- The Frank & Walters – ‘Goddess Of Athena’
I was living in London at the start of 90’s, when two Irish bands from Cork were on every indie fans’ lips and ‘body’, The Frank & Walters and Sultans Of Ping F.C..
I do recall a glorious sold-out Frank & Walters’ gig at the London’s Astoria (the support band were an ‘irrelevant’ little known band called Radiohead), all the young buzzing crowd wearing the band’s t-shirt and singing hard out all their fresh catchy beautiful songs ‘Fashion Crisis Hits New York’, ‘Michael’, ‘Walter’s Trip’, ‘Happy Busman’, ‘Indie Love Song’.
I do recall their coloured sleeve singles and that great label sampler along with Neil Hannon’s The Divine Comedy and A House brought directly from Brixton-based Irish Setanta Records.
I do recall the signing session for the release of their debut LP at a packed Soho’s Sister Ray records shop.
The hype lasted few months, but the band, back to their native homeland, continued to do what they always did best: perfect pop songs with clever poetical lyrics. After 27 years and seven excellent albums, The Franks are still here to delight our senses.
‘Goddess Of Athena’ is the third single taken from their last, best and more mature album ‘Songs For The Walking Wounded’ via Fifa/Stargazer Records, it’s apparently a piano led ballad about a fallen love, where the personal level about “God knows I hurt you, but knows I hurt me too What was I supposed to do. God knows I need you but knows I need me too” justaposes with the social one until weaving together into the old Greek tragedy of our dark crumbling ‘modern’ times “That was the day, before our love went away / Before our dreams went on hold / The story stopped being told / That was the day, before it all turned to grey / The cogs of industry seized / The world was brought to its knees”, never more than now normal people’s life is threatened and spoiled by politcs, but none of them seem or care to notice it.
Enjoy the stunning b&w video below shot in Athens. Specially compiled and edited for the band by Athens-based and long time fan George Agrofylakas featuring Monica Brandini.
Fabrizio Lusso
- Repetitor – ‘Suženi snovi‘
Once again the magic part of the web strikes again: Repetitor are a post punk trio from Beograd, Serbia.
Two girls, Milena Milutinović (drums) and Ana-Marija Cupin (bass & vocals) and a boy Boris Vlastelica (guitar & vocals); their lyrics are in their native idiom but they give off such infectious and burning noise, energy and passion that the language is just a negligible barrier.
My trusted ‘leaks’ (thanks Ivana) said it’s all about a dark love story, the title should mean “shrink dreams”, but what matters more is that, in little more than three minutes, are enclosed the best bit of grunge, garage and post punk. The song rumbles along in its intense cohesive way, just about grounded by a tense throbbing post-punkish bassline and an extraordinary fierce drumming that shakes the floor, emphasized by sudden dissonant and abrasive slices of guitar riffs threatened by Boris’ anguished vocals…it’s only masterly crafted rock’n’roll, but we like it!
Repetitor’s new third album ‘Gde ćeš’ is out now via Moonlee Records. Heat up by the excellent video directed by Miodrag Cicović.
Fabrizio Lusso
- Burial – ‘Young Death’
“I will always be there for you“. The repetitive muse sings under Burial‘s new dubstep hymn. The soundtrack of isolation city is here. Don’t expect an easy way out. Master of dubstep has done it again! ‘Young Death‘ is one the most defining tunes of 2016. Thumbs up once again to Hyperdub. Just let loose…
Christos Doukakis
- Demdike Stare – ‘Sourcer‘
“Demdike (aka Elizabeth Southern) was the ringleader of the Pendle Witches. Accused of three murders, she died in prison in 1622 before coming to trial.”
Demdike Stare is a Lancastrian experimental venture, made up of Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker. ‘Sourcer’ is a killer track from the duo’s latest album ‘Wonderland‘, out via Modern Love. Grime and underground electronica fans should dig this one, since it’s by far one of the most unique releases of 2016.
Christos Doukakis
- Ugasanie – ‘White Death’
As winter is quickly approaching for many of us in the northern hemisphere, certain music seems to give weight to the Gods. As the skies grow darker and the nights more frigid, Ugasanie is there to document the event. Consistently focused on the colder forms of dark ambient, Ugasanie never fails to send chills through the room. ‘White Death‘ plunges us right into the mix.
On ‘White Death‘, Ugasanie harnesses the deep drones of a cold winter evening, blending them with some less than inviting field recordings. This is not music for the campfire, this is the sound of the last embers burning out, as a frigid winter chill sweeps across the floor.
Michael Barnett
Compiled by Fabrizio Lusso, Christos Doukakis & Michael Barnett