HAPPY NEW YEAR, PEOPLE!

Meanwhile, I picked up some Borneo releases off the merch tables when I went to see the Proletar’s show in Kota Kinabalu recently. Since I don’t have a tape-player at the moment, here’s my thoughts on the CD-Rs first.

read the rest of this entry

OBSESIF KOMPULSIF / BURNING CIVILIANS
When Disaster Meet Hardcore Split-CDR
(Straight Records)

Obsesif Kompulsif comes from Depok in Indonesia, while Burning Civilians resides in Telok Intan up north. Two bands coming in from the same fastcore wanna-be-lity but from my point of view, only one of them is nearer to the goal than the other.

Before I go further, I must confess my abhorrence for mindless, lets-play-exactly-by-the-numbers fast-core. It used to be fun to listen to; it’s whacky, it’s irreverent and it’s pissing upon sacred walls with no apologies offered; and yes, some bands still do it well.

But nowadays, well, maybe a few years ago, there were too many of them paddling furiously up on the same faster-faster creek and it’s became too samey, too bloody bankrupt of ideas. In the end it’s a ho-hum affair, it’s not funny anymore. And what I have here is almost a chore to listen to.

Oh, well. lets put on the CD again. Okay. Hmmm. Obsesif Kompulsif is not that bad if you’re hopelessly hooked to the style. They featured all that snippets of dialogues and stuff forming intros or outros to their songs and then proceeded to pummel in the expected speedy madness with a yell there and a growl there and a good moshing riff here etc. Nothing special and the guitar is slightly outta tune but at least it’s nearer to the goal.

Burning Civilians, on the other hand, still hasn’t progressed much from their old demo, well, maybe there are a bit more of cod-thrash-metal riffage added along with the slower tempo. I suspect, the band is now heading towards a more metal sound but failed miserably. None of the songs here works for me; the playing, singing and production are worse.

Obsesif Kompulsif Rating:
Burning Civilians Rating:

Straight Records @ MySpace | Burning Civilians @ MySpace | Obsesif Kompulsif @ MySpace

AVAILABLE AT THE RICECOOKER SHOP – RM10

VANILLA MUFFINS
The Greatest Sugar Oi! Swindle CD
(wizzard-in-vinyl – Japan)

Swiss Oi! is not something I hear often but Vanilla Muffins could claim themselves to be from England and nobody would bat an eyelid. The band sounds as English as any other band who wanna go back to the late 70s UK without learning the intricacies of “cockney-dom”.

Musically it’s top energetic and melodic street punk filled to the brim with boisterous singalongs as expected. Melody-wise it’ pretty much later-period Cock Sparrer if there’s no Colin McFaull on vocals and the riffage picks a lot from earlier Angelic Upstarts while the buoyant feel on some songs pointed to early glam such as Slade or Gary Glitter!

The production is however ruefully far too polished for rocking punk rock, to the point that the drumming sounds plastic and the vocals sanitised! The playing is also precise, streamlined and lacking in raw grit. I like my punk rock with unschooled recklessness and you can’t find that here. Pity.

Maybe that’s why it’s called as “Sugar Oi!” in first place; an attempt to bring sweetened condensed milk, bubblegum and syrup into Oi! Well, if that’s the case the band may have found the formula.

Fans of Cock Sparrer would get foaming crazy with this but for me, a live and raw recording of Vanilla Muffins would be a better gift. Good pop songs though.

Rating:

vanillamuffins.ch | myspace.com/vanillamuffins
myspace.com/wizzard_in_vinyl

note: thanks to Min for the CD!

BLOODY REJECTS
Ready-Set-Go! CD
(Bloody Rejects)

I wonder if anyone remembers the hoo-haa which followed after a band called Blood-I-Rejects somehow “released” an album under the auspices of the infamously-dodgy label “Strange Culture Records” some 10 years ago in 1998.

When I met one of the band members in Singapore recently, she pointed out on the lingering disappointment and anger felt by the band due to the poor treatment dished out to them by the record company. It may have been a decade long but that bruise is still raw.

For a lot of us who were active back in the late 90s, Blood-I-Rejects went away unnoticed for years. It’s only recently the band began to crop up again on some gig flyers with a bit of name-change. On further investigation, I found out that an EP was put out last year. The once an-all-girl band is now operating with one male on drums (awesome drummer actually!) and they have been active gigging, even went on an Indon tour.

Not remembering how they actually sounded like back in the day, this nine-song CD is like my first introduction to the band and i have to say I’m digging it. Musically, Bloody Rejects reminds me of pre-metallic NYHC, when the sound of UK82 and early Oi! were adopted by American boot-boys who cocked one ear towards early 80s HC.

It’s a cruising-for-a-bruising, full-steam ahead bulldog attack; quite simplistic with its three-chords rifferama but the ferocity of the delivery would dent the sides of your head. The production is clear, gritty and punchy, with the gloss rightfully minimised to take a back seat to the strenuous, vocal-chords shredding up-front. The guitar sound rips too!

At some points I saw images of Warzone attending a huge mosh-pit while dressed in beautiful but torn and bloodied silk blouses!

Rating:

myspace.com/bloodyrejects

AVAILABLE AT THE RICECOOKER SHOP FOR RM20

OK ladies and gentlemen, I have with me quite a number of Indonesian zines, tapes & CDs gathered (given & traded) during my band’s recent trip to Java and I’ve been trying to find free time to write about them and share it you BUT so far I only managed to do TWO! Pathetic really.

Anyway, before it become as basi as the last Aedes zine in 1996 (which never came out!), here are the reports. More will be added to the list as time permits.

RAMPOG JB
Perlawanan pro-cassette
(JB Records)

A bit like rock kapak meets 80s not-so-speedy speed-metal trying to get into the neo-street-punk territory, featuring dense rock guitar sound which reminded me of less-heavy early 90s Cromok and songs that flits between singalong celebration of their hometown (Parung) to simplistic political sloganeering against the authorities, the state and yes, wars.

If you like the early Bollocks, with a bit of rock-kapak-ism or early Cromok, it’s highly possible you’re gonna dig RAMPOG JB. This 14-song cassette came out in 2004 and traces of the band on the net is pretty scarce, but the band is from the chilly Bogor area which is pretty active with tonnes of DIY shows at the IdeGila Music Room.

Rating:

JB Records, Jl. H Mawi, No. 14, Gg Musolah, Nurul Hikmah, Parung, Bogor, Indonesia

THE REFUSAL / BUNGA BANGKAI / NONSENSE IDEA
Continue or Die 3-Way Split pro-cassette
(Jublek Records)

Another Bogor product from 2004 featuring BUNGA BANGKAI (from the same area) with NONSENSE IDEA and THE REFUSAL, both from Jakarta Selatan. BUNGA BANGKAI apparently played the Jakarta Bersatu festival last year and I’m glad to hear they are still around.

Of the three bands here, BUNGA BANGKAI tramples over the rest in its irreverent zeal at mixing bits of rough and screechy grindcore elements with intense (and funny) mix of lightened power-violence & fastcore; all usually started with some groovy hardcore breakdowns. Charles Bronson-esque but utterly kelakore!

Their lyrics is pretty oblique too, check out Cinta Semalam; “cinta semalam, seorang pelacur, uang birahi yang dia cari, hanya kepuasan sex yang dia inginkan, tak peduli orang mencaci maki” To see a love song title such as that delivered in the band’s falling-down-the-stairs manner is a treat! But hmmm, is that admiration for a prostitute’s resilience, or is it a put down?

Anyway, the other two bands are both very different, with NONSENSE IDEA being a weak singalong street-punk and Oi! mix while THE REFUSAL threads the UK82 bits reminding me of OPPOSITION PARTY’s mid-period. Not great but like i said, BUNGA BANGKAI’s 10 storming tracks made this tape worthwhile.

Rating: for BUNGA BANGKAI
while the others are both Rating:

BUNGA BANGKAI can be contacted via the label itself, Jublek Records c/o Cepot, Jl. H Mawi, No. 14, Gg Musolah, Nurul Hikmah, Parung, Bogor, Indonesia (same address as above)

THE REFUSAL – therefusal at hotmail.com

NONSENSE IDEA – Jackie, Jl. Lebak Bulus III, No. 8, Rt. 04/Rw.08, Jakarta Selatan 12430 Indonesia

(more coming!!)

The Garrison
The Garrison CD-R
(Concussion Records)

With recent punk/reggae sensations Kuchalana retreated to an indefinite and rather mysterious hiatus, I find it exhilarating to know that The Garrison is still here; more active than ever and most importantly, sticking tight to their The Clash meets The Members route, with all the reggae bits intact.

This CD-R features five tunes, all rough’n'ready recordings made a few months ago in Subang; some are straight-ahead classic Clash-y street-punk while others are ponderous dubby-reggae. Best track for me is still Rupert Murdoch,; a tune they recorded for the (still ‘coming soon”) Ricecooker/Knot Records comp recently, a sharp and spiky number reminding me of Australia’s H-Block meeting The Angelic Upstarts.

Hidden in track number five is a live tune recorded amongst the chatter and chinks of a club somewhere, a bit like The Specials more laidback nightclubbing tracks, all jazzy, soulful and relaxed lovers rock, skanking the night away. Utter cool! Listen to it down there. I think it’s called “Moonlight Rebel” or something along the same line.

Rating:

The Garrison on MySpace

Available at The Ricecooker Shop for RM5

PROLETAR
Back To Hatevolution CD
(multiple-label release)

First of all, I would like to advise you people to NOT subject yourselves to one hour plus of blasting grindcore right after waking up. You see, I spent last night reading Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer, a book that has been taking a lot of my free time these past few weeks, and this time it kept me awake until 6 am.

When I woke up at at 10 this morning, I knew that I need more of that deep slumber. My head’s thumping and eyes blurry, but this PROLETAR CD stared at me. I’ve been ignoring it for a while now, so…

Gurghhhhhh!!

read the rest of this entry

Monster Sakura
Hancur Tulang Belikat Demo CD-R
(Youthrustrecords)

Bought this at Sunday’s Never Built Ruins show, and it comes in an impressive off-white art-card CD envelope, with the artwork silk-screened in grey on the surface. Very beautiful indeed. Very tastefully done.

I’ve never heard of the band before, but the sleeve had me curious. I was hoping for a fully-matured and artful hardcore-punk band with playful but deep metaphors behind the 5 songs included.

read the rest of this entry

PLAGUE OF HAPPINESS
Kawan CD
(Nyaring Records)

After so many recording attempts for this project; time and time again being ripped-off by studios, dragged around by crap production people, offers by a major label (who threatened them with total boycott if they didn’t sign the contract!) etc., Johor’s main ska-punk proponent PLAGUE OF HAPPINESS finally decided to give their best in a posh studio in Singapore; self-financed, self-dictated!

read the rest of this entry

It’s been an enjoyable xmas holiday these past few days. Been out to friends parties and dinners and also had a bit of time to try catching up with some reviews before the year runs out. So here’s the first batch of CDs I’ve gone through, there will be another batch in the next few days. Read on…

read the rest of this entry

The band Annalise had a song called “Too Much Music, Too Many Bands” and this is exactly what I am feeling here sitting in the shop at 10 AM in the morning surrounded with all these cassettes, CDs and what-nots.

My aim today is to do a few mini reviews on some new music the shop is carrying and we have a few of them on the shelves. Some are cool, some are lukewarm but I’ll try to be true to the aim here, and that is to document what I can (without too much “advertorialising”, if you know what I mean)

read the rest of this entry

Devilica
The Journey Continues CD
(Third Arm Records)

Blood On Wedding Dress
Blood On Wedding Dress CD
(Satire Records, Japan)

Seems like speeding at breakneck velocity is no longer a must but going at it with the agility of The Fantastic Four’s Human Torch is also one of the main pillars.

Devilica and Blood On Wedding Dress are intense young men going for the kill, zig-zagging through a warped and chaotic sonic tapestry with carefully-honed skill and precision. They are able to stop on a dime and then turn around 270 degrees without a pause, and they would leap over the walls in a single bound.

read the rest of this entry

Bannbodo
1313 CD-R
(self-release)

About a year ago a friend of mine, desperate to form a new band after relocating to KL from Penang, was going to try out and play guitar for “Band Bodoh”.

At that point I didn’t know of any band by that ridiculous name, or even why anyone would want to call his band as such! However, I like the self-deprecative slant.

A few weeks later the friend told me he’s not gonna be fitting well in the band. “Those guys ah, they play metal!,” he said, extremely exasperated. Y’see, he’s into shoe-gazing mid-80s indie with droning wall-of-sound guitars (think early Ride & My Bloody Valentine) and being in a metal band would be terribly unfortunate. Yup, he was desperate but not that desperate!

read the rest of this entry

PUSHER / THE PIPS
Split-Demo 2007 CD-R
(Knot Records)

A few weeks ago the recently revitalised Pusher (with guitarist Tholib back in the fold) went to Sri Gombak to record several songs for a split-release with Gasoline Grenade.

This is the studio where Carburetor Dung recorded our new album about a month ago. The new space is a remnant of the old Dreamwalk Studio (the outfit who recorded the Naked Butterfly’s debut and The Pilgrims 2nd album) but it’s very rundown and now only doing vocal recordings by nasyid groups and political speeches!

Anyway, a few days later the resulting recording was brought to The Ricecooker Shop for us to hear, and we found out that the recording is pretty good especially for a completely live set-up BUT, yeah, there’s a but… Pusher uses two guitarists and the problem was that the two guitarists used different tuners to tune their guitars.

Now remember this kids, if your band have two guitarists or two guitars, do tune up your guitars using the SAME tuner! Especially before recording! The Pusher guys didn’t and so one of the guitars turned out to be NOT in tune with the other.

read the rest of this entry

ricenotes; Nizang mentioned about his new blog of reviews in a comment yesterday and I decided to call him up and hijack the whole thing into this blog. I’ve been trying to get people to contribute to this site forever, yet friends are still churning out writings on their own blogs. So you want to have your own thing going, fair enough but hey, pass some of it here lah! This site is supposed to be a collaborative effort, it a community thing and it’s getting really boring doing it all on my own lah! So yeah, terima kasih banyok, Nizang!

Brain Sketching Introduction

Hi! Peace be upon you! Welcome to this newly made blog.

My label just released a CD and we felt it’s hard to expose our CDs since there’s no active and consistant fanzine around here nowadays. We don’t wanna send our releases to big magazines like ROTTW or Konsert to review. The local scene needes a channel/media for their stuffs to be reviewed. So, that’s why I decided to upload all these reviews I did here. It’s actually writtten for my fanzine. But to wait until the zine is released, the reviews will be outdated. I’ll still put out zines, no worries.

Btw, the blog name is inspired by The Rotten’s (early 90’s punk/oi band from my hometown, Kuala Terengganu) demo tape title. I define it as ‘to convey what you have in your mind, ideas or messages. Thanks!

read the rest of this entry