Six months after the release of their debut single, London’s test plan unveil their follow up single/music video ‘Walking in a Vacuum’, out on 26th March.
Uniting ferocious guitar-driven havoc and pulsating rhythmic force, ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ delves into repression and avoidance in the face of life’s pressures. Loaded with hypnotic bass lines, resilient drum beats, raw, animated guitar hooks and propelled by manic and captivating vocals, test plan’s follow up single is a blast of existential despair and a love for intense volume.
“There’s a lot to be said for resilience in life, for grinning and bearing it.” says drummer / vocalistMax Mason. “This can become psychotic when you begin to actively deceive yourself. Moving down the wrong path, aware of each step making things worse. ‘[Walking in a] Vacuum’ dances with this notion of pushing your emotions down and letting the world swallow you up. It’s a dance song about over-thinking and surrender, when maybe you should be doing neither.”
Recorded and mixed by Darren Jones (Fat Dog, The Fall, Gorillaz) in the band’s own north-east London practice space, ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ captures test plan’s intense and visceral energy, matching the force seen in their live performances; pumping and scuzzy in equal measures, seamlessly treading between dancing and moshing.
The accompanying music video, filmed, edited, animated and directed in-house by Mason, captures the essence of the song’s themes; propulsion, horror and elation, surfacing the concepts of resilience in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty. Mason muses on the idea of surrendering to overwhelming forces of the world: “It was a deliberate effort to be artistic and wanted it to feel as if it were a performance art in a gallery space. It was an attempt to make something that looked sort of cursed or horrifying without actually doing anything blatantly to make it so. The animated touches were a way to add an extra layer of mysticism; colour and playfulness to our otherwise angsty performances.”
test plan are set for a busy year with their biggest headline show to date, an overseas summer tour starting at Paris’ Supersonic Block Party, a live session and a forthcoming EP. ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ will be released on 26th March with their headline single launch show on 29th March at Paper Dress Vintage with in violet and Brides.
Upcoming Live Dates:
29/03/24: Paper Dress Vintage, London (Single Launch)
18/04/24: Strongroom, London 24/05/24: Sebright Arms, London 01/06/24: Supersonic Black Party, Paris (FR) 06/06/24: Le Ravelin, Toulouse (FR) 07/06/24: Jokers, Angers (FR)
Keep your mind open.
[Why not walk on over to the subscription box while you’re here?]
Back when goths and the gothic lifestyle was barely a thing and post-punk was yet to exist, five ladies in Hamburg, Germany (Anja Huwe – vocals, Caro May – drums, Manuela Rickers – guitar, Fiona Sangster – keyboards, and Rita Simon – bass) with little to no musical experience started a band, shocked their hair, and the world with their intensity, drive, and sound. They toured the world, opened for Cocteau Twins, played for legendary DJ John Peel, and released four albums before splitting up.
Now, Sacred Bones Records has released Xmal Deutschland’s Early Singles 1981-1982 collection to remind us of how influential they were. I mean, how much more of an influence on goth rock do you need than opening track “Schwarze Welt” (“Black World”)? It’s hard to pick out if Rickers’ guitar growls or Huwe’s snarling vocals is the darkest element of it. “Die Wolken” (“The Clouds”) is short and almost a poem of an instrumental, whereas “Großstadtindianer” (“City Indians”) is an angry proto-punk ripper with Sangster’s keyboards sounding like they’re stuffed full of angry bees.
May’s simple drums on “Kälbermarsch” (“Calf March”) build into a rhythm that almost induces panic. By the time we get to one of their biggest hits, “Incubus Succubus,” they’re really in the groove, and Simon’s bass has grown from being subtle in the background to a menacing shadowy figure at the forefront. May’s drumming on “Zu Jung Zu Alt” (“Too Young Told Old”) reaches near Alan Myers levels.
The title of “Blust Ist Liebe” (“Blood Is Love”) is already cool enough, but the way Huwe’s vocals move around the track (and Sangster’s keyboards) is even cooler. Closing the compilation with a live version of “Allein” (“Alone”) is a great touch, as it’s a powerhouse of a track with everyone in perfect synch. Rickers, Simon, Simon, and May are on fire throughout it, and Huwe absolutely commands the microphone. It’s a stunner.
It’s great that Xmal Deutschland are finding new fans and old fans are enjoying their revival. This collection is a great start to their catalogue. Don’t miss it.
Imagine this: It’s barely post-pandemic. Your brain is still foggy. You’re not sure whom to hug or trust. You’re sick of Netflix. You’re sick of your house. You’re sick of being sick. You need something, anything, to shake you out of it.
Then along comes Welfare Jazz by Swedish post-punk rockers / goofballs Viagra Boys to slap you across the back of the head and remind you to get back to partying and laughing.
I mean, don’t we all know somebody like the lead character in the opening track, “Ain’t Nice”? Lead singer Sebastian Murphy warns a potential lover about his bad temper (“Trust me, honey, you don’t want me. I’ll start screamin’ if you look at me funny.”) and habits (“I’ll borrow your stuff and never put it back. I’m kinda hungry, could you give me a snack?”). There’s some much good stuff here that it’s difficult to tell who shines the most. Is it Henrik Höckert‘s bass? Elias Jungqvist‘s quirky synth bleeps? Oscar Carls‘ saxophone honks?
“Toad” is a story of a man who can’t settle down with someone who’s perfect for him. “I don’t need no woman tellin’ me when to go to bed and to brush my teeth,” Murphy sings as the rest of the band creates some kind of wild blues chaos behind him that swirls around like a menacing pack of hyenas. On “Into the Sun,” Murphy laments his actions and tries to repair the damage he’s done, but it’s too late. Benjamin Vallé‘s guitar notes are simple and sorrowful. It’s a blues tune hidden in a post-rock cut.
The bouncing synth-bass of “Creatures” is outstanding, and Murphy’s lyrics are a shout-out to those us not controlling the majority of the world’s wealth. “Shooter” is a wild psychedelic jazz instrumental and Tor Sjödén‘s drums on it are as tight as stuff heard on early Devo records. “Secret Canine Agent” is a song about, well, a spy dog.
“Jesus Christ, I feel alive! Just last week I thought that I was gonna die!” Murphy sings on “I Feel Alive,” summing up pretty much everyone’s post-pandemic attitude. The band’s slow juke-joint blues stomp of the song (and Murphy’s vocal delivery), however, reveals our true feelings: exhaustion, confusion, and indecision.
“Girls & Boys” has Murphy (and the rest of the band) in a panic as he tries to figure out what’s going to bring him happiness in a post-pandemic world? Girls? “They always try to tie me down.” Boys? “They stay out all night, don’t go home.” Drugs? “They make me feel I’m all alone.” Love? “Somethin’ that I know nothin’ about.” Shrimp? “Bu-bu-bu-blah-blah-blah-blah.” Dogs? “The only real friends that I got.” So, it’s either dogs or “One day I’m gonna burn it down.”
The album ends with two love songs: “To the Country” and “In Spite of Ourselves.” The first reflects a common desire during the pandemic: Let’s get out of the city and away from everyone where “it would all work out” and “it would be easier.” Or so we think. The instrumentation on it reminds us that you can’t run away from yourself. The second song, featuring Amy Taylor of Amyl and The Sniffers on guest vocals, is about a dysfunctional couple who realize they’re perfect for each other.
Welfare Jazz and all of Viagra Boys’ discography, really, is more clever than you realize at first blush. They write songs that poke fun at toxic masculinity, rich elitists, annoying party girls, drug addicts, and sex freaks, but also make them relatable. You know at least one person described on any given album by them, and Welfare Jazz is full of such characters. It’s like listening to conversations in an all-night diner at 3am, where they’re serving a fried shrimp special, and the diner is in the same block as a bodega, a strip club, and a Radio Shack that is somehow still in business.
Next month, Squid — the British quintet of Louis Borlase, Ollie Judge, Arthur Leadbetter, Laurie Nankivell, and Anton Pearson — will embark on a North American tour in support of last year’s expansive and evocative O Monolith. In anticipation, the band share a new single, “Fugue (Bin Song).” A fan favorite and fixture in the band’s live performances over the past several years, the song was recorded during the O Monolith sessions with long-time collaborator Dan Carey at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio in the spring of 2022 and was initially intended to be included on O Monolith, but didn’t make the final tracklisting. The song was re-mixed and edited by John McEntire (of Tortoise) in the later half of 2023.
O Monolith was praised by Consequence as “one of the most impressively creative rock records to grace 2023.” Following the band’s biggest UK and EU shows yet, Squid’s North American tour will see them stopping in Austin, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more with Water From Your Eyes supporting all dates. All concerts are listed below and tickets are available here.
This run will feature exclusive tour merch, including a collaborative tour poster from both bands and a homemade, tour exclusive cassette mixtapes from Squid. “It’s an antidote to the immediateness of music consumption nowadays,” Judge says. “It features music by friends and people I admire, probably best to be played at nighttime whilst sat on your favorite chair.” All copies are hand-stamped by Judge and features a Lino print design by Natalie Whiteland.
Dry Cleaning will reissue their first two EPs, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks / Sweet Princess, on March 8th, 2024. Remastered to celebrate the release, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks and Sweet Princesswill be pressed as one single vinyl record. The former will be available on cassette for the first time and include an exclusive bonus single, a demo of New Long Legsingle, “Strong Feelings,” recorded during the sessions for Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks. Today, the band has shared a new visualizer for the song “Sit Down Meal,” the first in a series of new visualizers created for all tracks across the EP by original ‘Magic of Meghan’ video collaborator Lucy Vann.
To coincide with the reissues, Dry Cleaning will head back on the road this March and April for headline sets that will lean heavily on songs from Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks and Sweet Princess. The tour will offer fans the chance to see the band play in more intimate venues and honor US shows that were postponed in 2020 (including SXSW). Tickets are on sale. Full tour dates are listed below and for tickets and information, head HERE.
The EPs will be reissued on vinyl featuring the original artwork and lyric sheet. Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks / Sweet Princess will be available digitally, on standard black LP, transparent blue LP (indie variant), CD and cassette on March 8th. To pre-order head HERE.
After a prolific 18-month period releasing two critically acclaimed John Parish-produced studio albums, New Long Leg (2021) and Stumpwork (2022), as well as last year’s companion release the five-track Swampy EP, South London’s Dry Cleaning are taking a moment to reflect on their journey and pay homage to their roots.
Dry Cleaning’s origin story is well known by now. Guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton, and bassist Lewis Maynard had been friends and musical collaborators for years, and invited mutual friend Florence Shaw – a visual artist, picture researcher and drawing lecturer – to join the band in 2017. With clear musical influences from the Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon, and constrained by the small garage space they rehearsed in, Dry Cleaning were drawn to making simple music; direct and uncomplicated, anything superfluous was left behind.
By March 2018 the group had recorded the six-track debut EP Sweet Princess with producer Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre in a single day. Two months later, in May 2018, the band played their first live show in Dalston at the Shacklewell Arms, and released the EP in August. Sweet Princess was a thrilling debut, its dizzying and restless instrumentals with Shaw’s sardonic vocals delivering a satirical collage of witty observations and social commentary. A further 6 songs in the form of the Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks EP quickly followed two months after. It was named in tribute to the band’s rehearsal space in Maynard’s family’s south London (Sidcup) home, and to his mother Susan whose home-cooked meals sustained the four friends in between sessions. With singles like “Sit Down Meal” and “Viking Hair,” Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks is a powerful companion to Sweet Princess. They share a similar pent-up energy, unsurprising given they came to life in the same environment those EPs were created in, an environment that had a huge influence on the band during those formative years.
Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks / Sweet Princess Tracklisting: Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks: A1. Dog Proposal A2. Viking Hair A3. Spoils A4. Jam After School A5. Sit Down Meal
Sweet Princess: B1. Goodnight B2. New Job B3. Magic of Meghan B4. Traditional Fish B5. Phone Scam B6. Conversation
Dry Cleaning 2024 Tour Dates: Sun. Mar. 10 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Mon. Mar. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Wed. Mar. 13 – Sat. Mar. 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Mon. Mar. 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Tue. Mar. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Thu. Mar. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Fri. Mar. 22 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Sat. Mar. 23 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Festival Mon. Mar. 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom Tue. Mar. 26 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom Fri. Apr. 5 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s Sat. Apr. 6 – Newcastle, UK @ The Grove Sun. Apr. 7 – Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard Tue. Apr. 9 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s Wed. Apr. 10 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s Fri. Apr. 12 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sat. Apr. 13 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Mon. Apr. 15 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds Tue. Apr. 16 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds Thu. Apr. 18 – London, UK @ EartH Theatre Sat. Apr. 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaique Sun. Apr. 21 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Hall Tue. Apr. 23 – Munster, DE @ Gleis 22 Wed. Apr. 24 – Berlin, DE @ Halle am Berghain Fri. Apr. 26 – Paris, FR @ La Gaite Lyrique Fri. May 24 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas Festival Sat. Jun. 29 – North Adams, MA @ Solid Sound Festival
Following 2022’s Rough Dimension LP, Noel Skum– aka Andrew Clinco of Drab Majesty– made the radical leap of expanding his psychedelic post-punk vehicle VR SEX into a fully collaborative five-piece band. Hard Copy is the result– 10 tracks of sneering psychedelic punk streaked with Chrome-damaged freak-outs and snotty power pop harmonies chronicling sex doll love affairs and glue-sniffing fatales and is due out March 22nd via Dais Records. To mark the announcement, the band are sharing the first single from the record “Real Doll Time“.
To christen the new group’s camaraderie of becoming a five-piece band, VR SEX booked a block of studio time in Glassell Park, swapped skeletal iPhone demos, and “did that classic thing of a band making the exact record they want without any interference.” Working 12-hour days, they banged out the basics in a week, then tracked the rest over a month, fine-tuning it with flourishes, FX, and amplifier experiments.
Mixed by guitarist Mike Kriebel– an accomplished engineer with dozens of credits across the punk, goth, and garage underground– the album is dense, rich, and spatial, spurred by Clinco’s muse of “reckless abandon.” Shadows of Chrome, Stickmen With Rayguns, Japanese psych, and loud-quiet-loud grunge anthems flicker here and there, but ultimately VR SEX’s mode is more sardonic and saturated, oscillating between ripped leather riffing and space echo meltdowns. Banning plug-ins was a mission statement, with most instruments tracked direct into the board, then guitars added via a daisy chain of amplifiers, panned and mixed and matched for maximum intoxication: “My goal is always to load up every take with as much sound as possible in one pass.” Lyrically, the record revisits the project’s perennial fascinations: twisted lust, cheap thrills, dirty money, doomed delinquents, and ruined romance amid the creeps and cracked dreamers of gritty city voids. The title refers to the uncanny valley between “facsimile and the real thing, and the illusion that one is better than the other – when both come with their own menu of delights and demonic pleasures.”Hard Copy embraces extremes and outliers, delusion and perversion, the conflicted dimensional depths lurking in every exploded heart: “I can be ugly / I can be strong / I can be proper / I can be wrong / I can be lovely / or I can be gone / the thing that will haunt you is still hanging on.”
Pre-order Hard Copyhere and look for more news + music from VR SEX soon.
Keep your mind open.
[You’ll be a real doll in my eyes if you subscribe.]
Today, Yard Act present their new single, “Petroleum,” another taste of their forthcoming second album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st on Republic. The accompanying “Petroleum” video is a continuation of the prior James Slater-directed videos for “Dream Job” and “The Trench Coat Museum,” and stars friend of the band, comedian and creator of Starstruck, Rose Matafeo.
“Petroleum” lives on the second half of Where’s My Utopia?, which simultaneously contains some of Yard Act’s most grimly real and fantastically optimistic narratives yet. It was written after a touring nadir. “I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” Yard Act’s frontman James Smith recalls. “Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they’ve paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”
Speaking about the ‘Petroleum’ video, Smith says: “‘Petroleum’ finds The Visitor as she stumbles into the hideout of a fearsome Biker gang called The Utopians. She’s still on the run from the H.G.E agents. It was a lot of fun shooting this video, and a joy to watch our friend Rose Matafeo bring the leader of The Utopians to life. Though the story isn’t being told in a linear format, I hope that the journey of The Visitor through the last three videos is starting to come together and reveal that we’re working on something bigger here. More to come!”
Rose Matafeo added: “I screen most of my phone calls, but when the phone flashes up ‘JAMES YARD ACT’ you’re gonna pick that up straight away. To feature in a Yard Act video has been on my bucket list ever since I added it to my bucket list after they asked me so I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off my bucket list. The overall vision for this album is so creatively ambitious and fun and cool and I’m so stoked to even be a little part of it. Sorry for my bad accent. Not sorry for the line dancing.”
Where’s My Utopia? follows Yard Act’s Mercury Prize shortlisted debutThe Overload, “a debut album bursting with character” (Uncut), and was co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr. Written in snapshots of time in the midst of touring, the album is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters, sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more. Where’s My Utopia? is a communal four-way effort built on chemistry, familiarity and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we’ve had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains.
It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative – but with jokes. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of Where’s My Utopia?, Yard Act’s brilliantly exploratory second album. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” Smith suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”
Next year, Yard Act will embark on a tour of North America, Europe and the UK, including a hometown headline show at the 5,750 capacity Millennium Square Leeds. A full list of tour dates is below, and tickets are on sale now.
Wed. Mar. 13 – Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR (UEA) Thu. Mar. 14 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Fri. Mar. 15 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Sat. Mar. 16 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Sun. Mar. 17 – Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria University Tue. Mar. 19 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall Wed. Mar. 20 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street Fri. Mar. 22 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Sat. Mar. 23 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Mon. Mar. 25 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome Wed. Mar. 27 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo Thu. Apr. 4 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux Fri. Apr. 5 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage Sat. Apr. 6 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey Mon. Apr. 8 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV Tue. Apr. 9 – Madrid, ES @ Mon Thu. Apr. 11 – Barcelona, ES @ La 2 Fri. Apr. 12 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur Sat. Apr. 13 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club Sun. Apr. 14 – Milan, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31 Tue. Apr. 16 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte Wed. Apr. 17 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle Thu. Apr. 18 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Sat. Apr. 20 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan Wed. Apr. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich Thu. Apr. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Hall Fri. Apr. 26 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje Sat. Apr. 27 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine Sun. Apr. 28 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique Thu. May 30 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern Fri. May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater Sat. Jun. 1 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s Mon. Jun. 3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium Tue. Jun. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Thu. Jun. 6 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Fri. Jun. 7 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre Sat. Jun. 8 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile Sat. Aug. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Millenium Square
Today Sacred Bones are excited to announce two parallel releases – a reissue of Xmal Deutschland’s ‘Early Singles’ (including two bonus tracks), as well as the debut solo album from Xmal Deutschland’s inimitable frontwoman Anja Huwe, ‘Codes’. Both records are set for release side-by-side on March 8th, 2024.
Xmal Deutschland are now marked as forerunners of the post-punk movement and ‘Early Singles (1981-1982)’ is a map of their foundational movements, just seconds before takeoff. The band’s pursuit of something greater is palpable with this release, a reflection of a time that introduced accessibility to new means of making music following the onset of punk. This reissue includes two bonus tracks; “Kaelbermarsch” (originally from the compilation “Lieber Zuviel Als Zuwenig”) and a gritty live version of “Allein” (originally from the compilation “Nosferatu Festival”), which is shared online today along with a video montage of footage from this era of the band’s career.
Alongside the reissue comes the debut solo release from Xmal Deutschland’s incomparable frontwoman, Anja Huwe. Invited by her long-time friend Mona Mur, Huwe reconsidered her decades-long hiatus from music and decided to join Mur in her studio in Berlin. Together, they worked for a year and a half, composing, performing and producing the tracks from scratch which eventually became the album ‘Codes’.
Integral to the overall sound experience was the input of Manuela Rickers who added her famed signature guitar style. The collaboration was relentless: “Mona and I have a similar artistic background since the 1980s. We hung out together, and we sport a similar attitude towards life and art. We don’t have to explain ourselves to one another,” says Huwe. Mur adds: “Anja’s voice is like a spear, her appearance a torch in the darkness.”
Initially inspired by the diary entries of Moshe Shnitzki, who, at the age of 17, left his home in 1942 to live in the cavernous White Russian forests as a partisan, ‘Codes’ is about the human experience and what extremes can do to an individual. “The result is a poetic, musical cosmos that encompasses the following themes: forest, fear, pain, loss, violence, and loneliness but also beauty, longing, hope and the will to survive,” Huwe explains.
Along with the announcement today, she shares “Rabenschwarz”, a frenzied song, which, with Rickers’ hypnotic apocalyptic guitars, Mur’s agitated and distinctive electronic sounds and beats, forged together with Huwe’s unmistakably energetic and expressive vocals, hits you in the face. A captivating combination.
More about Xmal Deutschland and Anja Huwe: “Gothics”—a time before the word goth had even taken shape—believed in the do-it-yourself punk ethos that anyone could pick up an instrument. This, alongside the bric-a-brac fashion of Adam Ant and the long-winded atmospheric malaise of Bauhaus’ 1979 single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” grey clouds were starting to form. And in the unlikely city of Hamburg, a brazen and haunting gang of five women formed Xmal Deutschland.
As any true punk would, Xmal Deutschland’s members Caro May, Rita Simon, Manuela Rickers, Fiona Sangster and Anja Huwe, started the band despite not having had any previous musical experience. When they bought studio time to record their first single, “Schwarze Welt,” Simon was originally slated to be the lead vocalist but failed to show on the day of recording. Huwe—who originally played bass—was thrust into the front-woman position, and begrudgingly agreed: “The only condition from my side [was that] I will never perform onstage… Two months later, they made me without ever telling me upfront. I had no choice.”
The “Schwarze Welt” seven-inch was released on the local punk label, ZickZack, in 1981 and introduced the band as an unsettling swarm of intensity. There’s an urgency in its repetitive dirge, a swirling mania that persists on the b-side with “Die Wolken” and “Großstadtindianer” whose crude synthesiser noises escalate in tension. Most of all, Huwe’s uniquely venomous German vocals quickly became embedded in the unbridled and burgeoning scene of glamorous gloom.
Punk’s independence from the stiff grip of tradition allowed the band to find solace in anti-establishment art and music, far from the conventions of the past. “We as girls, especially being creative in many ways, ignored facts like: be nice, be polite, take good care about your looks. Of course, we wanted to look good but in a different and unconventional way. We were enough for ourselves.” However, some tropes were harder to overcome. The association of Xmal Deutschland as a girl band (later with the addition of Wolfgang Ellerbrock who, jokingly, became the token man of the group) gained traction within the media circuit because of their looks: “We were like paradise birds,” says Huwe in retaliation to the tired misogynistic tale. The band’s keyboardist, Fiona Sangster, adds: “To be an ‘all-girl band’ happened accidentally. To us, it was not the main reason to form a band.”
With their peacocked hair and thick kohl-lined eyes, Xmal Deutschland’s music retained both a restlessness and delicacy, transcending any confines of the “Neue Deutsche Welle” movement (much like their colleagues and friends DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten) with the release of the “Incubus Succubus” single in 1982. It instantly became a post-punk classic. That same year, the band performed in London as support for the Cocteau Twins; it was the platform they needed to ricochet into the arms of the ripped fishnet masses. After Xmal Deutschland’s success with four albums on cult labels such as 4AD, Huwe abandoned music to pursue her visual art career. But leaving her legacy in the past was not so easy: “Since the split in the early 1990s, I have been haunted by the ‘Legend of Xmal Deutschland’ and never-ending requests from all over the world, all of which I always turned down,” she says.
And here we are with my favorite concerts of 2023.
#5: Be Your Own Pet – Headliners, Louisville, KY, Otober 29th
It’s so good to have them back, and it was so good to finally see them live. Their reputation as a wild live band is not lightly given. They tore up this stage, moving from one song to the next with no written set list, playing audience requests, and blowing the minds of the small crowd at Headliners. Shame on you if you were in Louisville and didn’t go to this show.
#4: Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – Kemba Live!, Columbus, OH – May 31st
Another surprise reunion. I figured the days of Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade touring the nation were long gone and we would have to be content with the one live album released many years ago. Nope. He brought in Sean Lennon, who can tear up a lead guitar, and some other pals and put on a cool show – playing Pink Floyd‘s Animals in its entirety in the middle of the set.
#3: Viagra Boys – Salt Shed, Chicago, IL – February 24th
This show was either a sell-out or very close to it. The band claimed it was the biggest show they’d played in the U.S. so far, and I believe it. The Salt Shed was jammed, sweaty, and jumping. You easily forgot that snow and ice were coating the landscape outside. The whole crowd was buzzing throughout the set, and Viagra Boys further cemented their reputation of being one of the best bands out there right now.
#2: Pigs PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs– Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL – March 28th
I almost didn’t go to this show due to other plans I had that week, but I knew I had to be there when I learned it was not only Pigs PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs‘ first show in Chicago, it was also their first U.S. tour. It turned out to be another one of those “Shame on you if you missed it.” shows, because the porcine quintet pretty much flattened Sleeping Village and still had time to chat with anyone who wanted to chat after the gig. They’re now on my “I’ll see them any chance I get.” list of bands – and I already have a ticket to see them in Chicago again at Lincoln Hall in February.
#1: Love and Rockets – Riviera, Chicago, IL – June 06th
I figured I was never going to see Love and Rockets live. I’d seen David J perform an acoustic set, and thought, “Well, that’s the closest I’ll get.” Lo and behold, they surprised everyone with a reunion tour and they sounded great. They were in full rock star mode and everyone in the crowd was jubilant to see and hear them. It was a dream-come-true show for me and gave everyone hope of a new record soon.
South London-based Fat Dog have quickly made a name for themselves in the UK as “2023’s wildest live band” (NME) on the strength of their “manically riotous and joyous” (BBC 6 Music) live show supporting acts including Viagra Boys, Shame and Yard Act and playing their own headline gigs. Last summer, via Domino Records, they released debut single “King of the Slugs,” hailed by Clash as “a ridiculous seven-minute journey through sound . . . Utterly remarkable.” Today, the British five-piece return with the antidotal follow up, “All The Same,” and an accompanying video. Additionally, they announce they’ll make their US debut this spring playing SXSW, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their next hometown show will be a headline gig in April at the 1500-capacity Electric Brixton, a sign of the genuine excitement growing around this band.
Co-produced by Fat Dog frontman Joe Love and James Ford, “All The Same” is propulsive and galvanizing, underpinned by orchestra hits and eagle noises as it races along to a dramatic conclusion in under three minutes. Fat Dog hint to the song’s narrative, suggesting: “What if you could turn the clock back and make a change? Just a single, well-placed kick, that perhaps could change the whole course of your life. Perhaps the party never has to stop?” The song’s video is a twisted, absurdist tale of time travel and fatherhood directed by Dylan Coates and starring Neil Bell (Dune, Andor).
A limited edition 7” of “All The Same” will be released on Fri. March 22nd backed by an exclusive B-side “Land Before Time.” Pre-order from Domino here.
Fat Dog Tour Dates: Thu. Jan. 18 – Groningen, NL @ Eurosonic Noorderslag 2024 Thu. Feb. 15 – Dublin, IE @ Borderline Festival Fri. Feb. 16 – Limerick, IE @ Dolans Sat. Feb. 17 – Galway, IE @ Róisín Dubh Sat. Feb. 24 – Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Fri. March 1 – Paris, FR @ Les Inrocks Festival, Cent Quatre Tue. March 12 – Queens, NY @ Trans-Pecos Wed. March 13 – Sat. March 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Tue. March 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Cid Wed. March 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene @ Brick & Mortar Thu. Apr. 18 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton Sat. Apr. 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaique Fri. Apr. 26 – Bourges, FR @ Le Printemps de Bourges Thu. May. 9 – Sat. May. 11 – Wrexham, UK @ Focus Wales Fri. May 31 – Sun. Jun. 2 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby Sat. Jul. 6 – Belfort, FR @ Eurockéennes Fri. Jul. 26 – Mon. Jul. 29 – North Yorkshire, UK @ Deer Shed Thu. Aug. 8 – Sun. Aug. 11 – Sicily, IT @ Ypsigrock Festival Sat. Aug. 31 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest
