Tag Archives: Germany

BIKES.

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Berlin heartthrobes Bikes are brilliant. They are a proper rowdy and obnoxious band. Their sound is part Iggy and The Stooges and part drunken street brawl. The songs are awfully short (like myself) but don’t let that be a deterrent. They’re one of the finest bands doing this kind of music. What kind of music is it? Oh it’s just noise to the outsider, but anyone else would realise very quickly that it’s a stroke of potential genius. The G word is lobbed around too often, so I’ll say it is potentially genius, but in my heart I know it has already reached that point.

When I find a band like Bikes I feel like I’ve won the lottery. However if you saw my bank statement you would probably think I’ve been a victim of fraud. Truth is, I’m shite with money. I found a new record store to venture in next week when I get paid, but today on my lunchbreak all I could do was lustfully look at it as I walked past. It didn’t help that my uncle (he’s on holiday in Canada) sent me a photo of two records he bought today (The Cramps and Fucked Up.) My time will come next week on pay day.

Money woes aside, Bikes are the kind of band you go to when you’re broke,bored and unsure. They’re the right kind of loud and they just make you want to pack up your stuff, and escape to Berlin. As you make your escape, you decide that Bikes are going to be your soundtrack and you throw yourself into their scene. Bruised and sore, covered in various shades of booze and sweat. They are the epitome of a good time for those who want to throw themselves into the unknown. Their sound is a mixture of weirdness, Punk and Garage Rock. All the typical things that I adore rolled into one to make this incredible sound.

They’ve been going for quite some time now, and I’m foolishly only just now discovering them. I first heard them about half an hour ago, and I knew I had to try write something about them, even if it makes no sense. I’ve never planned any form of writing, and I’m fairly sure it shows. Bikes are the tyrants that are coming to save you. Their menacing and infectious sounds can pull anyone through the worst day of them and are just a real joy to the ears, and soul.

You can do a whole bunch of nothing to this band or you can go on a journey of self-discovery, regardless of your mood and general state of being, Bikes are a band to really get behind and play as loud as you can stand. They’ve got a song called Ocean Penis, that’s pretty great.

All you snotty nosed brats and restless adults, let Bikes be your soundtrack.

Get the tunes here:

https://bikeshateberlin.bandcamp.com

THE CHEATING HEARTS.

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Any kind of music that makes me feel as if my brain is going to explode or if my body is being pulled about in different directions is fine by me. It’s pretty much what I look for. I don’t like mushy stuff, that doesn’t benefit anyone (maybe it does, but it just isn’t for me.) Those mushy songs portray love in the worst way. And general feelings. I want to feel as if I’m in the midst of a fight that I shouldn’t be in. I want the drums to turn into bruises and the guitar to feel like a bash to the face.

The Cheating Hearts have this huge gang feel to their sound, but there’s just two of them. I’m a massive fan of duos, and when they make more noise than most that’s when I know I’ve found something I’m going to treasure. The Cheating Hearts are a mighty fine German band who sound like The Cramps mixed with (early) The Damned. They make you feel as if you are not in this era. They’ve got a typical Rock & Roll feel mixed with something really creepy. An ideal tour for me would be these guys and The Creeping Ivies. It would be brutal, raw and intense.

I know the word “cool” is redundant and let’s be honest, nobody apart from Lou Reed captured the real essence of cool. But if you want the REAL meaning, just watch Almost Famous. Lester Bangs character nails it perfectly. However, The Cheating Hearts are slick and real cool. This is a band that should be influencing young ruffians to pick up an instrument and make some noise. If I was 14/15 and hearing these guys, I’d be quick to find some friends and make some noise. Instead, I’m just a 28 year old with no musical talent constantly wishing I did. Oh to pack up daily life and exchange it for dive bars and going to places I never thought I would. I can dream, it’s all I have.

Their record wonderfully titled, Fuck Love came out just over a year ago. I’m late to the party but you know, better late than never…well, depending on the circumstances I guess. Fuck Love is a gritty and rowdy records. It’s for those who adore the weird side of things and embrace with arms and minds open. There is something really magical about this record, and like I mentioned above, it really does make you feel as if you’ve gone back in time. They do not sound “now.” I struggle to work out what a “now” sound is. It is a lot of synths? Count me out.

Their bio says that they will soundtrack your next break-up. Sometimes having your heart gorged out needs a soundtrack, The Cheating Hearts are that soundtrack. Some may want to listen to Adele and cry into a box of Milk Tray, but fuck that. Throw yourself into something like this and forget what happened. A break-up doesn’t have to ruin you, nothing in life does. Sure it is easier said than done, but I’m all for rambunctious sounds like The Cheating Hearts to tell my story/unleash it all for me. Sure if your heart isn’t broken these guys can still be you soundtrack, I’ll be constantly playing them without thinking about anything other than how bloody great they sound.

The Cheating Hearts are a brilliant explosion of all things I look for in music. Their lyrics are witty in all the right places and the music is all I could wish for. With only one record released, Fuck Love just leaves you wanting more. There’s only so much having it on repeat can do for you until you start craving for more music. With one listen I just knew I was headed into something I couldn’t get enough of.

The Cheating Hearts are going to put you in a chokehold and rip out your heart when they are done. You’ll love it and you won’t be able to stop yourself from having that feeling over and over again. Don’t fight it, there’s just no point at all. They dress in wedding garments and look like a couple who are on the run. Their look is as crucial as their sound. They look like how they want you to feel when you listen to their music, and trust me you will. This Garage Rock/Punk sound they have going on is nothing short of incredible and I need more.

You can buy/listen to Fuck Love here:http://thecheatinghearts.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-love

JUDY, YOU’RE NOT YOURSELF TONIGHT.

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With it becoming a little warmer, I thought it would be best if I seek out some bands that don’t give off a warm feeling in their music. I thought I’d find a band that are suitable for foggy and stormy weather. The kind of weather that Jack The Ripper probably enjoyed.

Aside from having a pretty damn good band name Judy, You’re Not Yourself Tonight are yet again, another band that back fuel my love for duos. This gruesome twosome (they look pretty clean actually) have only two songs on their bandcamp page. That’s enough for me to go on, but obviously I want more.

JYNYT come from Berlin. A city I have yet to visit, but I am 100% sure that when I visit I won’t want to leave and will probably throw a really good tantrum in order to stay there. The Ramones museum will be like a religious trip for me, and I’ll probably beg the staff to give me a job there. That would more than likely be one of the best jobs in the world for me. Talking about the Ramones all day and staring at Joey’s clothes. Bliss.

JYNYT are loud and wonderful. These two things are destined to go together. Loud music is one of the best, I just love noise. Not a fan of loud people though. Silence from people is nice. They make proper noise, the kind you want to hear in creepy basement bars in an unfamiliar place. I know nothing about the band, but I know that their music is pretty special. They’ve got this way of sounding huge with only two of them being in the band. They release that dormant beast inside of you with their eerie sounds.

By obsessively listening to JYNYT for the past half hour or so, I’ve reached some kind of conclusion that they are a band that really come to life when you see them live. You can imagine La La beating the shit out of the drums and Ant Car flailing the guitar around with sweat falling from everyone around them and onto whoever. Their rowdy sound is ideal for cramped venues that smell of spilt beer and decades of bodily fluids.

I have no idea what they’re up to (I don’t know anything about them, and for the most part that makes it easier to write about them) but I know this, they are an exciting band to listen to and really, two songs just isn’t enough.

You can buy/stream their music on their bandcamp page: http://jynyt.bandcamp.com/

KÜKEN

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Coming from the mean (or probably not so) streets of Hamburg, Küken are one of the most exciting bands around who manage to smack a proper punk sound with a garage rock influence. Their songs are brilliantly loud even if they are too short. We can’t have everything. Short songs (I mean lasting no longer than 2 minutes) aren’t a bad thing. If you can get your point across quickly and cause limbs to flail in that amount of time, then why not? Bands like the Ramones to my loves Girl Tears have managed and do manage to do it, and they do it well. I can take dreamy gems lasting over 5 minutes with punchy loud 1:30 songs. It all works.

I can’t give you any background on Küken, I know nothing about them but I know this- they are on Austria’s finest label, Bachelor Records. Bachelor Records is responsible for some of the loudest bands around. The kind of bands that you want blaring out of your speakers to either wake you up or to annoy someone. Be obnoxious, but use someone else’s voice. Simple. Let’s all move to Germany, start a punk band and get Bachelor Records to sign us!

Küken remind me of The Damned. Their current record (self titled) reminds me so much of The Damned’s debut record. That record, like Küken is fast and full of songs that will leave you sore from throwing your body about in a ridiculous fashion. Sometimes you just hear a band, and you instantly know you’ve found something you’re going to treasure for years and years. They make me want to go through Bachelor Records releases and write about them all. I most likely will. There are bands that  I remember hearing certain bands for the first time and immediately wanting to find more of the same, Küken leave me feeling that way. I want everything to be as rambunctious and as loud as this. Some people fawn over acoustic guitars (no thanks) but I want noise. Proper noise like this. The kind that leaves a glorious ringing in your ears, and all you hear is the residue of the songs throughout the day. In painful silence and in loud places, you are still hearing their songs in your head.

Küken are a band I’ve GOT to see play live, but I have no idea if or when they’ll be over. There are many venues that would be ideal for them. Dark, sweaty venues that would bring these magnificent punk songs to life.

Songs like Black Rose,Suicide Train and Fight Back are the kind of songs you walk around listening to whilst feeling absolutely nothing but by the end you feel something brewing inside of you that no other band has managed to bring out of you. You don’t know what it is, but the best things sometimes come from inner frustrations.

I know nothing about the band, but I know that they are one of the most exciting bands around sometimes, that’s all you need to know. Who cares about anything else. Their music speaks for itself.

Play it as loud as you possibly can, throw your limbs about and buy everything on Bachelor Records.

You can listen to and buy Küken’s music here:

https://kueken.bandcamp.com/album/s-t