - which you should buy, along with the other two studio albums and the marvelous live disc). Well, since this blog does not feature commercially available recordings, I have to offer you some old stuff if I wish to share any FOTL music at all, which I do very much. Here then is a selection of their early demo stuff (the two songs that later featured as B-sides and can be bought as legal downloads have been omitted), alongside the more recent demos for "Plot Against Common Sense" and its predecessor, the "Polymers Are Forever" mini-album. Here's hoping for many more equally great ones.

Track listing:

1. The Lord Hates a Coward (3:35)
2. Small Bones Small Bodies (2:48)
3. Real Men Hunt in Packs (3:57)
4. Stick to What You Slip (1:52)
5. The Fibre Provider (reprise) (2:55)
6. My Wife Is Unhappy (4:24)
7. Hometaping Is Killing Susan (2:20)
8. I Am the Least of Your Problems (2:32)
9. Goals in Slow Motion (3:11)
10. Beneath the Waves an Ocean (3:47)
11. Notes on Achieving Orbit (5:08)

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