Being British born, albeit to an Israeli mother, I never really excelled at any other languages and only since moving to Israel have I become somewhat semi-bilingual. With music being an international thing, there are many bands in the world making music that I like but singing in languages I don't understand. Some bands have managed to gain success abroad, such as Rammstein (German), Babymetal (Japanese) and let's not forget frickin' PSY (Korean) but here is a top 10 list of bands that I listen to who I have no idea what they are saying. Disclaimer: This also includes bands who might be singing in English but have very strong, unintelligible accents, thus qualifying for a band I don't understand.
10. Freedumb
I discovered thrash/punk band Freedumb from Norway very recently due to their latest album, Feeding The Tapeworm, being sent to me via Toxic Online to review. Although the majority of the album and their material overall does include English songs, they do have a good number of songs in Norwegian that I simply don't understand. They actually turn out to be the better songs, as the singer is saying the words with more conviction. This gives the song more meaning, even if I don't know what that is. Playing music along the lines of Dead Kennedys, Black Flag and Municipal Waste, Freedumb are worth a listen.
9. Shitty CT
This is cheating a little as Shitty CT are an Israeli band and I do understand Hebrew. However, I did not understand Hebrew when I discovered them after only just moved to the country. They also sing the Hebrew in slight Russian accents at times, so that can also be confusing sometimes. The band itself mixes rap, punk, metal and electro which confuses many people but I dug it from the start. Their latest song, Kayfuyem, is basically hip hop, sampling the song of the same name by singer Arsen Petrosov with rapping, all in Russian. Russian, for me, will forever be a confusing language.
8. Shabak Samech
Similar to Shitty CT, Shabak Samech, one of the most legendary rap/rock groups in Israel, sing in Hebrew and I also discovered them back when my Hebrew wasn't all that great. Because it is rapping, it is still pretty hard to follow it completely without having the words in front of me somewhere. This goes for other Israeli rap artists like Peled, Muki and Lukach. Shabak Samech's early work is the stuff that I really like. It is more along the rap-rock lines, as apparently they were influenced by the likes of Dog Eat Dog and Beastie Boys back in the day. The last stuff they brought out was also good but more hip hop based. I don't think old school fans were all too impressed. This song is called Al Tagidu Li (Don't Tell Me).
7. Sand
Along with mentioning bands I technically do understand now because of my improved Hebrew, putting Japanese hardcore band Sand on this list might be a bit of a curveball. I mostly know Sand through their music videos and that's the only way I can understand them. They luckily have the lyrics come up on screen so that we can follow. This is not a translation, however, as the band actually seems to be singing in English just with the strongest, most unintelligible Japanese accent. Not anyone's fault, to be fair. I tend to flick in between finding these guys to be a joke to just loving it regardless. Either way, the music is tough as hell!
6. Netral/NTRL
Netral, now known as NTRL, are, in my eyes, the Indonesian Blink 182. I discovered these guys through a video of a kid drumming along to their song Cinta Gila and thinking to myself "I like this! This is nice." Upon further research, I found other songs just as nice and even others more punky. They have great melodies and are just great musicians. I think it's actually quite a crime that they are not more widely known. Their latest album, 11/12, came out last year.
5. The Blue Hearts
Back to Japan (you'll be seeing a lot of Japanese bands on here, actually). The Blue Hearts are a really old Japanese punk band. I discovered them through a cover of the song Linda Linda that Andrew WK did. Turns out, a few other bands have also covered it, as it is quite a classic song. I listened to some greatest hits of theirs and just really liked them. Haven't a clue what they are saying or even what most of the song titles are, but I know what I like when I hear it!
4. PUYA
A little break from Asia now, as we head over to San Juan, Puerto Rico where the band PUYA originated from. I still can't quite remember how I discovered PUYA. I think it was by accident or just when going through a bunch of rap metal bands on Youtube. However it happened, I somehow saw the video for the song Fundamental and was simply kicked in the balls by its amazingness. The song flicks in between latin music with brass section and full on shouty rap metal. I downloaded the album of the same name, which is mostly in Spanish. Even though I learnt Spanish in my teens, I don't really understand it. At all. But the music is amazing. The band apparently had great success, especially with Fundamental. Their latest release was the live album Vital back in 2014.
3. Maximum The Hormone
Along with Babymetal, Japanese nutcases Maximum The Hormone are now quite widely known. I discovered them quite late through a video that started to go viral. I still don't know what the song is called, but it's the song where the only English in it is "Stop, stop, whinny upload." Apparently it's about an old software...I don't know. The song was just a big bag of genres and the video was pretty crazy with strange imagery and effects. Maximum The Hormone are simply mental. Both lyrically, musically and on stage. Some people are familiar with them because their music has been associated with the anime series, Death Note. I wish I could understand Japanese because if the responses from their Japanese fans are anything to go by, they are bloody hilarious.
2. Back Drop Bomb
Another band that I don't quite know how I discovered them. Back Drop Bomb started out like the Dog Eat Dog of Japan. They played rock/rap crossover music and had a saxophonist. In more recent years, the band have reached into territories that bring to mind 311 and even Linkin Park. They are still incredibly creative and enjoyable to listen to...I just haven't got a clue what they are saying, most of the time. I think, like Sand, they are actually singing in English for a majority of songs. It's just hard to tell. Regardless, their earlier work is simply some of my favourite stuff to listen back to every now and again. They have a split EP coming up with the band Husking Bee.
1. Mad Capsule Markets
And finally, still over in Japan, the band I consider my number one favourite band I don't understand. Mad Capsule Markets hit the UK market big time in around 1999 with the album Osc-Dis. With digital music channels like MTV2, Scuzz and Kerrang TV, videos for songs like Pulse, All The Time In Sunny Beach and Good Girl got a fair bit of air play in the UK. I never actually got into their albums back then as I was stuck in a bubble of local hardcore bands but I always had a fondness for those hits. I started listening to their discography later in life and they are now a massive influence on me. They developed their sound throughout the years, but it's always been punk with an industrial leaning, later being also considered digital hardcore. I love them because they have many genuinely catchy songs and just an amazing intensity. Even when songs titles are in English, the songs are mostly in Japanese with the odd English bits thrown in. There are other songs where the song might be in broken English with some Japanese rap parts thrown in. Such a shame they are no more as I would have loved to have heard what they would come out with now and see them live. Former vocalist, Hiroshi Kyono, did continue with his own digital hardcore project, Wagdug Futuristic Unity, which is also very impressive.
Are there any bands here that you guys also love? Are there maybe any bands that you think I should be listening to? Do you know any good Korean hardcore bands? Does that exist? Let me know.
After a brief European tour, the hardcore punk trio, Copout, return to Tel Aviv for their 7" release show at Levontin 7. With them, they bring powerviolence noise makers MooM and "straight out of the 80s" hardcore punk/thrash super group Spit. As all the bands play really short songs, this is going to be a quick read!
MooM
As can be seen in previous reviews such as my review of their EP (see here), I absolutely love MooM. They play powerviolence and sludge, similar to the likes of Despise You and EYEHATEGOD. As great as they are on record, they are always more fun to watch live. Sima, like in everything she does, shouts her heart out on stage while the rest of the band play at breakneck speed. There might be a lot of bands out here that play this kind of style but it is MooM who show the most promise and come off sounding as if they could already be forefathers of the genre. The whole band is just fully into it and it makes for a more enjoyable viewing. Bass player Gad is still a delight to watch due to his stances and faces but it really is a group effort. It's such a shame that it's early days and they just have a super short set. They basically play the whole of both their First EP and the recently released and cleverly titled Second EP along with 2 brand new song (Lord Of Drug Lords and a currently untitled song) yet the set is still only about 15 minutes long tops. Ancient Scripts is still the most memorable of tracks for me but it's really difficult to soak everything else in when it all goes by so fast. The Nature Of Death and The Death Of Nature somehow manages to have an epic sounding first half and a counter-acting frantic second half and only be a minute long. Its' slow heavy pounding groove mixed with full throttle riffage is just the kind of thing that keeps me on my toes. I'm hoping things look up for them as they are set to embark upon a European tour during the summer. 5/5
Spit
Leaning more towards old school hardcore punk and crossover thrash, local super group, Spit, take the stage next and yet again zoom through their Poison In Your Head LP from beginning to end. Normally, singer Nadav tends to go crazy and do a lot of weird shit, but tonight he just gets down to business. This only makes the performance a tad less entertaining as he still runs around on stage and the band still play until they sweat buckets. There's a temporary line-up change tonight, as Not On Tour/City Rats drummer Gutzi "sits" in for local vocalist/drummer legend Corey. Despite sometimes starting the wrong song or momentarily forgetting how something goes, Gutzi's drumming is still on point and ridiculously impressive for someone who only had a short amount of time to learn an entire album.
A few crowd members, like myself, are familiar with the material now and are singing along and causing a lot of commotion on the dance floor. I guess that's a job well done, lads! Stand out songs for me are Restart, R.A.M.B.O, Christchurch, Kill The Cancer and the epic set closer Flag II. 4/5
Copout
With Levontin 7 still not as full as it could be, brothers in arms from Rosh HaAyin, Copout, take stage.
For anyone who hasn't checked out the band's debut record, Spray Paint (see review here), Copout walk in the shadow of bands like Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, Gorilla Biscuits and Black Flag, playing short songs mixing both technical musicianship and punk aggression. The songs are catchy, especially the likes of Oh No! and Where Is Your Mind? which are good sing alongs. The others might still need time to sink into people's heads because they're not as simply structured. As the band plays through their set, we hear every song off of Spray Paint, including their cover of the Black Flag song of the same name which is met with a great reception, but also play some currently unreleased tracks. The newer songs such as Disconnect and I Don't Care sound a tad heavier than their other material, almost touching upon Kids Insane-like hardcore in places, which actually works quite well.
In general, the songs do go by quite fast so it's difficult to take everything in. Nevertheless, Nir's tight and heavy drumming, Omer's solid bass lines and Uri's riffs have me nodding my head and tapping my toes while others are dancing at the front and getting pushed around. The boys in Copout are definitely doing something right. Having already gone on tour so early on in their career, their future looks bright.
Tonight, I come to Tachles Bar in south Tel Aviv for a night of some of Israel's up and coming hardcore bands, including a band I haven't seen or even heard of before.
Sick Society
First up is fairly new thrash influenced band, Sick Society. I've seen them at least a couple of times before but wasn't really into it. The last time that I remember was at the Zimmer and the whole set was a bit of a mess. Their drummer, Andrey, just wasn't on point; unable to keep tempo and sloppy fills which thus made everything sound very mediocre. By tonight's performance, the band has certainly done some hard work. Andrey's playing is tight, showcasing some impressive blast beats, and the sound over all is better than before. They might not be doing anything new but there are parts that make me nod my head and other parts that get a lot of the fans tonight going berserk. Songs like All Nazis Are Bastards and Black Penguin Society are more in the vein of simple street/crust punk, making them sound like many of the other Russian/Israeli bands out here. Other songs such as crowd favourite, The Slaughter, has a more crossover backbone and sounds especially impressive tonight. Guitarist, Johnny, plays some really old school style solos which, when he gets them perfect, fit really well and help them stand out a little bit more. Frontman, Alon, looking as thrash as possible, might not have anything unique about his vocal style or presence, but he loves the music and he loves the crowd. He shows that by crowd surfing, managing to return to the stage just in time to continue the song. He also brought a bit of fun to the party at the very beginning by wearing a Lucha Libre mask, but that quickly lost its charm, as it pretty much always does. My views on Sick Society have changed slightly and I definitely enjoyed them more tonight than before, they're just not interesting enough right now, although newer songs, The Dancing Monkey and "The Last Song", do show potential and progress. 3/5
Dam Al Zona
Here's the band I'd never heard of before. Dam Al Zona (lit. Blood On A Whore), are a four piece from Tel Aviv who simply play some crazy shit. They look like they should be playing old school death metal but, instead, have that crust/early hardcore punk sound. The songs seem to be mostly in Hebrew, and due to live vocals for this sort of stuff being generally quite unclear, I couldn't tell you much about what they were talking about, but the songs are short, fast and chaotic. Frontman, Yuval, brings some hardcore punk ethos to the performance. He verges on the line of GG Allin, stripping off to his underwear, banging his head with the mic and even letting crowd members kick him and jump on him while he writhes about on the floor covered in (what I hope was) beer. Sometimes, the time keeping on the whole wasn't also kept in check, but it was certainly an energetic live performance worth seeing. 3/5
03
I've written a bit about 03 (Efes Shalosh) before. They're one of those bands that I've grown to like more and more over time. Especially since taking on guitarist Lemmy (Sintax), the whole stage performance and even the sound are somehow both much tougher. Frontman Jenia has always been consistent. He has sung for both Instinct and Brutal Assault (maybe even others) and his vocal style hasn't changed. Luckily, 03 are musically more metal than the previous bands and thus doesn't just sound like a carbon copy of either one of them. He moves about the floor space, trying to get crowd members riled up and ready to move, which always helps in a performance.
No Racism is currently the band's stand out track, with cool grooves and some great "chugs" in the middle. They have more songs in their set than before and the newer ones sound even tougher. Comparisons to bands like Terror and Death Before Dishonour are obvious, although I'm eagerly awaiting the band's upcoming album to hear what else they have to offer. 4/5
DUST
Dust! How many frickin' times have I seen Dust now? I can't even count. Over the last few months, I've must have seen them at least once a week (I just didn't bother writing about it.) Yet another band who are meant to be releasing an album soon, these guys and their mix of unconventional stoner time signatures and hardcore aggression just gets me every time. They still practically do the same set over and over again, which, for a band who has to have been around now for at least 2 years already, you'd think would have expanded a little bit more. There are some new songs, but they're harder to get into. I'm ok with odd time signatures but when a song doesn't really settle into a groove, it's hard to follow and enjoy it. That's the feeling I get with some of the newer songs. That being said, I can't wait to hear the new album.
After touring together in Europe, Israeli nutcases Zaga Zaga and Mexican noise makers Joliette play the final show of their joint tour at Koro, Tel Aviv.
Zaga Zaga
As readers know, I have seen these Zaga Zaga quite a few times already since they began. I didn't quite get it at first; was a little too jazzy, technical and noisy for me on the first couple of times I saw them. After a while, you begin to actually hear melody in what they do and find yourself shouting along to songs like The Dancer and (I Just Called To Say) I Hate Your Band. It also looks like they've officially added a cover of Devo's Uncontrollable Urge. Despite being worlds apart in style, these boys manage to play the cover in a way that sounds similar to the original but still doesn't sound out of place amongst their disjointed shouting hardcore punk. What really impresses me about the band each time is their energy and and enthusiasm on stage. They clearly love what they play and love performing and that is a joy to see. Their tour mates Joliette have also been impressed by them and going crazy and singing along on songs.
3.5/5
Mondo Gecko
Mondo Gecko is one of those Israeli bands who really only manages to play a few times a year. I have seen them a few times over the years. Like most of the other Israeli bands in the scene, they are always great fun to see live...mainly because frontman Nadav is also in those other bands that are great live. Mondo Gecko, having a mixture of metal and punk musicians in the band, play what can be considered as "crossover thrash". I'm pretty sure none of their songs are over two minutes long, if that. There are a few long time fans of the band here tonight running about and singing along. I've definitely seen a better turn out for them but the band still play with the utmost gusto and Nadav constantly gets the crowd going by jumping in amongst them. I am also pretty sure a ladder was used. Yeh...that sounds right... The songs themselves are so short that it's hard to really appreciate them, but if you like your thrash, Mondo Gecko are a band to check out.
3/5
Joliette
Admittedly, I had never heard of this Joliette until I heard about their joint tour and also split Ep with Zaga Zaga. Only a few days before this show, I checked them out for the first time and really liked what I heard. They play Converge-like hardcore but seeing as I've never been that much of a converge fan, I have to add that this is much better, in my opinion.
From time to time, the band play similar crazy hardcore like Zaga Zaga, like on Pisca de Cotsco from their split Ep with said band and on Todos Odian from their Principia album. Even on both those songs, Joliette add a hint of melodic hardcore, sometimes similar to bands like Glassjaw and Finch, and even heavy beatdown bits to switch it all up and it sounds great. Il Yonzorno, from their split with LYED from Texas, is very melodic and diverse in its dynamics and thus my favourite from the set. Just like Joliette during the Zaga Zaga set, Zaga Zaga and some others more familiar with the band were going nuts. At one point, Zaga Zaga drummer Heshbon got on stage and sang with them. The band, like the others, are full of energy live. Bassist Gaston and guitarist Fernando give it everything, both vocally and physically. Other guitarist Juan also rocks out in the corner of the stage while drummer Gabo gives some of the best drumming I've ever seen. There were times when I was just totally mesmerised by his display of innovation.
When it comes to bands who play this sort of hardcore, I was definitely impressed by Joliette and hope they get more recognition. I hope they enjoyed their time out here, because we certainly did.
It has already been one of the most talked about records for 2015 since the revelation of first track Gravity and the fans were made even more excited by the release of a video for second track Drop. After having treated us with the EPs Step To The Rhythm and Pressure To Succeed, Baltimore's Turnstile, fronted by hardcore band Trapped Under Ice drummer Brendan Yates, are finally releasing their first studio album Nonstop Feeling, expected to come out on January 13th. I am one of those people who are already in love with the band but the teaser tracks have been hinting at slight changes in style which must be investigated. As previously mentioned, Gravity and Drop are the first two tracks on the album; both were greeted with mixed reactions. Gravity is groovy with a fairly simple, although in my opinion still catchy, main guitar riff, which I find reminiscent of a song called Independent by Dog Eat Dog spin-off band All Boro Kings. The verses have a bit of a Downset feel about them and the chorus has a hint of 311, especially in the way "It's just the gravity" is being sung. All in all, it has a bit of a Leeway feel, which is what I already liked about the band. Drop starts thrashy and then slips into a groove for the rest of the track with barely any other lyrics. We get more of a 311 echo-style singing. I think this is what is dividing opinion on this record. There's singing...in a hardcore record! SHOCK HORROR! And yes...I am relating it to 311 because a) that's the only band I can think of that has vocals exactly like that and b) I love that band! When listening to the rest of the album, you realise that this definitely isn't a typical hardcore record nor is it just a repetition of the first 2 tracks. Although the album still runs along the groove driven, rapcore-ish hc, there's still a mix. Fazed Out and Bad Wave are heavy and more traditionally hardcore with heavy riffs and "mosh" parts , similar to bands like short lived Inside Out (fronted by a pre-RATM Zack de la Rocha), with less of the "singing". Can't Deny It and Bring It Back are also both heavy and danceable. They both lean slightly more towards the style of crossover that we can hear in Leeway albums like Adult Crash and Desperate Measures. Bring It Back also has a bit of a Stuck Mojo vibe about it. Both include the "echoed" singing as mentioned before, but the chorus of Can't Deny It sounds so much like 311 that one could think frontman Nick Hexum is actually guesting on vocals. Actually...is he? Same thing goes for second shortest track on the record Blue By You. Where on earth did this baby come from? Not to be mistaken for a cover of Roy Orbison's Blue Bayou, this basically sounds like a melodic pop punk song...sung by Nick Hexum. It's short, it's energetic and somehow both sweet and haunting at the same time. This, along with penultimate track Love Lasso (a slow and almost country sounding instrumental), are the odd ones out on this record and feel like album fillers. Love Lasso even has an organ part! Beach Temple is also instrumental but at least somewhat keeps in with the more typical Turnstile sound. Addicted is the album's no holds barred thrashy hardcore punk track. It zooms along, making you bang your head as Brendan (or maybe someone else...doesn't quite sound like him) sings stuff like "Give it to me! Give it to me right now!", eventually ending in a good old "medium heavy" beatdown. Out Of Rage and album closer Stress could be considered by many as the real rap-metal/nu-metal tracks on the record. One would think a song with the word "rage" in the title would not necessarily sound anything like Rage Against The Machine but this does. Starting off more like the later Leeway stuff, the chorus is full on RATM, which in my book is not a bad thing. Stress is a really good mix, with 2 stepping parts and hip hop grooves which could create dance battles at shows (just imagine!..) It's very heavy on the old guitar harmonics which sounds awesome on first listen but could get annoying. TRACK LISTING: 1. Gravity 2. Drop 3. Fazed Out 4. Can’t Deny It 5. Bleach Temple 6. Bad Wave 7. Blue By You 8. Out Of Rage 9. Bring It Back 10. Addicted 11. Love Lasso 12. Stress For those who already like Turnstile, this not an album to be ignored. For those more into pure tough guy and beatdown hardcore, you should listen to this...but you're probably not going to like it. For anyone who has ever liked any rap metal/rapcore/nu-metal/whatever you wish to call it, this is definitely worth checking out. For a 12 track album, it really doesn't seem all that much longer than each of their Eps. Despite the fact I still think it's just album filler, Blue By You is a stand out track for me because it literally (albeit not physically, for all you grammar lovers) does stand out. Can't Deny It and Stress also make it as my favourites on the record. Is it one of the most groundbreaking records ever, maybe not...but at least they've got the balls to experiment. 4/5
While checking out the band Chained Down, I came across a band who they recommend. Cross Me are hardcore band that hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They put out a couple of small releases in 2013 and back in June brought out 5 track record Paid In Full on Flatspot Records. We start off with the crushing groove of the positive and motivative Warrior Spirit. These guys have good, albeit pretty standard crossover riffs. They manage to mix up the more groovy side of hardcore with straight forward thrash. The vocals are strong but I can't help but feel that they have been recorded in the bathroom on a very cheap microphone. The guitar playing is tight; the drumming is mostly good with the odd sloppy fill. The rest of the record follows along the same Backtrack/early Terror vibe with some parts reminiscent of Stampin' Ground, probably because of the vocals. The tracks get more thrashy as you go on. 4th track, Bad Company, sounding nothing like the band of the same name ("FEEL LIKE MAKING LOVE!"), starts off proper dance floor worthy. There's a bass lead groove that suddenly blows up into full throttle thrash. The song, like the record's opener, is somewhat motivational. You know when you're trying to help out a friend you care about but they're just continuing going down the wrong path despite what you say and you're ready to just give up? That's what this is about. At least that's how I see it....because I've been there. The final and titular track starts off sounding so much bigger and almost more professional than the rest of the tracks. A frenzied riff then opens up and gets you running around the room like a nutter. The very end is almost reminiscent of early Machine Head...and that's always good. If this is anything to go by, Cross Me are definitely a worthwhile band to check out if you like your crossover hardcore and lyrics that you can relate to. 3.5/5
Today is Black Friday. I've never really given much thought to Black Friday, mainly because it's an American thing, being traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, and never really used to be a big deal in the UK. Suddenly, it is and we even have it in Israel. I was out in central Tel Aviv today to check out this expo at the Dizengoff shopping centre, where certain companies specified for the Anglo/Expat community were promoting themselves and giving out deals. After I popped into that, I was making my way to my bus stop and decided to go into HaOzen HaShlishit (The Third Ear) record/music shop. As it happens, the shop was taking part in Black Friday. So I thought I'd have a nosey around and see if anything caught my eye. I ended up buying 4 second hand CDs which were 50% off and decided last minute to get the new Prince album, fall or around £21/$33 altogether.
Purchases:
CIV - Thirteen Day Getaway (1998) I seemed to be having difficulty downloading CIV albums. I'm not that massive a fan, although that's only because I'm not that familiar with all of CIV's work. Looking through the CDs in the shop, I just saw this and thought "This is only going to cost me about 3 quid". So I bought it. CIV are a New York hardcore punk band that was formed after the demise of the legendary Gorilla Biscuits. Thirteen Day Getaway is their second full length album. China Drum - Goosefair (1996) Another album that just jumped at me was the debut album by Northumberland rock band China Drum. I gained a sweet spot for this band some time back after discovering some music videos online and loving the fact they had a singing drummer. They had a few changes over the years. Singing drummer Adam Lee moved to full time vocal duties, a new drummer was added and they changed their name to The Drum in 1999 before later disbanding in 2000. They reunited in 2013 back under the China Drum name. I was also weirdly having trouble downloading China Drum's work so I'm hoping this isn't going to be a wasted purchase. I don't think so. The Suicide Machines - Battle Hymns (1998) The Suicide Machines are a ska punk/hardcore band from Detroit. Over the years, I have heard and downloaded the odd song, including popular songs like High Anxiety, No Face (one of my favourite skater/ska punk songs) and War Profiteering... Battle Hymns is their second full length and is said to be where they started to incorporate a more hardcore sound and writing shorter songs. I am already familiar with the track Give and I'm hoping the rest makes the rest of this 22 track (longest track 2:19, shortest 0:05) album worth the £3.20. Suicidal Tendencies - S/T (1983) Upon seeing the self titled debut by LA crossover thrashers Suicidal Tendencies, I thought to myself "ahh...go on, then." Having now checked my itunes, turns out a pretty much already have all the tracks on this album in the form of the Still Cyco After All These Years album. Whereas the tracks on Still Cyco... are re-recordings, this is the original first album. I guess there's no harm in having it. Not at Black Friday prices. Prince - Art Official Age (2014) I really did not want to overdo it by buying too much, but there was a 10% discount on new releases and I saw the new Prince album and was obliged to get it. I then realised that Prince's other album with 3rdeyegirl, PlectrumElectrum, was released at the same time. Not only that but the new Rancid album is out too. I thought to myself "just choose one, mate. You're trying to be more careful with your money." On further thought, I should have taken better advantage of Black Friday and bought some new clothes....Ah well! What's done is done. I've just been listening to Art Official Age while writing this whole post and I'm glad I'm in possession of it instead of downloading it for free. Although it is not a punk, metal, hardcore or even really an alternative record, I will get a review up in due course.
