Lubert Das

REVIEW: Hellbillys – Torture Garden (1995)

America, the birth place of Rockabilly music, was a slow adopter of Rockabilly’s European mutant spawn, Psychobilly. While it’s easy to cherry pick a few grotesque entries in the American Rockabilly canon, the real pioneers of American Psychobilly are often overlooked.

On its 30th anniversary, we look back at the second full-length release by one of first American Psychobilly bands (if not the first), The Hellbillys.

Readily available info on the band is fairly sparse considering their multi-decade spanning run. What I can say for sure is that The Hellbillys formed in San Francisco in 1988, and by the time of their first release, the 7″ single Dragstrip Girl in 1991, featured members of various bay area Punk and Hardcore groups.

In stride with their 2nd-wave Psychobilly counterparts, Torture Garden features a version of Psychobilly further informed by Metal and Hardcore- heavier, faster, and more aggressive riffs. Besides just being great songs, tracks such as ‘Bondage A Go-Go’ and ‘First Probe To Uranus’ step up both the taboo and the crassness at the heart of the Psychobilly subculture.

Torture Garden was released on June 15th, 1995 on Ransom Note Recordings. Clocking in at a tight 30 minutes, Torture Garden is a must-listen for both new proponents and seasoned fans of the Psychobilly genre.

If you’re looking for more info on The Hellbillys, well, me too! In the meantime there’s a great interview by Jessica Thringer in Razorcake iss. #34 with Hellbillys’ singer Barrie Evans that you can read here.

You can snag a copy of the LP over at Bad Billy Records, or you can buy a digital copy via iTunes (or Apple Music or whatever it’s called now).

For fans of: Demented Are Go!, Nekromantix, Reverend Horton Heat

Like Hellbillys? Give these a listen: SlapClapS, Alien Blood Transfusion, The Space Cossacks

Deleting Spotify, + Brief Thoughts on Value

A personal update: I finally deleted my Spotify account. + brief thoughts on valuing music.

A personal update: I finally deleted my Spotify account. I removed it from my phone months ago, and have been slowly going through all of my liked songs (3k+ when I made the active decision to work towards leaving it) and my ‘to listen to’ playlist (1k~).

I’m now the proud owner of two massive spreadsheets, one containing single songs and the other containing full albums I want to buy eventually.

Spotify doesn’t allow you to copy and paste the text from song listings, discouraging the transfer of playlists to spreadsheets. Yes, it was very, very tedious. But these spreadsheets were all typed out, one song or album at a time, and I am all the better for it.

I’ll consider myself lucky. While I have sunk the better half of a decade of my music exploration, discovery, and cataloging into Spotify’s ecosystem, I’ve actively culled my ‘liked’ songs playlist approximately once a year to get rid of songs I simply no longer enjoy or value.

For anyone preparing to leave Spotify short of cold turkey, I’d highly recommend this, especially if you plan to then buy the music from artists (which, c’mon. Do it!). If you wouldn’t buy that for a dollar, it doesn’t need to be taking up mental real estate. Refine your tastes: you know what you kinda like, really like, and really really like.

Why waste the mental real estate on something you don’t even value a dollars worth?

Speaking of value, the songs and albums I have bought since beginning this wind down have been excellent. By really having to make decisions about what was worth my time and money, I’ve completely rejuvenated my listening experience. I’ve ended up spending more time with the albums I have bought since, I understand them better, and their positive impact has been more firmly imprinted on my life.

I never do number ratings on this site, but I’d rate this choice a 10/10.

Brief Thoughts is a column of sorts by Lubert Das for Resident Sound. Updates, musings and, well, brief thoughts. Putting the B-rate in Blog.

REVIEW: Béton Armé – Second Souffle (2023)

The contemporary Oi scenes in both the anglo and francosphere have been churning out great work for a while now. If you’re looking to jump in or familiarize yourself with some staples, you need to check out Montreal’s Béton Armé.

Starting with their self titled debut EP in June of 2018, Béton Armé (‘Reinforced Concrete’) have been putting out no bull Punk Rock’n’Roll ever since. But the band’s 2023 EP Second Souffle has really broken through, gaining traction amongst Oi fans worldwide.

Second Souffle was recorded at Studio 440 by frequent collaborator Scott Golyardi (drummer of Force Majeure) and features a clear yet still raw sound, the Goldilocks zone of nearly all recorded music as far as I’m concerned. Crunchy, straight forward riffs, a driving rhythm section, and enough group chanted vocals to please both street and mall punks. Either you’re itching to hear it, or you’ve already clicked off of this article (shucks).

As with a lot of Punk releases in recent years, Second Souffle is short and sweet. 4 tracks spanning 9 minutes, no time wasters. Yet you’ll probably spend more time with Second Souffle given its lack of filler than you would with many Punk LPs of the past 25 years, and I think it’s a great direction for these bands to be going in.

You can find Second Souffle for streaming and digital download over on the band’s Bandcamp page, along with their other releases.

For fans of: Blitz, The Chisel, Rixe

Like Béton Armé? Give these a listen: Syndrome 81, Squelette, CRAN

Essential Listening: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox (1986)

Be honest with yourself: Have you ever sat down and listened to a Siouxsie and The Banshees album from beginning to end? If you haven’t, hear me out.

Some bands can seem ubiquitous, and so it’s easy to glaze over when one of these hyper-exposed bands comes up in conversation. I do it all the time with art and media, especially movies- I’m still not sure if I’ve ever actually seen Jurassic Park or if I’ve just heard about it so much that I tricked myself into believing I have.

Between Siouxsie and The Banshees’ 1981 album Juju and ’86’s Tinderbox, you’re bound to be exposed to a handful of their songs either at goth nights, Halloween parties, or who knows where. So it probably wouldn’t hurt to know what you’re talking about when they come up in conversation- love ‘em or hate ‘em.

Tinderbox is essential listening for all kinds of people- I’ll spare you a list, as instead of reading who* should hear it you could just listen to it instead. (*people who read music blogs to discover new music would be on that list anyways)

Siouxsie and The Banshees was one of a small handful of fundamental Post-Punk groups, coming out from under the Malcolm McLaren iteration of Punk Rock in London in the late 1970s and developing into a darker, more atmospheric sound. This push towards rich darkness helped usher in both Goth Rock and the Goth subculture, which Siouxsie also served as a primary style icon for.

Tinderbox is this sound in its most accessible form, and perhaps its best. If Juju is the culmination of The Banshees’ first three albums (The Scream, Join Hands, and Kaleidoscope), than Tinderbox is Juju with the experimentation and lush orchestral production of the interim albums (A Kiss in The Dreamhouse, Hyæna) folded in.

If I can only choose one album out of the Banshees’ impressive catalog of work, I’m choosing Tinderbox every time. The band and their songwriting had matured since Juju, the production is incredibly luscious, and Sweetest Chill is the best non-single the band ever released. Do I need to say anymore?

For fans of: Slowdive, The Cure, Kate Bush

Like Siouxsie & The Banshees? Give these a listen: Wire, The Church, Strange Boutique

Tedious ‘fun’ fact; Sid Vicious was an original member prior to joining the Sex Pistols. True, I guess, though only for their first live performance. His presence in their story speaks more to the insular nature of the Punk scene in London at the time than anything else.

REVIEW: Syndrome 81 – Désert Urbain (2015)

5 songs, 12~ minutes, no time wasters. The Brest, France Oi Punks Syndrome 81 delivered one of the tightest punk EPs I’ve heard in a while. If shimmering guitar melodies over a driving rhythm section pique your interest even remotely you won’t be disappointed.

But if that sounds a bit slack let me assure you, Désert Urbain is played with such palpable urgency that you could seamlessly play it after any worthwhile hardcore record.

The only thing I dislike about this record is that it’s from 2015, which at the time of writing this means I’ve got a decade of catch-up to do. Now that I say that, lucky me.

For fans of: Embrace, The Chisel, Crown Court

Like artist? Give these a listen: Rixe, Lyon Estates, Squelette

REVIEW: Wind Burial – Debut EP (2013)

Do you like Fairport Convention? Rowland S. Howard? Windhand? Grouper? Chelsea Wolfe? If you said yes to any one of these, there’s a chance you’ll like this record. Hell, if you hate all but one of them you still ought to give it a listen.

Released in 2013, Wind Burial’s debut EP blends dark Spaghetti Western and kaleidoscopic Folk Rock melodies, a sonic foundation that singer Kat Terran blankets with haunting vocals. To put it in grossly oversimplified terms, Wind Burial is a gothic Surrealistic Pillow with a ghostly Grace Slick-informed vocal performance. I liken it to American Regionalism– trippy, earthy, and a tad morose.

Depending on how you feel about any of those terms this could come across as a scathing dismissal, but let me assure you it is anything but.

Much like Grouper’s Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, Wind Burial provides a delightfully dark work whose potential fan base easily surpasses any one sect of music fans.

Closing track ‘Downstream’ is one of my favorite songs of all time. And while I would stress that it isn’t representative of the rest of the album, if you were to only listen to one track from Wind Burial it should be this.

For fans of: Chelsea Wolfe, Grouper, The Birthday Party

Like Wind Burial? Give these a listen: Friends of Dean Martinez, Luna Honey, These Immortal Souls

REVIEW: Textbook Traitors – You Pull The Strings That Make Us Dance (2003)

You Pull The Strings That Make Us Dance is a catharsis to inner turmoil, a mouthful, and a great album by Textbook Traitors. 6 songs, 16 minutes, no skips. It’s got all the panic chords and agony one could hope for. Chaotic abrasiveness that ebbs and flows, inhaling and exhaling across verses and bridges as a unit in the same violent manner of the ugliest, most hurt crying.

At its worst, it’s 16 minutes that might not be for the faint of heart. But with today’s modern technology, we can put albums on endless repeat until the noise complaints and/or welfare checks start rolling in.

Textbook Traitors burned bright and fast from 2002 to 2005, putting out this bad boy as well as a slew of split EPs. But the records live on, and for anyone only just beginning to dabble in Screamo, ‘You Pull The Strings’ is a must listen.

If you enjoyed this, you should check out Kevin’s post about Textbook Traitors over on Sophie’s Floorboard blog.

For fans of: Orchid, Examination of The…, City of Caterpillar

Like Textbook Traitors? Give these a listen: Mondrary, Cloud Rat, New Forms

REVIEW: Eternal – Cryptic Lust (2023)

If you haven’t heard Eternal yet, I understand. But there comes a time when any self-proclaimed music genre fan needs to listen to something other than the classics and the commercially accessible.

Eternal’s first full length release Cryptic Lust is incredible. Gothic horror gutturals to the nines, as the best old skool Death Metal often does. And crunchy tones, riff city, as the best old skool Thrash Metal often does.

Cryptic Lust is 12 tight tracks clocking in at approximately 45 minutes- perfect. And caps off with a cover of Deathcrush by Mayhem that’s absolutely punishing (in a good way). I highly recommend working this record into your listening rotation.

For my Metal listening sessions I’ve found myself pairing Cryptic Lust with the Feral LP from Concrete Caveman, also released in 2023. The ’20s thus far have been great for Metal music if nothing else. If you rarely find yourself listening to anything released after a certain year, now’s the time to jump back in!

For fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Testament, Gorement

Like Eternal? Give these a listen: Livid, Inhuman Condition, Artificial Brain

Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, Jazz Noir: What’s the Difference?

It’s time to draw lines. Here’s the actual difference between Doom Jazz, Dark Jazz, and Jazz Noir

It’s time to draw lines.

Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, and Jazz Noir; each label is more evocative than descriptive at face value, yet all conjure a similar abstract image of foreboding, morose, and somber sophistication.

The term one prefers to use tends to come with a stylistic preference or sonic expectation within the genre. But simply using these terms interchangeably to refer to two or perhaps three distinctive compositional styles is growing old.

I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time listening to Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, and Jazz Noir playlists, reading Youtube comment sections and Reddit threads of recommendations when I could’ve been doing something useful with my life.

Here’s the actual difference between Doom Jazz, Dark Jazz, and Jazz Noir:

Doom Jazz

Rooted in Post-Metal, Doom Metal, and/or Ambient Music
Lyrical and aesthetic elements are more likely to contain Twin Peaks iconography, Horror iconography, and/or shock elements

Jazz Noir

Music that is first and foremost rooted in 20th century Jazz subgenres including (but not limited to) Avant Garde Jazz, Cool Jazz, and West Coast Jazz
Includes selected songs, albums, and film scores from the 20th century that have been retroactively catalogued
Lyrical and aesthetic content is more likely to elicit idealized notions of Film Noir and Neo-Noir film and literary genres

Dark Jazz

The most pervasive of the three distinctions
Seamlessly blends Jazz composition and modern Ambient in dark and somber ways
Simultaneously a crossover genre and an umbrella genre that encapsulates Doom Jazz and Jazz Noir

There you have it. If you can be bothered to make a distinction (and I think you ought to), there it is.

Which one will become the dominant strain or if any of them carry any momentum over the next few decades is yet to be seen. There’s still plenty of room for fresh and interesting work within the three distinctions. Keep an ear out! And support the artists you believe in!

Market Price: The Attention Economy Made Music Worthless

Are you a musician? Have you ever worked a real day in your life (and were fairly compensated for it)?

In the current marketplace, music has been made (practically) worthless. The ‘working musician’ is a dying breed and to save it the fans and laborers of the music world need to fundamentally shift the way we consider music and its value. But before we even consider changing this we have to first look at who sets the monetary value of music in the current marketplace and how it is valued.

In much of our current hyper-consumptive climate, the arts as a whole are incredibly undervalued. While streaming companies are reporting record breaking earnings (no pun intended), their payouts to musicians (and now authors, podcasters, etc.) appear grossly inadequate. But what many of us fail to see is that these low payouts are indicative of how a streaming company’s managerial class values the commodity: as a mass web of flat content with which to collect and broker data.

The real business is data brokerage. Musicians provide content to streaming companies who then use this content to capture attention and harvest information to be sold. Efforts to gain bigger and bigger swaths of data are only in part subsidized through subscription models and sold as a ‘service’ to those of us consuming the content on these platforms. This slurry of content which all art and media becomes online is valued at fractions of cents, because each track is only an infinitely minuscule piece within the lure of content. If we accept the streaming platforms as data brokerage firms, we can begin to understand the marketplace in which music is being sold, and in turn the value of music as dictated by that marketplace.

Musicians cannot produce their way out of this hole. They are fighting for attention against every release by every artist whose work was ever been uploaded. This may be fine for the major record labels or catalog holding companies (whose millions of fractions of cents ultimately add up to a more notable payout) or for the individualist consumer (there’s never been more consumer choice for so cheap), but for a musician who may put out 1 to 40 full-length records in the their entire lifetime this marketplace is- to put lightly- unsustainable.

The data/attention economy and its subsequent marketplace is unsustainable for the arts and culture because it was in no way made for them- it was made for the data. Our current market puts the value given from consumers on the ‘service’ of the streamers and not on the music itself. This form of economy is cultural resource extraction. The value the attention economy provides in return is easy, cheap novelty.

This is the value transaction at the core of this economy, and what serves this economy at its core is often times what flourishes. Think: bands increasingly making popular TikToks or Instagram reels, not popular records.

What is needed to save the ‘working musician’ and continue our robust music culture is a fundamental shift away from whom working musicians provide value to and in turn how working musicians acquire fair compensation. The only way for this to happen is for it to grow organically on a individual and community level. Put your money where your mouth is, vote with your dollar, etc etc.

Be stubborn, for everyone.