Autobahns - First LP

Feral Kid / Legless / Phantom / Magüt (2024)

I have a little pile of records people sent to me to review that's building up, so I'm trying to get through some of those.  Autobahns are from Germany and four labels went in on putting out this album.  Other than that I don't really know anything else about them other than the music that is on this LP.  I'm not sure I have that much to say about it.

It's fast punky rock with something of a Marked Men style guitar attack, if the Marked Men only recorded their albums in the sea and didn't have interesting chord progressions.  The guitar tone on this record is pretty silly and I can only describe it by saying that it wounds like a cartoon version of what a guitar being played underwater would sound like.

The vocals are ultra distorted to the point of being incomprehensible and they're pretty much screamed on top of being fuzzed out.  Is this better than your run of the mill hardcore band?  Yes, absolutely.  But it's not really good either.

Autobahns - First LP:
https://feral-kid-records.bandcamp.com/album/first-lp

MF911 - Idol, The Bloodsport LP

Next Plateau (1993)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

MF911 is another one of those groups that eluded me when they originally were active.  I have no memory of seeing anything about these guys in The Source or on Yo! MTV Raps back in '93.  Had I known about them, I'm sure I would have picked up the record, particularly due to a hip hop luminary being a big part of this album.

Who is that luminary?  Ced Gee of Ultramagnetic MC's.  From what I've read, he brought the group to Next Plateau.  But even if that story isn't accurate, he was very involved in the creation of this album, even handling the production for about half the album.  And if you know me, 1993 era Ultramagnetic is one of the high points of that time for me.

You can absolutely hear that in the production.  Even though MF911 are from Detroit, the production screams early 90s New York boom bap.  There are those jazzy loops and hard hitting drums that would not be at all out of place on The Four Horsemen.  Top to bottom, the production on this album is great, with the tracks that weren't produced directly by Ced Gee still having a similar sound leading to a cohesive album.

Lyrically, the folks in MF911 are flowing in a much more straightforward manner than the Ultramagnetic boys do.  And that's not a shot at them.  I don't think the world needs too many groups rapping like lunatics.  That works for Ultra, but doesn't often work for others.  MF911 has MCs that have vocal similarities to Ced deep voice, but they're staying on beat and spinning stories that are more narrative in structure.  The lyrics complement the beats nicely and the total package is an album that has been slept on (including by me) for far too long.  Hopefully some label will release this lost gem one day to get more attention on a record that deserves it.

MF911 - Idol, The Bloodsport:
https://mf911.bandcamp.com/album/idol-the-bloodsport

Teen Cobra - Buzzkill LP - Yellow Vinyl

 

Big Neck (2024)

There's lo fi and then there's no fi.  Teen Cobra fall in the latter category and that just makes this album even more fun.  Buzzkill is an LP full of loud, fuzzy garage stompers.  As far as production goes, the album is certainly rough and ready.  The vocals are fuzzed out and constantly in the red, the guitar is also ultra-distorted, but still manages to maintain an element of jangle to it and those components are fueled by a primitive, primal drum beat.  It's a lot of noise out of two people.

I think the thing that I like the most about this album is how it feels like a sister record to something that Doo Rag or The Black-Eyed Snakes would have released decades ago.  A lot of that is the percussion and the way the deceptively simple sounding drums add an energy and propulsion to every song.

It also helps that the vocals aren’t the standard garage snarl posturing.  I mean, there's a little of that, but you've never heard an album trying to cram in so many vocal harmonies while keeping the vocals so intentionally blown out.  It's really unique and makes Teen Cobra stand out from the pack.  I dig this.

Teen Cobra - Buzzkill:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/buzzkill

Brokin English Klik – Brokin English Klik LP

Wild Pitch (1993)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

If you look at some of the labels releasing music during the golden era of hip hop, you'd be hard pressed to find a label with more of a murderer's row of great albums than Wild Pitch.  At various points they had Gang Starr, Ultramagnetic MC's, O.C., The Coup, The U.M.C.'s and Main Source among others.Another group they had maybe wasn't as renowned then or remembered now was Brokin English Klik.

I certainly wasn't aware of these guys when they were originally out and releasing records.  But having discovered them later, I can't really understand why they didn't break through more.  I'm positive I would have loved it back then and this probably would have been one of those records that I had on repeat pretty non stop.  The album was produced by one of the members, Da Mad Scientist Phase.  

Digging around, I can't see that he ever worked on any other albums, but his production on this album is just tremendous.  It's rugged with tons of low end bass.  From song to song, the bpms change, with some tracks being fast and others slowing things down.  It has all of the hallmarks of my favorite albums of that era and shows just how much hip hop can be elevated when a song's production is more robust than one beat just repeated ad nausea with someone rapping with no chorus or hook.  The beats ebb and flow, dynamically changing within a track to further highlight the lyrics.  It feels like a lost art to me and it's why I tend to find most hip hop production boring these days (that and so much of it today is just so slow).

As far as how the microphones are handled, I'd put this up against most records records that came out in 1993 and I think it holds up just fine.  Is it lyrically among the most elite of that year?  No, but it's good and is enhanced by how great the beats are.  Sadly, the only vinyl of this album that was released was the bare bones Wild pitch generic sleeve with a sticker gimmick.  I'm glad to have it period, but if there's an album that is looking for a delux 90s Tapes style treatment, I would definitely nominate Brokin English Klik.

Brokin English Klik – Brokin English Klik:
https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCEd3MBPzpj3e7DXr04ocErg

Reduced - Reduced 7" - Yellow Vinyl (/265)

Brassneck (2024)

I've written more than a few old man screeds on this site over the years.  The older I get, the less in vogue the sort of things I like to listen to tend to be.  I'd like to think it's less me being a cranky old guy that is falling out of touch and more about how bands just flat out sound different these days.  They have different touchstones and inspirations than I do.  I don't begrudge any of them, it just feels like I'm not the target for what they are doing, and that's fine.

Luckily my desire for music is satiated by reissues, lost recordings, new discoveries of old bands I missed the first time around and old folks that are still making music.  Much more rare is a new band that I'm not familiar with coming out of nowhere and hitting that sweet spot of upbeat and energetic punk with hooks and vocals that don't sound like a band started by a former Decepticon.  Enter Reduced.

This is a UK punk band that is probably a little more aggressive than the Choppers, Broccolis and Hooton 3 Cars of the world, but I still hear a kinship to that scene which is something I don't get to hear anywhere near as often as I'd like.  The music drives forward, but is still catchy.  But it's not as straightforward as you might think as I find the chord progressions veer off into unexpected places not unlike something you'd expect from Red Dons or maybe the first Estranged album.

And unlike so many No Idea/Hot Water Music growly vocal folks that seem to inhabit the bands that I would probably listen to if not for the vocals, the singer from Reduced sounds like someone singing.  There's a slight raspiness to his voice that I'm pointing out as a compliment because if it was too slick, I wouldn't like that either.  It threads the needle perfectly, meshing with the rest of the band and carrying the hooks.  This is a band that is playing loud, fast music that is catchy, has hooks and generally is the sort of music I want to listen to.  I hope they're working on a full length.

Reduced - Reduced 7":
https://brassneckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/reduced

Mad Flava - From the Ground Unda 2xLP

Profile (1994)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

In my never ending quest to try to listen to every forgotten band of the golden era, I came across this 1994 album by Mad Flava.  I had never even heard of these guys before stumbling across their name within the last few years.  They were absolutely not on my radar back in 94, which is the year my interest in hip hop was starting to wane.  I'm pretty confident that I would have dug this had I heard it back then.

The main reason I would have, and do like this album is the production.  From start to finish, this album has the sort of rugged jazzy beats that I tend to like the most.  Though they are a west coast band, they have more in common with their east coast peers than any G funk style nonsense.  The production was handled by the group along with Erich 'Hype Dawg' Krause.  The only other thing I know him from is the JCD And The Dawg LB LP that I gave a few listens to and decided I didn't need.  The beats on Mad Flava are much better.

Lyrically, you'd be hard pressed to hear these raps and not think that there are certainly some similarities to House of Pain.  Lucky, it's not as over the top or goofy as HOP can get, but you're not going to listen to this and be bowled over by lyrical prowess.  Everyone who touches a microphone gets the job done, and nothing is ever bad - for me, it's just a means to an end showcasing an album full of beats that I really like.  I'm never not amazed at how much stuff came out in the early 90s that got lost in the shuffle.  There was so much insanely great music being released that something like Mad Flava, which is very good, just sort of fades into the past with little fanfare.  Worth checking out.

Mad Flava - From the Ground Unda:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mR6eJ1vH4sCbgPUgladYPRUMlstq2-OQg

Trenchkoat - Apocalypse Hits LP

Big Neck / No Front Teeth (2024)

If we're going to venture into judging a book by its cover land, I had an inkling while looking at this album by Tenchkoat that it might not be up my alley.  But with the minimalist design and the straight lines, I figured, who knows - maybe there's a chance it's gloomy but not super evil.  I was wrong, Apocalypse Hits is, in fact, super evil.

I feel bad when I write about records like this, because I'm never quite sure what to say about a band that sits so far outside of the scope of what I tend to listen to.  I can say that from a music standpoint, the band is certainly tight, it's not a sloppy hardcore crew.  The guitar work has some interesting riff and lead work and the drummer is absolutely pounding the hell out of the kit.  If you are looking for aggressive, dark music, this could be for you.

That said, I absolutely cannot understand the appeal of vocals like this.  They are so shredding, and cartoonishly dark.  It sounds like an orc from Lord of the Rings in the midst of some sort of incantation.  Lots of yelling, lots of reverb.  It just sounds kind of insane to my ears, but I'll say again - I am definitely not the target demographic for this sort of thing.  

I dig a lot of what Big Neck sends my way.  Even the stuff that's not always in my wheelhouse is usually interesting or at least a top notch example of the band's given genre.  This is one of those rare bands that just completely puzzles me.  I'm sure it makes sense to someone, but it's not for me.

Trenchkoat - Apocalypse Hits:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/apocalypse-hits

Digital Underground - The "Body-Hat" Syndrome LP - 2 Versions

1992 (Tommy Boy)

2023 (Tommy Boy, RSD Black Friday Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

The "Body-Hat" Syndrome is the third Digital Underground album and it originally came out back in 1993.  I'm pretty sure I bought it back then, but it didn't survive one of my CD purges over the year.  The reason I'm pretty confident I owned it is because both of the LPs I'm about to talk about are missing a track I remember vividly where DU called out a bunch of other artists that lifted or repurposed the beat of "The Humpty Dance" over the years.  

I didn't listen to this album for many years, but decided to revisit it a few years ago.  And like the Digital Underground records that came before it, I enjoy it - for the most part.  Every DU album is too long.  That's kind of the gimmick, really.  A long, diverse album with some grand slams and a few misses along the way.  

The albums single, "The Return of the Crazy One" is the main Humpty song on the album, and for my money it's actually the best Humpty song in their entire catalog.  It has such an ear worm of a beat behind it and it inevitably gets stuck in my head for days every time I listen to it.  While writing this right now the album is playing in the background.  I actually skipped "Return of the Crazy One" so it's not stuck in my head all day, but its piano riff is still managing to penetrate my brain.

The other thing that I like about the album is that it marks one of, if not the earliest appearance of Saafir on record.  He pops up with his off kilter cadence and in my opinion elevates every song he touches.  I wish he had been part of the group on their first two records as well.

So, I have two versions here.  The single LP version is the original pressing from 1993 that only came out in Italy.  It's missing a few songs, and it's a whole lot of music crammed onto a single LP, but it was the only thing out there for 30 years.  Thanks to my buddy Scott, for grabbing it for me to ship over to the US.

So naturally, within months of me finally pulling the trigger and buying a copy, a deluxe double LP version was announced for 2023's Record Store Day Black Friday.  This version is infinitely superior, but it is missing the "Humpty Awards" track from the CD I mentioned earlier.  Still, it has all of the real songs, sounds great and can still be found super cheap on Discogs.  Worth it just to get "Crazy One" stuck in your head for a month.

Digital Underground - The "Body-Hat" Syndrome:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l-giHafleaouUvM364aeD6CL6R7eXFdtI