Review: Kids Insane - Cluster [10th March 2017]

Breaking out of the Israeli music scene is quite a difficult feat. In the Israeli punk and hardcore world, it's even more difficult. However, one of the bands that have been making waves in recent years is Tel Aviv's Kids Insane. Having secured themselves European tours with the likes of Defeater and Slander, played shows with bands like Gnarlwolves and Bane and also getting on a few festival lineups, the band have slowly but surely been gaining some attention. I even met a German guy at a festival in The Netherlands wearing a Kids Insane T-shirt. That's some solid recognition right there!

With the addition of Dust guitarist, Ofek, the band are about to release their 2nd full length album, Cluster. The band's debut album, All Over, garnered the band a firm following with their slightly dark, angst-ridden Defeater/Touché Amoré style hardcore. With their Frustrated EP and Split EP with Slander, the band's sound has been seen to be evolving bit by bit. As previews of newer songs in recent shows have already suggested, that process has continued and taken them into new realms.

On Cluster, the band still have some of the same energy as before but with an added "rock n roll swagger" similar to Every Time I Die, John Coffey and even The Bronx. Frontman Corey has always been able to hold a note but here his voice has more melody and takes on a more rock timbre, as do Ofek's dirty riffs, Nadav's solid bass and Yoni's thunderous drumming. Songs like opening track, Left Right Left, Killing Us (which features overly British guest vocals by Thom Weeks of Gnarlwolves) and Not A Slave provide infectious melodic singalongs which differ from their previous more shout-worthy anthems.

Overthinking and Full Tank are similarly more tuneful in a way that is odd to hear. While the former utilises back-up oohs and an organ like a spooky 6os garage rock song, the latter can easily be mistaken for Trent Reznor fronting Deftones at the start but then everything changes when those mighty riffs kick in. 

Even with the vocals and riffs bringing something new to the table, Cluster still includes songs like Varicose and Not Yet which hark back to their classic aggressive hardcore sound. The band have managed to experiment and keep some sort of consistency in quality (of both musicianship and production) and style throughout the record. Nothing sounds out of place and it all strings together pretty well. However, it could be questioned how natural this all is. Not only is their usual subject matter about oppression and hating where you live starting to sound a little cliché but some of the empowering choruses come across as forced attempts to create the next best hardcore anthem. That said, who isn't guilty of that?! As a fan of The Bronx and Hot Damn! era Every Time I Die, I actually embrace the Kids Insane's musical detour and find Cluster to be an interesting record as a whole, with some songs even getting stuck in my head. For others who fell in love with the simple angst of All Over, it might take some time to fully appreciate it.


3.5/5

Roll call for Kids Insane video shoot

Live Review: Kids Insane/Spit/Azor @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [3rd March 2016]

With the smaller, more punk venues closing down, more shows have been cropping up at Levontin 7. Tonight sees the return of Kids Insane, with their new guitarist, with support from punk supergroup SPIT and the strange choice of rock band Azor.

Azor

Poor Azor! They've been through the wars. With both drummers and bass players coming and going, guitarist and vocalist Yuval has had a lot on his shoulders to make sure his songs still get heard. Tonight is the first show for new bassist Ofer. Out of all previous bassists, he is the most metal. He alights the stage with a raised fist and plays the entire set with the same posture and charisma of a thrash bassist. He brings along that crowd encouragement that you see at metal shows, such as the "hey" fist pumping and mouthing the words. He even gets down amongst the crowd. He's definitely done this all before and shows no hints of nervousness.

Although musically not being totally in keeping with the rest of the night ahead, Azor's mixture of progressive hard rock and stoner seems to be causing a stir amongst the crowd. Although I've witnessed them have good reactions before, I don't think I've ever seen this much dancing at their shows. It could be that most of those dancing are close friends of the band, but it did encourage others around to join in, creating quite an electric atmosphere all round.
Azor's material does still sometimes come off as dated, reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin, but the creative drumming from Alon makes things a whole lot more interesting. As well as purposely showing off on the fittingly titled The Drummer Is Crazy, High Temp Flight's opening groove displays his talent from the very start of the set.
They may not play my favourite track from the High Tempo Flight album, Natasha, but Port City Girl comes close and has me singing along to as much as I can remember of the song. They also play a new song entitled Muse which does not quite sound like the band of the same name.
Yuval still gives it all he has on stage; his solos get better every time. Despite me being sceptical of the new bassist being "too metal" for this band, Yuval and Ofer seem to have gelled really quickly. Hopefully, this lineup will stick and there will be more shows as fun to watch as this.

3.5/5

SPIT

Consisting of Useless ID bassist/frontman Yotam Ben Horin on guitar, his brother Nadav on vocals (Sweatshop Boys/Mondo Gecko/Shifka Chiefs etc.), Kids Insane frontman Corey Swift on drums (also drummer for Mondo Gecko/Backliners/Tamutamen) and Kids Insane bassist Nadav Rotem on..well..bass, SPIT seems to have been born to bring back the 80s/90s hardcore punk of minute long songs you can skate and/or smash windows to.
 As the band basically play their 18 track debut album, Poison In Your Head, in its entirety, there is not quite as much of a reception dance-wise as there was for Azor. There might not be as many people familiar with the band or the record, but those who are sing along and raise their fists to the likes of To The Bones, R.A.M.B.O, Poison In Your Head and Restart. However, there is a good and obvious reason for the lack of movement; everyone is so engrossed in the spectacle that is Nadav Ben Horin that all you can do is stand and stare in wonder. With the others also playing with intense faces and joining in on vocals, the band as a whole give the performance every hardcore punk band should give.

 As the band zoom through all their quick-fire numbers, the set comes to a close with Flag II. As their longest, slowest and grooviest song, it is the perfect closer and gives Nadav more room to go absolutely bat shit crazy as he exclaims "I SPIT ON YOUR FLAG!". Nadav is known for his eccentric behaviour on stage, almost always ending half naked somehow. Tonight, he goes a little bit further, as he crawls into the "dressing room" area through the hatch, microphone still in hand, and tries to make his way out the dressing room door into the crowd. Unfortunately, the cable isn't long enough, so he returns with his trusty ladder and towers amongst the crowd to eventually dive on top of them for one final crowd surf.

  SPIT need to get out into the States and Europe and I'm pretty sure they will gain a much wider fanbase than they already do. It is pure hardcore punk that's well written, meaningful and still packs a mean punch.

4.5/5

Kids Insane

Both Azor and SPIT seem to have warmed the crowd up nicely as now everyone is up front for Kids Insane. As I write this, I admit that my memory of this is a bit hazy. This is one of those times where I actually got quite involved, doing a bit of dancing and shouting along. However, I can still say that they were totally on form, and even more so with Ofek from DUST now on guitar duties, who also did some great back up vocals.

  As always, the "classic" Kids Insane tracks get a great reception, with fans shouting along and a good amount of pushing and some actual hardcore dancing here and there. Tracks like Story Of A Lonely Street, Frustrated, Don't Need This (personal favourite) and Spread It All Over get the biggest receptions, as well as Same Shit, Different Scene and Love creating some sing alongs.
 With a new album almost ready to drop, the band play some brand new songs, such as set opener Black Burnt, Varicose, Slave and Overthinking. These don't seem to sit well with everyone here tonight but I am personally impressed. Some people simply don't like change and the new material is considerably different to their earlier work. Although Kids Insane may have always had The Bronx in mind as an influence and may have also had a similar "swagger" at times, frontman Corey has really moved his vocals into rock 'n' roll territory, making the influence more apparent. They also seem to have written a few more refrains and hooks which did have some people already repeating and singing along to but could become even more popular at future shows. I am definitely eager to hear and review the new album (hint, hint) as it seems even more up my street than some of their other more recent work. It'll also be interesting to see how different it is in general to their previous records.  

4.5/5

All photos by David "Doh Doh" Rosen

NEW VIDEO FROM VENICE HARDCORE BAND SLANDER

   I'm a bit late on this band, but then again I've never really known that much about Italian hardcore. Coming from Venice, Slander have joined up with Punkalovich favourites Kids Insane to make a split 12" which is due for release on 11th May through Tangled Talk Records.
    While Kids Insane are keeping their tracks a little bit under wraps besides showcasing them at shows (what I heard sounds pretty damn groovy), Slander have released a video for the track Give All and it's mental! If you ever liked playing old skool shoot 'em up, beat 'em up and/or platform games then you would appreciate this video. We see the band immersed in a virtual world, battling their way through to eventually prove that weed is the solution to all problems. We also see the band members playing in dustbins and getting pelted with rubbish bags. Two very different elements but both fun to watch. The track itself is no holds barred hardcore punk, with some elements that take me back to listening to London bands from the Rucktion scene.

   You can check Slander out on tour on these dates at the following locations:

April: 

• 16^th April: Vienna – Venster 99,
• 17^th April: Eisenhüttenstadt (D) – Club Marchwitza
• 19^th April: Mirano – secret show

May: Slander and Kids Insane release tour:

• 8^th May: Honky Tonky Club, Seregno (MB)
• 9^th May: Venezia Hardcore Fest 2015, Marghera (VE)
• 10^th May: 300 cocktail show, Verona (VR)
• 13^th May: Locomotiv Club, Bologna
• 14^th May: Libera Comunanza, S. Benedetto del tronto (Ap).
• 15^th May: Tigersuit Fest Le Macerie, Molfetta BA
• 16^th May: Dalla Cira, Pesaro (PU)
• 17^th May: FCE Party, Arci Cinciana, Mantova

Live Review: Useless ID 20th Anniversary Show @ The Barby, Tel Aviv [4th December 2014]

Useless ID (+ guests)

Man Alive

Kids Insane

Tonight is a special night. This massive show at Tel Aviv's major rock concert venue, The Barby, is the setting for the celebration of Useless ID's 20 years of existence in one way or another. It is expecting to be an absolutely massive turn out. As I walk into the venue, I notice that they've opened a whole section of the venue with an extra bar which is normally curtained off. Is it really expected to overflow tonight?

Kids Insane

Shows in Israel have a reputation for never starting on time. If an event says it starts at 21:00, it's most likely to start at around 22:00 or later. Tonight, however, hardcore freedom fighters Kids Insane were scheduled to be on by 21:00 and they decide to go on almost a little bit prematurely. Didn't matter to me. I got there in perfect amount of time to say hi to the guys before they scuttled on stage. It was a bit too early for other gig goers, as there was only a splattering of people there, including a handful of people who actually know the band, some curious onlookers and a few already wankered who just want to push-mosh.
Already being a fan of the band, I discarded my writing duties and started dancing from the get go with first song Don't Need This from their All Over album. The song is a great starter to the set and a song that I personally relate to. They speak about the self-righteousness of the religious and how someone non-religious can feel belittled. The cry of "I'M ONLY FUCKING HUMAN!" is heavily poignant and has me (and possibly others) staring up at the ceiling and screaming it with all the breath I could muster.
The band then power through the rest of their set with frantic energy and buckets of sweat. Singer Corey knows how to work a crowd and is not put off when more arrive. If anything, it makes him better! He's running around from side to side, shoving the mic into the crowd, standing on monitors and just generally OWNING THE STAGE! I find it hard to actually hear his voice from time to time tonight. I don't think it bothered many others; those who know the words were singing themselves, anyway. Regular crowd pleasers Same Shit, Different Scene and Story of a Lonely Street have both fans and those familiar with the videos going crazy and singing along. Newer tracks from the Frustrated EP, such as Frustrated, Poisoned and tonight's set closer 28/12/2012, receive a more mixed reception....but give 'em time. I loved the fact I was able to get my "groove on" to their classics such as Fix It and Spread It All Over tonight. KI never really seem to disappoint. They have that obvious Black Flag influence in their performances despite having a more early Comeback Kid sound and even a hint of Fugazi in places. It all works fabulously, as their growing success in Europe and the UK is proving.
Their next show is what they're calling a "Pop Up Shop/Exhibition/Live Music" show at Koro on 25th December. So a christmas party, I guess! the show will feature artwork by Alon Bonder (dunno), Djing by Mad Appel (dunno), an acoustic set by HaAchim Zabari (The Zabari Brothers - mentalists!) and, of course, full set by Kids Insane.
4/5

Man Alive

After a bit of a natter with some friends and some new acquaintances, including a German volunteer and an American on a Masa program, I decide to get back to work for the next act. I go up to the balcony, stage left, and find a spot to rest my notepad and with a perfect view of both the stage and the crowd. As Man Alive, these faces that I don't recognise, arrive on stage, there is a warm welcome from the crowd. Like Useless ID, Man Alive have been around for quite some time and, due to their support from Useless ID, have toured fairly extensively in the past. In recent years, they have been fairly quiet gig-wise and do the odd local show here and there.
They start off with Laugh Along from their last album that came out last year, A Light Goes On. It's a nice happy track that gets some of the crowd joining in on the Mumford and Sons style "Hey" parts. As nice as this song is and as well as they are playing it, first impression is that they seem pretty static. Maybe they're just warming up. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.  

Photo by Useless ID

As the set goes on, the band plays a good amount of the newer material such as titular track sing-along A Light Goes On, the catchy Over and Done (possibly my favourite off the record), the sway-inducing A Can And A String and the emotional but still heavy hitting From The Inside. The new material still gets a great reaction from the crowd as much as older tracks such as Give Me A Sign and the fast paced Catch Phrases, Slogans and Chants. There are times when some of the girls near me on the balcony are having a bit of a boogie and people in the "pit" were jumping about push-pitting, so the music itself is definitely having the desired effect tonight. There were some songs that made me want to stage dive from the balcony where I was....I then decided against it. 
The previously mentioned "static performance" did not really improve. The band had some interaction with the crowd, giving their thanks to Useless for all their help over the years, but I just didn't get that feeling they were as into the show as the crowd was.  

3.5/5

Useless ID

And now to the birthday boys!! Useless ID are greeted by fans with an almost "heroes' welcome". The band arrive on stage to the chantings of "USELESS! USELESS!" This could have been for the band or they could have been pissed off about something. Haha.... Probably not that. All 4 members of the band, Yotam (vocals/bass), Ishay (guitar/backing), Guy (guitar/backing) and Gideon (drums) all seem ready and raring to go. Yotam's looking the most "punk" that I've seen him in a while, wearing a sleeveless denim jacket with band patches such as 7 Seconds and other smaller ones. (I couldn't make out what they were from where I stood). 
By now, the Barby was utterly full to the brim. Everything is frantic and energetic from the get go as the band begin their part of the evening with classic track State of Fear. The crowd are squashed in like sardines in a can, but still manage to jump about, start the odd circle here and there and sing along. Not only does the song have catchy "woah oh oh" parts that stick in your head until you die, the "I don't want to be a part of it anyway" line of the chorus rings true to so many of the people here tonight who never were/do not want to be associated with the army and do not agree with war. This is definitely one of their best ever songs, so I can't help but feel that playing this first was "blowing their load" too early.
As tonight celebrates the band's 20 years of existence, they have made sure to pack tonight's setlist with as many songs from their back catalogue as possible, up to and including last album Symptoms. Almost every song they play tonight has people singing along. Symptom's main hit song Before It Kills has all band members properly rocking out. Yotam stands legs wide apart, attacking the bass like it ate his last Oreo. (I wanted to say "Rolo", but that's a very British reference so I opted for something more international). As Ishay frantically headbangs like a bobble head on a bumpy road, Guy flails around the stage, whipping his curly locks back and forth, strumming along like his life depended on it. Drummer Gideon is holding it all together perfectly, spinning his sticks whenever possible....again! Show-off or showman? Who cares?! A blonde wig/hair extensions suddenly flies onto the stage. Not entirely sure where that came from or why it was thrown but it added to the craziness of the performance. The pop punk classic Turn Up The Stereo has everyone jumping, singing and clapping along as soon as the easily recognisable riff kicked in. Girls standing near me scream in excitement...I guess Useless ID are their One Direction. This is one of those songs that even pop punk fans around must know, due to the music video having had a bit of airplay back in the day. Songs like Manic Depression and At Least I Tried created stage diving and push pits galore. Because their albums vary in style, when watching Useless ID live, you hear elements of Ataris style emo pop punk and the more aggressive fast paced vibes of Rise Against. Guy and Ishay's backing vocals are not always clear in most songs, but that does not seem to put off the crowd. 

Photo by David Rosen 

Tonight, we have a couple of guests joining the band on the stage. Corey from Kids Insane returns to sing on probably the oldest and most hardcore song in the set, Is It Right. Corey has taken a bit of time to relax and gain his breath back since his set and is on total form; roaming about the stage, standing on monitors and energetically singing directly to the crowd. Another guest further into the set is Israeli legend Rami Fortis. I'm starting to get to know a bit more about him, especially since this performance. He is considered a forefather of Israeli punk rock/new wave. Tonight, the band back him up on his classics Hatul HaMifletzet (The Monster Cat??) and Red MeAl Masach HaTelevizia Sheli (Get Off Of My TV Screen). I hadn't heard these songs before and was incredibly impressed by how catchy they were and really enjoyed seeing the crowd members who knew the songs singing and dancing along. Both sides must be feeling honoured; Fortis for being invited to perform his own songs with them and the band themselves for the fact that he agreed and has graced them with his presence (or the other way round, maybe?) There is a chant going around; "FORTIS MESHUGGAH" (Fortis is crazy). This is incredibly apt as he is an absolute nutter on stage. Looking a bit like Phil Collins if he was a physics professor, Fortis dances about on stage like a rhythmless drunk uncle at a wedding. He is incredibly fun to watch. His vocals were not always audible but everything else made up for it. 
The pace softens down a little as the band comes off stage, leaving only Yotam for an acoustic set. Yotam plays a couple of songs including Blood Pressure. He's having to almost instruct the crowd NOT to sing certain parts yet. It's another great song from the band's repertoire that people can't help but sing along to. Yotam shows off his singing prowess more by holding a long note on "TAKE, TAKE, TAAAAAAAKE". This gets a well deserved cheer and applause from the entire venue. When the band returns to the stage, they play a few more classics before inviting Fortis back on to help them out with covering Blitzkrieg Bop. A punk show isn't a punk show until everyone is going "Hey Ho! Let's Go!" Every time a band does this, it's as if to say "This is why we do this." 
Useless ID's whole performance tonight was compelling. There may have been the odd bum note and there was an incident where the floor tom fell over, which was easily rectified, but everyone soldiered on and they gave the people what they wanted. The sad thing is....what happens now? Yotam is off to try and make it in the states as a solo artist. This could leave them to having just a fewer shows throughout the year than previously, but I hope that the band will still go to the states to tour and that Yotam will make his way back here from time to time to tour with them. 
4.5/5