Big Hog/ The Resource Network - Split Ep (Goodbye Boozy)
Big Hog
and the Resource Network both hail from Indianapolis, Indiana and share two
members. Big Hog are clearly influenced by the Devo-inspired bands that have
been coming from that corner of the world for a couple of years straight now. There’s
also a bit of a Lumpy and the Dumpers influence to their sound mainly in the
vocal department. In fact the vocals had me think Lumpy might be handling the mic.
I don’t think that’s the case, but who’s to say? That guy’s in more bands than
you’ve had bed partners and often goes by an alias. Lyrics are included. They
don’t make any sense to the point I can’t make out what the link between the
title and the words to the song are. Regardless, they’re delivered with little
restrain and a shitload of spit and snot.
Big
Hog delivers three venomous punk rock tracks on their side of this split. Opening
track Primus Gallagher is by far my favourite of the bunch. It’s all over the
place, riff- and structurewise. Opening like a herky-jerky angular post-punk
track, it moves into brooding hardcore territory, more in structure than in
sound, with a bass that I’d describe as sounding drunk as hell. After that
there’s a bit that brings to mind the Liquids, which is over before I came up
with that reference and then the song’s done. The other two tracks are sloppy
and messy as well and don’t disappoint after the high bar set by the record
opener. Everything is falling apart at the seams and deliberately so. Although
I doubt the band would admit to it, you can tell there’s thought behind these
songs. For one you hear these cats know their way around different styles in punk.
Furthermore you can hear that the musicians have some skill, which they used to
this result instead of songs more calculated, something that deserves our gratitude.
I’m especially charmed by the bass playing.
Onwards
to the flip, the Resource Network, the singer we hear on Artificial Flavors immediately
reminds me of one of the guys handling vocals in Uranium Club. His delivery’s
got the same biting irony. Arguably the song itself is reminiscent of Uraniub
Club too. Is this some kind of a joke or am I just becoming a lazy and uninspired
reviewer? The other two tracks are less obviously influenced by the Minneapolis
group that’s rightfully on many people’s tongue, and I like the Resource Network
better that way. Don’t You is my favorite track: messy guitar playing and cool fast
bass lines make the song. Nowhere does the Resource Network get close to the
chaos that’s found on the Big Hog side of this split though, not even remotely.
The lyrics make a little more sense too. The difference in approach to the song
writing makes the teaming up of Big Hog and the Resource Network a success in
my opinion. This split is a cool little record. Although it’s very much a product
of its time - aren’t we all? – the songs are good and fun and make it worth
picking up. After all good punk rock is good punk rock.
Dadar - I'm a Töch 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
The opening
song on this 7” has the listener think one is in for some simple yet catchy punk
rock, but somewhere half way a keyboard that sounds slightly off makes its appearance,
taking the track to new heights. The lyrics to ‘I’m a Töch’ are mainly: ‘I’m a Töch’
– which seems to be pronounced as tush as in ‘tushy’ - sometimes followed by ‘baby’
so most of you will be able to sing along after a listen or two. Fact: singing
along to songs makes them more fun. A marketeer would say it ‘enhances the
listening experience’, but one should reject the language of the enemy. I’m on
the same page as Bill Hicks when it comes to people in marketing: they should
kill themselves. Although the line ‘I’m a Töch’ is constantly repeated throughout
the song, at no point does it become clear to me what a Töch is. Is it slang
for loser? Something like that it seems. Or maybe they mean douche, as in
douche bag?
The second
track, Calendarize, incorporates the keys from the very beginning. The vocals
are wilder than on the opening song. I quite like the lyrics, which address the
contemporary tendency to plan, set goals and be proactive, that whole newspeak management
elites are forcing upon us. The final lines of Calendarize are: ‘Our
lives as an excel folder/ our lives all calendarized/ just cells to fill!’ They
hit close to home especially after finishing my 2019 administration, quite a
drag. On the flip there’s a cover of ‘Stimolation’ by Fhedolts, a band I’ve never
heard of. It’s a nice song. The record is wrapped up with a somewhat pensive
synthesizer outro. All fine, but the A-side is where it’s at. This raises the
question whether this 7” wouldn’t have been better off as a single. Maybe. There’s
also a case to make for more being better, a philosophy Goodby Boozy seems to adhere
to.
Combining
simple punk rock song writing with dumbass keyboard playing is something quite
a few bands in recent memory have done tastefully. In that sense Dadar is an
addition to the pallette that already offered bands such as Black Abba and the
Ausmuteants. It’s save to say you’ll dig Dadar if you’re into the sounds of
groups like those. Cool thing is these kids are from Italy, which is the reason
you’ve never heard of them before. It’s a sad fact that the country a band is
from still is a major factor into whether there’ll be attention for their music
or not, but in the end we’re all racists in our own special way. It’s a feather
in Gabriele’s cap that he releases local bands he loves. I wouldn’t dare do the
same, but then again I’m a bit of a Töch.
Protruders - No More 7" (Goodbye Boozy)
Two songs by this Canadian outfit. Not sure whether they are
new. The band released four cassettes before they made their move onto vinyl so
chances are these tracks have previously been released. Although I remember
listening to one of the Protruders tapes, I don’t recall it making an impression.
That says more about me than about the music for I like what I hear on this one-sided
7”. That’s right, there’s no grooves on the flip. It’s the cheap man’s version of
a single.
It’s hard to
nail the Protruders to a style. Feel It Records, which released their excellent
12”, labels the group as an art punk outfit, but I don’t feel inclined to do
the same. The band includes a saxophone player, who adds some lovely chaos to the
opening song, but overall the Protruders don’t strike me as artistic nor are
they reckless in a way art punk can be. Quite the opposite in fact, their songs
are well written and thought out. Hell, I’d call them intelligent. Whether
these guys are academics, I do not know, but somehow that’s the impression that
I get. It might be the fact that three out of four members wear glasses? Yes, I’m
that shallow. Although sonically not reminiscent of bands like the Monoshock,
Monorchid and, say, Counter Intuits, the Protruders do make me think of those
kinda bands. What I’m trying to say is we’re dealing with a bunch of smartass
kids, who can play and create a sound of their own that can’t direclty be filed
under any particular style or genre. However they are clearly a punk band in
the sense that they have a critical voice of their own. This, boys and girls,
is what makes a band relevant, not the money their records go for on
Discogs.
Opening song
‘No More’ is the better of the two. It starts out with a frantic guitar riff
and straight forward manic drumming. I don’t know whether it’s the recording or
I just can’t seem to get the Liquids out of my fucking head, but the way the
guitar sounds has me think of them. The chorus to ‘No More’is catchy and lends
itself well for singing along. After the chorus, there’s a bridge where things
get slowed down and the previously addressed saxophone makes its appearance.
This bit is awesome and makes the song. ‘It’s not Easy’ is a more laidback track,
a song with swagger. The singer complains about life not being easy on your own
whilst reminiscing a love lost. It’s nice, but a bit of an afterthought, which
probably would have been better off sandwiched inbetween to ragers on an album.*
‘No More’ is
a cool record. For those who’ve not heard the Protruders yet, I’d recommend to give
the Poison Future 12” a shot before turning to this 7”. It gives
a clearer idea of what the band is about. This 7” shows a wilder and sloppier
side of the group. Those already on board with the Protruders will enjoy this 7”.
Those looking for new sounds with a short attention span and a preference for the
crude and rudimentary, might be moved by these two songs to investigate the
band further, which would be a good thing. Lastly it should be mentioned that
the artwork of this record is simple and tasteful, which is unusual for a Goodbye
Boozy release, but fitting for this group.
* Apparently it’s a Rolling Stones cover. There’s no place
for a Rolling Stones cover on an album, but it has a place on a 7”, I
guess.
