C
T'S NO MYSTERY
that the Japanese
most polite people in
the word, and, punk
or not, Hi-STANDARD
are no exception.
Upon a visit to Motor
Studios to interview
them during their
recording of Angry
Fist on Fat Wreck
Chords in SF, I pleas-
antly found the guys
to be nothing short of
accommodating. The
language barrier
posed somewhat of a
problem, but we man- Hi STANDARD
aged to break through
about hockey, beer, and also includes the projection of strange
girls to an all-ages club astrograde. The U2 "Pop" tour can go
near you. Didn't get a probe a black hole when compared to
chance to see 'em? The this genuine space circus. And, for the
next best thing would finale, the life-threatening tesla coil
be to pick up their lat-emitting high voltage rivers of electrici-
est. Sudden Death ty through the atmosphere would turn
(Wrong Records), which Will Smith and his cast into martian
is an obvious favorite dick-suckers-JJ... J Mascis and
around these parts-plus Dinosaur Jr return after a 2-yr hiatus to
it doesn't hurt that release Hand It Over (Reprise Records),
three of the Hansons written and produced entirely by
have glasses like Mascis. Although there was some spec-
Thumper-WL True ulation that Mascis had retired from the
hip-hop artists work music biz in favor of professional golf,
from a foundation and this record has disregarded all that.
build up from that Fans who've been looking forward to a
rather than simply recy- sequel to the acoustic ho-hum Martin
cling the achievements and Me should keep on looking,
of others. Four such because Hand It Over is a far cry from
standard-setters are The Artifacts. The that. While this is not one of their best
Arsonists, The High & The Mighty, and efforts, it is a definite must for any
Kool Keith. The Artifacts' sophomore Dinosaur Jr fan, including you...
album That's Them (Big Beat Records) is Vancouver might not be at the forefront
brimming with blunts, boasts and burn- of a musical explosion, but Sparkmarker
do know a thing or two about music.
With a sound that mixes Helmet,
Quicksand, and Civ, they've released
their 2nd full-length album, 500wat-
tburner@seven (Crisis Records).
Although I have yet to see them live,
one can only imagine the power they
must produce at shows. Sparkmarker
prove that music can be a lot more than
ear-candy entertainment... If happy.
sugar-coated candy pop is your thing,
then Shonen Knife's Brand New Knife
(Big Deal Records) is the one for you.
Even though I did enjoy this
record, the bottom line is: these
girls from Osaka, Japan,
it with the aid of a translator. Believed
to have unconsciously been influenced by
fellow label mates Strung Out, Snuff and
NOFX, this trio play catchy, energetic,
melodic hardcore; but guitarist/vocalist
Ken Yokoyama prefers a simpler label:
"There are many people who think they
know what punk is, and the word 'punk
rock' has many descriptions, but we just
consider ourselves a punk rock band."
Well, with the punk scene expanding, and
Hi-STANDARD growing in popularity,
finding agreeable venues is still no easy
task, especially for their fellow cohorts:
"There aren't many places for punk
bands to play at in Japan," says Ken.
"Yeah, Hi-STANDARD is getting bigger,
so we get to play in a lot of the cities, but
many of the other bands are still worried
about it. The cost is so expensive there
for everything, so that makes it very diffi-
cult for them. So, what sort of steps will
the band undergo to retain their position?
Ken: "Just take it as it comes"... There's
no disputing that Sweden's Misconduct,
on the other hand, play HARDCORE, with
no adjectives necessary to precede the
description. Their record A Change (Bad
Taste Records) takes you back to the old
school with 10 tracks of continuous
aggression that drill into your skull so
deeply, it can only be released by a dive
into the pit... But, if it's punk you're
searching for, look no further than Bay
Area venues where you can find
Lechers, fronted by SF's own Jet Terror.
Their demo Punk/Rock/Beer (Motorcycle
Music) represents Jet's furious guitar
work and strong vocals, backed by pump-
ing bass lines and pounding drums. Who
would've guessed that someone with
such a mild-mannered disposition
could possess such intensity?... Mike D
outdid himself when he signed Scottish
pop sensation Bis to the Beastie Boys'
Grand Royal label. With a bittersweet,
honey-dipped coating, this trio belt out
the high-energy pop with shouts and
rants and boisterous chants. You know
the saying regarding a show: "If it doesn't
do it for you in the first 5 minutes..."?
Well, no chance of that happening at SF's
Bottom of the Hill, where the youngsters
immediately had the tone set for fun by
jumping right into the lively "Tell it to the
Kids," the first track off their debut US
release, The New Transistor Heroes
(GR/Capitol Records), with Manda Rin
stationed closest to me, cute as a panda
bear in her baby doll dress, bobbing fran-
tically about, Hello Kitty-style, barrette
and all... Canada's Ghetto Concept prove
that you don't need major label support ends NoMeans No are on tour again, ture, crowd-surfing while trying to light
to receive high public recognition. Taking bringing their blend of Ramones, 3-chord human heads on fire, and MOA?'s
home two awards in '94 and '95 for Best punk coupled with dumbed-down lyrics monolith of technical wizardry that
Rap Recording at the Grammy-equivalent
Juno Awards, this two-man team are still
producing the bumping beats with their
newest singles "Much Love" (VII Bills
Entertainment) and "UL" on the B-side.
With street knowledge lyrics and a self-ers. The addition of DJ Kaos to the crew
title album to follow, "Much Love" will completes their commitment to the hip-
have these cats blowing up in the US as hop Holy Trinity of rapping, djing and
well-JKH... No doubt inspired by the graffiti (not to mention breakdancing:
Youth Of Today reissues released this they were dancers before they ever even
summer, Ray Cappo-former singer for the touched the mic). Also intent to represent
legendary YOT and current Shelter front- are The Arsonists, who are busy burning
man-is back, doing '88-style East Coast up the NYC underground. Their single
hardcore with his new band, Better Than "The Session" (Fondle 'Em Records) fea-
A Thousand. A Youth Crew for the '90s, tures the five MCs flingin' freeform flows
perhaps? "I just had this strong urge to and obviously having fun. And on the B-
do a full-on thrash thing again. I love side's "Halloween," they get down to
Shelter's music, but at the same time, business and burn all the fake rappers
it's not a thrash band, and I sort of who hide behind masks and images
missed doing shows and a straight-on to disguise their lack of lyrical
record like that," he says.
The band-which includes
guitarist Ken Olden of
Battery and Damnation
Staccato 7
90 THRASHER
like to sing about sweet
and pretty subjects like
chocolate bars, jelly
AD; bassist Graham Land of
beans, and Barbie Dolls,
Battery, Worlds Collide and Shelter fame; skills. The High & The Mighty's
and I would much prefer to hear
and drummer Jeff Neumann-will have single "Hands on Experience
songs about heroin any day-LD...
their full-length released by the time (Eastern Conference Records), featuring Genre jumping is a difficult sport, and
Shelter's new record hits this August, El-P of Company Flow and Bobbito the very few bands, if any, display the level
"opening up the summer for Better Than Barber, is an ode to jerking off that of skill which Yo La Tengo possesses.
A Thousand," says Cappo. They'll tour doesn't miss a stroke. If this is a subject p
the East Coast, and plans for a short you can't keep your hands off of, as it
European stint as well as some West were, be sure to check out the latest from
Coast dates are in the works-JE... Trying the best MC in the world, Kool Keith; Sex
to find rappers who are both abstract Style (Funky Ass Records)-remember
thinkers and talented musicians in this horrorcore? How about some
world of hip-hop is like searching for a pornocore?-T54... Bimbo's in San
Cuban cigar in your local grocery store.
Good luck. The chances are slim. And
yet, the other day, I was lucky enough to
find three, all ready to burn. The setting
was NYC's Tramps dance club, and the
characters were Camp Lo, Jeru The
Damaja, and Latyrx with DJ Shadow, and
the mood was some ol' all-tied-up, ninth-
inning shit; kids were waiting with blood-
shot anticipation for the show to
begin. Camp Lo took to the
stage and set it off lovely with
"Coolie High." Kids went nuts;
they were bouncin' about like
basketballs, flailin' their arms
like Jim Carey to every line and
rhyme. Disappointingly, though,
they cut their set short and exit-
ed stage right after giving the
crowd the last dose of what
they need, "Luchini," while sip-
ping Amaretto-CN.
slapshot to the forehead. The
Like a
Francisco is a great place to see a show,
especially if you're chillin' with a Jack
Splash in the Mermaid Lounge while
observing the sonic acceleration of Man YO LA TENGO
Or Astroman? However, I would recom-
mend filling your space rod with a full After all, they have had a few years to
tank of the nitro to achieve maximum practice, as demonstrated by their lat-
audio and visual distortion. Highlights est, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As
include: a Star Wars action figure over-One (Matador Records). The 8th full-
Hanson Brothers are back. The THE HANSON BROTHERS
alter egos of Canadian punk leg-
length record (9th if you include last
year's compilation of B-sides and out-
takes) is not only their most diverse
effort to date, but most beautiful as
well. The songs are not quite as obvi-
ous as 1994's Elect-O-Pura, but given.
some time, they sink in deeper.
Highlight tracks include: "Autumn
Sweater," a slow builder revolving
around a droning organ and drum loop:
"Moby Octopad," an infectious mean-
derer with undeniable swagger; "One
PM Again," which displays a tinge of
country twang; and "Spec Bebop," an
11-minute instrumental jam, which at
its apex feels as if it's about to leap.
out of the disc player. -JK...
Correction: Last month's Coalesce
photo was taken by Bob Peele.
T54-True 54 LD-Lance Dalgart JE-Joseph Epstein JKH-Jasmine K Huynh JJ-James Jackson JK-Jordan Kurland WL-Wez Lundry CN-Chris Nieratko
STEREO
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