"KALIFFORNIAN DEATHROCK" FEATURED IN PREMIER ISSUE!
Review of Kaliffornian Deathrock by Mick Mercer:
It’s a funny old business this ‘Deathrock’ lark, as it
doesn’t quite have a UK counterpart. It’s what we knew
as early American Goth, and it’s what they called it,
whereas we had some Post-Punk action then a Goth
scene. So when Goth went bleepy or politely bumptious
in the 90's it was only right that the new American
generation making an energetic noise rightly reclaimed
the Deathrock title, but there isn’t a UK version. If UK
bands get noisy and rousing, as most are anyway,
they’re just Goth instead of Gothic, perhaps? It wouldn’t
seem quite natural if they said ‘we’re Post-Punk heading
for new Goth’!
I was too ill to contribute any quotes or pics to this when
Paul Cuska asked, as I hadn’t the energy, but I maybe
couldn’t have in any case as I simply wouldn’t have had
much to contribute. It’s partly DJ Rickbats project
anyway, with him adding expert notes throughout the
booklet. There’s a plethora of interesting items packing
out the booklet, and musically this is a fine look back,
but even here the edges and boundaries blur. For
Deathrock I’d have said first half of the 80’s and no
further, but on the sleeve notes, they pay tribute to
bands like Stone 588, Dichroic Mirror, The Shroud,
Prophetess etc, highlighting late 80’s as well as mid-90s,
as though people have different expectations of
Deathrock.
Myself, I think back to haunting record shops, especially
Rough Trade in Ladbroke Grove and occasionally, very
occasionally, being handed something that wasn’t simply
decent Punk. This is before Punk became Hardcore,
where they were either good bands or disappointing
bands. When a stunning record, like Kommunity FK or
Savage Republic, The Web or Screaming Sneakers fell
into you hands you treasured it. Or Pretty Poison. They
may have gone Pat Benetar rockish with a dance hue
later but their first EP was every bit as good as 45
Grave’s debut. Mainly I think of ‘Hell Comes To Your
House Vol 1.’
Anyhow, back at this fantastic compilation we start with a
brief radio intro from KXLU, which I gather was an
influential LA station, then we are run over by the
steaming rhythmic rivulets of Screams For Tina’s
‘Graveyard Mary’ with evil, glowing guitar within and
pinched nostril singing and its Psychedelic Furs tribute.
Isn’t she pretty in stink. Like Wreckage are interesting in
‘Burning Waters’ which is comparatively mellow and has
the whole Wreckage/SFT link too, although the forced
vocal melodrama of Kill Sister Kill in ‘Feverdream’
seems a little silly now, with its chomping Bauhaus rip.
Christian Death’s ‘Mysterium Iniquitatis’ is exquisitely
chiselled and the bells/vocals part continues to inspire.
Voodoo Church’s ‘Eyes (Second Death)’ is grimy and
fun, and Eva O’s Super Heroines’ ‘Night Stalker’ is
similar in tone but with the odd effect of the vocals
sounding male.
Astrovamps make the word ‘Ghost Train’ sound like
glass chain, and it’s a fairly weird pop take on Goth
from their first ever demo, but still flushed with angry
tension. On the lovely ‘Eternal Deep’ I’ll swear Mephisto
Walz are using a duck call to make the occasionally
extraordinary utterance, maybe the shortlived Deathduck
movement? Kommunity FK show people how to main a
cool course through the watchful ‘We Will Not Fall.’
Deathride 69’s ‘Mescalito’ has an interesting, hushed
atmosphere and gently interwrought musical plates,
shifting eerily and pleasantly. 34 Vampires go quietly
through the mushy electropoop that is ‘34 Vampires’, but
a solid Ex-Voto number, ‘Waiting For The Dawn’ brings
some shambling noir back in effectively.
Texas Vamps are well Cultish in ‘If I Don’t Wake Up
Today’ musically but more punkily structured vocals, and
Shadow Project’s dappled ‘Under Your Wing’ is full of
great moody moments. The Ants guitar line shamelessly
stolen by Element for ‘In The Nitetime’ always thrills and
to be fair they maintain the gloomy momentum well and
then develop some starker sounds later. (Have they
done a retrospective CD? Why isn’t there a website)
Burning Image are passionately pained in ‘Haunted’ and
it ends with a rough, lumpy live version of 45 Grave’s
‘Procession.’ That’s not quite all, because there’s also
two videos of The Deep Eynde , with ‘Baboo’ and ‘
Hoodoo’, the latter being well worth a look.
So what did you expect, something awful? This is a
Strobelight compilation of the highest order. Part of our
shared history, it is genuinely intriguing and wellrounded.
Nobody will feel let down. Similarly, nobody
should be inclined to copy.
These are the ground rules, and bands now have to rise
above.
THE RETURN OF THE BAT
Specimen will bring their special brand of glam mayhem, The Batcave to London again.
After last year’s wildly-successful 25th anniversary Batcave event, The Batcave returns to its original spawning ground of London’s West End on Sunday July 19 for another night of blasphemy, lechery and blood.
Specimen (Fresh from a fantastic show at Leipzig’s Waves Gotik festival), the original Batcave instigators will headline the lurid frolics at the Embassy Club, (29 Old Burlington St, London W1S3AP) Also on the bill are original Batcavers Sexbeat, with DJs Hamish and Cavey Nick, cavorting from decks to decadence with the usual brutal, trouser-dropping surprises & suitably confronting & barbaric entertainment.
The 2009 Batcave will feature installations from exciting new artists of the ‘Dark London Underground’ and visuals from the upcoming ‘Welco
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