May 13, 2002

 
Thanks to folks like Chris and Rizla, I've been exposed to some very interesting new Brit punk bands, most notably Ikara Colt and McLusky

For all of the McLusky tunes I've heard, the one that stands out the most is "Whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction", which has got to be one of the most vicious punk songs I've heard in a long while. It gives off a strong, contagious feeling of bitter resentment and loathing, though I'm not certain exactly who their target is. I would think that they are going on about self-satisfied and arrogant white liberals and political correctness, the title and the sing-song mantra "cos everyone's a hero" clue me in as much. The singer's voice is amazing, I love the way this guy sneers, and when chorus is screamed, it is incoherant but communicates his frustration very well. The guitars in this song sound great too, they sound more like electronic shrieks and machine noises than guitars, always a plus. Nothing on McLusky's newest record Does Dallas quite matches that song - I think it's a better record than the one "Whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction" is from, My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful, but only a few songs really grab me. "The World Loves Us And Is Our Bitch" and "Gareth Brown Says" are both mean, catchy, and funny, but most of the others are samey and aren't all that interesting.

Ikara Colt's "Sink Venice" seems to be all about incoherant desperation - I have no idea what the singer is on about, other that they seem very intent on having Venice sink. The song is overflowing with defiance as it speeds along on a bassline that sounds suspiciously like "Negative Creep" by Nirvana. The singer reminds me a lot of Mark E. Smith while sounding nothing like him - I think it's just a similarity in attitude and lyrical style. The Ikara Colt record is a lot better than the two McLusky LPs I've heard - they are a lot more consistent, have a slightly wider range, and better songs overall. The record is called Chat and Business, and is like one long nervous twitch. "One Note" and "Video Clip Show" match "Sink Venice" for it's speed, and urgency - they sound determined and impatient. The quiter songs share the same intensity though I think those songs ("May B 1 Day", "City of Glass") are a bit more typical of heavy indie rock bands.

In other news: it is official, Igor Kordey will not be drawing any NXM after his upcoming (groan) three issue storyline over the summer. Thank god Mark Powers was fired - Kordey was ruining everything.

Tomorrow night's GBV show has been cancelled due to Bob Pollard getting a back injury over the weekend, which is bad for Bob and convenient for me. That show was going to throw off my schedule for the whole week, I'm glad to see it get pushed back a bit. I will be seeing Sleater-Kinney this Friday, which should be a lot of fun. I'm interested to hear what the new songs sound like, especially the one they've titled "Combat Rock". Why would any punk band name a song after a Clash record? Weird.

Also: On opposite ends of the design spectrum, Andrew and Helen have new websites online.