Convert at Promises, March 3rd 2023

Anyway, Unrestrained is a collection of six remixed tracks from their 2022 LP Saves and it’s amazing. I think I actually like the remixes even better than the originals. Super extra dark, with the industrial sound amped into EBM territory. Think early (good) Ministry, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb meets The Cure, Bauhaus and Siouxsie. I 100% would have been dancing to these tracks on industrial night in the 80’s. “Watch It Burn (Blood Remix)” and “Bleached Bones (Vic Dagger Remix)” are ass-shaking amazing. I also love the swirly dream-synth accent on “Nightbursts (TransAmvania Remix)” and “Death Mask (Cellmate Remix)” is terrifying — in a good way. I also must give a shoutout to the sludgy track “Cold Motive (Guerrilla Ghost Remix)” mostly because I know one of the Guerrilla Ghost guys. You can get your own copy here.

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I only knew a bit of that backstory before listening to Kuchisabishii but I was immediately struck by the visual nature of the music: it truly paints a delicate soundscape, like an impressionistic painting in soft sunlit pastels. “Primordial” in particular immediately conjured up the image of cherry blossoms falling in slow-motion at the end of romantic arthouse cinematic drama. I’m a rock-n-roll girl who grew up playing classical violin so one of my favorite tracks is “Bacchanal,” one of the few songs on Kuchisabishii with a solid drumming rhythm but also a lovely and soaring violin accenting the melody. I also really like “Usufruct” (the second single from the album) which has Beach Boy-meets-choir boy pop harmonies, and the last track, “Repletion,” which is reminiscent of a classical music requiem at its start that crescendos into a soaring, densely anthemic conclusion. Overall, Kuchisabishii has a sweet atmosphere of emotion that just barely skims the edge of sadness: goth but goth if painted by Monet or Cassatt.

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The first time I heard the lead single, “Burn,” I was hooked and had it on repeat for weeks, adding it to several of my playlists. The rest of the album is fantastic, too. Other top picks include the first track “IDK,” the 80’s plink-plunk, bleep-bloop Speak and Spell-ish of “Wake Up,” the menacing Black Celebration-ish “Wolf at the Door,” the title track “Hallucination” and the guitar-forward “Living in America.”

We had the good fortune of seeing Dark Psychic’s first ever show at Puddler’s Hall in early July (it was the second show we had seen since March 2020, making it extra-memorable). Two days later I met up with a good friend for some light afternoon day-drinking at Blackbird Bar and realized the bartender looked extremely familiar: turns out it was guitarist Nathan Greene so I got to gush to him in person how much I enjoyed Hallucination and their show. We also caught them on the patio of Boone & Crockett in August: while Dark Psychic’s sound generally feels more shadowy late-night, its edges of shimmer worked to highlight that gloriously beautiful sunny afternoon.

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Pure Pleasure II – misleading a bit because it’s their first album – is a short ‘n sweet burst of, yes, pure pleasure. A crowd favorite, and one of mine, is the first track “Can’t Help It” which reminds me a lot of old-school power poppers Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?” but with a bit more growl. Also great are “Lost Cause” (such great harmonies and Sam’s bassline melody riff), the excellently named “Fuccboii,” the crashing “Rock n Roll” and the power pop ripper “Animal.”

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Static Eyes “Traps” 2017. Triple Eye Industries. Local Milwaukee trashy, thrashy garage punk. I’ve collected a tidy pile of local music over the last little bit, mostly on cassette (vinyl production issues, you know the deal) so this week I’m focusing exclusively on Milwaukee bands currently, or at least very recently, active. Static Eyes is 3/4 of one of my favorite MKE bands, Fox Face; both bands include Chopper (on drums in Static Eyes, on guitar in Fox Face), Lindsay (on bass, some vocals: Static Eyes, guitar and vocals: Fox Face) and Lydia (drums: Static Eyes, guitar and vocals: Fox Face). Lee provides howling, growling vocals and some crazy-ass dancing for Static Eyes — it’s been a few years since they’ve played out (I think) but their shows were dynamic, loud and nuts. I think the last time we saw them was maybe in 2017 at Burnhearts Pabst Street Fest.

“Traps” is a quick and brutal six-song EP, no filler. My top track is “Dahmer Faced Dog” which is both wicked and hilarious; I believe the story behind it is that Lee was at a yoga class and misheard, in the most Milwaukee way ever, the pose Downward Facing Dog as Dahmer-Facing Dog. It has a killer (pun intended) hook and is a total ass-shaker. The title track “Traps” is dark, menacing and more than a little creepy. My other top pick, “Close Talker,” has a sentiment pandemic-me can totally relate to: “Don’t stand so fucking close…get outta my face!”

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Relentlessly pounding EBM/industrial dance, That Total Age was Nitzer Ebb’s debut album. The single “Join in the Chant” hit #9 on the US dance charts and the crowd went insane last night when they performed it.

Join in the Chant

Join in the Chant (2)

They also played “Murderous” and “Let Your Body Learn” (two of my favorites and both also released as singles ), plus a hilarious ballad version of “Violent Playground” and “Alarm” as part of the encore. While not on That Total Age, Nitzer Ebb also played “Hearts and Minds” (we have that 12″ single on vinyl). Another top pick from the album is the opener “Fitness to Purpose.” My original cassette has the track “Warsaw Ghetto” which was not included on the originally released CD’s (mine doesn’t have it) but that track does appear on the 2018 reissue.

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Allmusic says about The Stone Roses: “What made the Stone Roses important was how they welcomed dance and pop together, treating them as if they were the same beast. Equally important was the Roses’ cool, detached arrogance, which was personified by Ian Brown’s nonchalant vocals. Brown’s effortless malevolence is brought to life with songs that equal both his sentiments and his voice – “I Wanna Be Adored,” with its creeping bassline and waves of cool guitar hooks, doesn’t demand adoration, it just expects it. Similarly, Brown can claim “I Am the Resurrection” and lie back, as if there were no room for debate. But the key to The Stone Roses is John Squire’s layers of simple, exceedingly catchy hooks and how the rhythm section of Reni and Mani always imply dance rhythms without overtly going into the disco. On “She Bangs the Drums” and “Elephant Stone,” the hooks wind into the rhythm inseparably – the ‘60s hooks and the rolling beats manage to convey the colorful, neo-psychedelic world of acid house. Squire’s riffs are bright and catchy, recalling the British Invasion while suggesting the future with their phased, echoey effects. The Stone Roses was a two-fold revolution – it brought dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting, and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the ’90s, even if the Stone Roses could never achieve this level of achievement again.”

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I still really really love Music For the Masses. It is moody, introspective, spacious  yet still danceable. The single “Strangelove” was released months before the album, in April ‘87, hitting #16 in the UK and a more uptempo version (“Strangelove ‘88″) made it to #50 in the US. I was, and still am, enamored with “Never Let Me Down Again,” which was released as a single in August ‘87, hitting #63 in the US and  #22 in the UK. It is dramatic and atmospheric, with odd emphases and lyrical punctuations (”We’re flying high/We’re watching the world pass us by/Never want to come down/Never want to put my feet back down on the ground”). “Nothing” is another favorite, full of darkness and nihilism, and the stark desperation of “I Want You Now” is heart-wrenching. “Little 15″ pretty much freaked me out – the dense and creepy funhouse synths, the menacing lyrics – and it still does.

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