Noise for Zeros

Identification Code:
5271-4984953784-06564 LP
Dead Beat Records, 2008

I was sold on The Daily Void from the git go, being the twisted, sci-fried mutation of Chicago’s blistering Functional Blackouts. And after picking up their raging HoZac and Florida’s Dying 7″ singles, I knew that an album’s worth of their Crime-damaged paranoia punk would be A+ essential listening for modern noise mutants. With stabbing stereo shards of guitar piercing a tightly-wound rhythm section and snotty, robotic vox sneering songs with titles like “(You’re Not A Man) You’re An Insect”, “You’ve Been Erased”, and “The Man Without A Face”, The Daily Void give their apocalyptic primal punk sound a modern cybernoid edge that reveals an Orwellian view to life in the age of Twitter.

LINKS:

Download MP3s at RCD LBL
The Daily Void on MySpace
Dead Beat Records

Stand Behind Me / Quiet Line 7″
Amphetamine Reptile, 1994

Worldwide LP
Dead Eye Productions, 1992

One of the most overlooked gems of the impressive AmRep catalog is this blazing single from German noise rockers Party Diktator, featuring one of the most hyperactive bassists you’ll ever hear. And by hyperactive, I certainly don’t mean funky goofball slap bass, or the notoriously overdone bass Crime was guity of, but instead, totally raw, pulverizing, full-throttle, crackpipe-smoking bass that gives Party Diktator an extra aggressive snarl. Sounding something like the precision of the Jesus Lizard rhythm section crossed with the textured, noisy, beefy spasms of another AmRep favorite, Hammerhead, this record totally rips and yet somehow never received the attention given to lesser bands of the genre. Perhaps the fact that their other records were harder to find domestically, or that they never toured the U.S. (as far as I know), Party Diktator never ascended to noise rock glory in these here United States.

So after being primed and pumped up about this band, I sort of expected AmRep to release an album proper, as they’d done for many other kickass bands in the mid-1990s, introducing under-the-radar bands like Hammerhead, Guzzard, Today Is The Day, and Chokebore to the relative noiserock masses, but alas I never saw anything else from Party Diktator. Apparently, Roadrunner Records released an album in 1996, called Dive Bomb, but it wasn’t widely distributed in the U.S. as far as I can tell and I’ve never seen a copy. And then one day, after dedicating an afternoon to digging thorugh the massive vinyl stockpile housed at Jerry’s Records, I stumbled across Party Diktator’s 1992 debut album Worldwide. At that point I never knew such a thing existed, so it was quite the find and made digging through an ass-ton of the worst records known to man well worth the trouble. As you may expect, the songs and recording on Worldwide aren’t as strong as the AmRep single, but it is surprisingly good, considering that it was released a 2 years earlier.

DOWNLOAD:

Party Diktator - “Stand Behind Me”
Party Diktator - “Quiet Line”

Party Diktator - Worldwide LP (45.6mb Zip)

LINKS:

Party Diktator on MySpace
Party Diktator info on I Heart Noise blog

How The Winter Was Passed 7″
Three Little Girls, 1993

Although not as essential as their sole album Rusty, this rarely-heard single from one of Louisville’s indie rock supergroups offers a snapshot of this legendary group in larval form. I was lucky enough to experience Rodan live during their short existence and they left a huge impression on me that’s never been overshadowed by its members’ later bands, like June of 44, The Sonora Pine, Rachel’s, The Shipping News, and Tara Jane O’Neil’s solo work, even though they went on to acclaim and a prolific catalog of releases. Rodan was often dismissed as a Slint knock off, which was understandable since they were also from Louisville, and they also employed many of the same tools Slint was famous for, like dramatic dynamic shifts in volume and complex song compositions. But where Slint could be harrowing and introspective (Spiderland) or erratic and irreverent (Tweez), Rodan maintained a steadfast composure that was fully realized, beautifully crafted, and in effect, delivered with more force than their Louisville brethren. This may or may not be a good thing depending on how you feel about Slint, but in my opinion, any group that’s able to even approach the sonic terrain Slint mastered is well worth checking out.

DOWNLOAD:

Rodan - “Milk & Melancholy”
Rodan - “Exoskeleton”

Electric Troubles LP
Vinyl Solution/Sub Pop, 1987

Anytime I play this, or Les Thugs’ other smoker, I.A.B.F. (International Anti-Boredom Front), someone inevitably asks “who is this?” At their prime, this French band’s sound contained the full-on speed and energy of hardcore punk blown out to form a massive wall of sound that could be mistaken for My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless sped up to 45 rpm, contrasting an huge blur of guitar with catchy, echoey, harmonized vocals. Just check out the shocking intro track “Dead Dreams” that starts with a quasi-Native American chant and snaps into a tidal wave of roaring guitar that doesn’t let up until the end of the A-side. And even though they toured the U.S. a number of times, sung in English, had good distribution through reputable labels over the course of 15 years, they never got the recognition or fanbase they deserved. Les Thugs’ later albums are decent, and although they’re driven by a huge guitar sound, they don’t quite have the fullness and instantly memorable early albums, which are absolutely essential.

DOWNLOAD:

Les Thugs - Electric Troubles LP (42.3mb Zip)

LINKS:

Official Les Thugs website
Les Thugs on Sub Pop