Live Review: Lehavoth/Dukatalon/MooM/Aphotik @ Tmuna Theatre, Tel Aviv [29th December 2017]

Lehavoth
Dukatalon
MooM
Aphotik


I think it's been a while since I've been to/reviewed a local metal show, so tonight sees me at the Tmuna Theatre in Tel Aviv to witness 4 local bands who all appear on slightly different parts of the metal spectrum.

Aphotik

First up tonight is local band Aphotik. I can't specify how local as none of their profiles suggest where they are from but Tel Aviv-ish would be a good guess. On stage, they are a very competent death metal band with the odd beatdown reminiscent of more metallic hardcore bands like Irate. Their Theocracy EP/demo is a bit misleading as the vocals lead more towards grindcore growling whereas the live vocals are so much more audible and therefore just a little bit more enjoyable. Think of a more death metal sounding Lamb of God and that's the kind of thing Aphotik do. As new blood goes, Aphotik are a nice surprise.

3.5/5

MooM

Not that it's too much of a surprise to anyone who knows me or even to anyone who reads this blog regularly, MooM are one of the main reasons I am here tonight. Consisting of people from other punk and hardcore bands, MooM are the most exciting powerviolence band in the country (there's just about enough of them for that statement to have any significance). Fronted by Sima (also singer for melodic punk band Not On Tour), MooM manage to blend powerviolence, sludge and hardcore punk perfectly in a way that they can not only play on punk bills like they have mostly been doing but also play a metal show like this and not seem out of place. Sometimes, it's all about the intensity and the enthusiasm put into the playing and MooM have that in spades, as everybody spasms about the stage ferociously hammering and shouting away. As well as regular crowd pleasers like Sacred Scripts and Piguey D'Kirot, there's some newer, more hardcore material which gets people head banging and pushing each other like crazy. MooM have definitely deserved their places on European festival billings and may they be met with many more!

5/5

 Dukatalon

As well as MooM, Dukatalon are my other main reason for being here tonight. Sludge and doom can be a bit hit or miss with me but sometimes I can just hear a band playing and get immersed in their grooves - this Tel Aviv trio is a prime example. I don't think I can name a single song of theirs...but I just know I love them nevertheless.
Although guitarist/singer Zafrir (Tsori)and the rest of the band don't really talk much on stage, it doesn't make the performance any less enjoyable. The band just blasts out their slow, low and heavy riffs which blend with pounding drums and echoey vocals to fill the venue like some sort of cloud of intensity over the crowd. Although the band's music in general has strong Crowbar influences, Zafrir's vocal are more gruff. The newer yet unreleased material even sounds like what Kingdom Of Sorrow (featuring Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed) could have sounded like if the music leaned more towards Crowbar's sludge sound and had tons of reverb on Jasta's vocals.
It is good to see Dukatalon again after all this time. Although original drummer Yariv isn't around to make over-exaggerated expressions, set off confetti canons and generally hype up the crowd, new drummer Maayan does the job of knocking out the grooves with the greatest of ease. I'm now eagerly awaiting the new album!

4.5/5

Lehvaoth

I'll be honest, by the end of the night, I wasn't fully awake and can't remember much. However, what I can say is that I was quite pleasantly surprised by final act Lehavoth.
Having technically been around since 1995, the Tel Aviv band have gone through a few line-up changes. I think this is my first time seeing them. I can't be 100% certain but if I have seen them before, I must have been way more tired than I was tonight or else I would not have forgotten them. The band have a lot of life on stage and actually seem to have a lot of fun while playing their mix of grind and death metal.
Although there isn't normally much room for originality in those genres, Lehavoth are quite refreshing. There's almost a punk-like energy to their performance while still being very much metal - sort of like Napalm Death but sounding much darker. They might not be a band I would choose to see on a regular basis...but I definitely want to give them another go. I would definitely recommend listening to their latest EP Grinder.

4/5 

Photos by David "Doh Doh" Rosen - www.dohphoto.com

Live Review: Nasty + support @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [25th May 2017]

Nasty
03
Ostra Torn

There are some bands that I thought might never come to this country and when they actually do, it's not something to miss out. Tonight, a variety of people from the different hardcore scenes in Tel Aviv have gathered at Levontin 7 to witness the crazily heavy beatdowns of Belgian hardcore crew Nasty.

Östra Torn

Starting off tonight's proceedings is Haifa trio, Östra Torn. I've already reviewed these guys recently when they supported Zaga Zaga and I was really impressed by their doomy/sludgy hardcore. They did a very similar set tonight, set up in a triangle and just making the loudest noise possible. The band walks the fine line of playing loose enough that the music feels more natural and free-flowing but tight enough that no-one is loosing their place and they're all on the same page. The band hasn't got anything recorded yet (soon to come, though, I believe..) but watching them live is essential. You find yourself in some sort of tennis-spectator mode, as your eyes bounce from screaming bassist Nir to more growly guitarist Dean while drummer Ofer goes crazy amidst the heavy riffs and rumbling bass. I think that even when they do eventually release something, this is a band that can also be solely enjoyed live without needing to be familiar with the material. As long as you like things slow, heavy and energetic, you'll be smiling the whole show.

4/5

03

It was quite disappointing to hear shortly beforehand that tonight is 03's (Efes Shalosh) last show, so I think there's a lot of people who have come almost exclusively in support of them. Like Östra Torn, I have reviewed 03 before but with varying reviews. They've definitely become the tough hardcore powerhouse that they are now since the addition of guitarist Lemmy, who always jumps about the stage like his guitar's a kid's toy! With the recent release of their first album This Is Survival, Not A Revival, more people have gotten to hear exactly what this band does and have therefore gained more recognition. I still wouldn't go as far as saying that they're breaking any new ground in hardcore but they've certainly helped bridge that gap between hardcore and metalcore in this country, even bringing both fanbases to their shows.

As always, singer Jenia struts about the stage and the venue floor with his razor blade vocals blasting out of the speakers while the band delivers their Born From Pain meets Madball hardcore with infectious energy that rubs off on the crowd. The track Bruce Lee will forever be the band's Clobberin' Time; like the Sick Of It All song, it's less than a minute's worth of thunderous instrumental hardcore that just gets everyone pumped, making it the highlight of every show. They definitely have the right grooves to get people moving and a general likability but it just always feels like they're lacking something that separates them from the rest of the hardcore world.

 Hopefully, the band are not splitting up completely but just taking a break for a while and will come back with some fresh new material.

3.5/5

Nasty

All these years, I've wondered what kind of people would turn up to see some proper European beatdown hardcore. Tonight, there's a bunch of faces I've never really seen before as well as a few familiar ones. I was still unsure by what the reaction would be as normally any form of hardcore show out here tends to be still pretty "punk" in terms of the dancing and the general attitude. Although 03's set saw a bit of "violence", things went up a notch for Belgian posse Nasty.


Pretty much from the start, the pit has opened up and we see some 2-stepping, spin kicks, windmilling and stage diving as Nasty plough through their low-tuned, boisterous, hip-hop tinged hardcore. Frontman, Matthi, roams about the stage, getting everyone fired up and encouraging all the pit-action. The rest of the band also give it their all on stage, with Paddy (guitar) and Berri (bass) bouncing around and Nash smashing the kit behind them.

To be honest, the rest of the show becomes a bit of a blur as it just gets so crazy (and a literal blur because I took my glasses off to avoid any mishaps). As the band plays hits like Shokka, Lying When They Love Us and Slave To The Rich, bodies start flying all over the place, knocking the monitors off the stands in front of the stage. This leads to Matthi deciding to move all the monitors to the side of the stage and leave the front completely free for stag diving and sing-a-longs.

Whereas you can sometimes come across bands who are in the mindset of just turning up, plugging in and playing, it seems as though Nasty are genuinely excited to be experiencing a show in Tel Aviv, making sure that everyone's having a good time and especially that there's some carnage. There's very minimal talking between songs and nothing gets too "preachy". Even when it gets to the finale of anti-fascist anthem Zero Tolerance, Matthi mostly spreads some PMA instead of getting political.

This has to be one of the most "hardcore" shows I've ever been to in Israel, in terms of seeing some of the dancing I grew up seeing in the London scene. Maybe it's because of my age but I actually felt too intimidated to join in as much as I would have liked to. That said, it was still cool to just watch from the sidelines. Where I once originally thought of Nasty in a similar way as a band like Emmure (i.e. immature heavy music for college jocks), my views have changed. Nasty are simply a tough hardcore band with some solid beatdowns and try to touch upon serious topics in the most aggressive yet also fun ways possible. 

4/5

All photos courtesy of Miguel St Labao

Live Review: Zaga Zaga Album Release Show @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [18th March 2017]

Zaga Zaga
Östra Torn
Mitromemot

Noisy Tel Aviv hardcore punk outfit, Zaga Zaga, have released a new full length album. In order to celebrate it, they have invited their fanbase and friends to Levontin 7 to witness the new material live. They have also invited two new bands to open up for them.

Mitromemot

Up first is Tel Aviv based Mitromemot (which apparently means "faggots"). As I'm sure happens in most small scenes, sometimes new bands will pop up made from members of other popular/once-popular bands. Mitromemot consists of drummer Oneg (also the current Haium HaDeomgraphy drummer), guitarist Adi (Deaf Chonky), bassist Benjamin (Almonim Metim) and vocalist Mati (ex-Erev Rav). Having only just put out their debut self-titled EP, this is also their debut show. However, there's already a lot of people eager to see them. The band plays all of the 8 rapid and aggressive songs from the EP (no longer than 1 min 30 secs each) which run in a similar vein to the aforementioned Almonim Metim and Erev Rav. Out of those songs, Savta Coeset (Grandma's Angry/Angry Grandma) stands out the most. Although a song I cannot personally relate to, it simply speaks of the true and familiar generation gap between modern Israeli liberals and their Jewish/Zionist elders. As an added bonus, the band also treats the crowd to an interesting Hebrew rendition of the straight edge classic Minor Threat by the legends of the same name. I didn't actually recognise it due to never having heard the song in Hebrew before but those who get it are singing along and holding Mati aloft. All in all, it might not be the type of hardcore punk I would normally choose to listen to but the band has the right amount of passion behind the music and Mati has turned into one hell of a performer, screaming his lungs out and owning the stage.

3/5

Östra Torn

Man, Haifa has been giving birth to a lot of heavy shit! As one of the bands to have been born out of the demise of Haifa hardcore heavyweights Barren Hope, the next band on, Östra Torn (which I believe is Swedish for "East Tower"), similarly play low-tuned, fuzzy, metallic hardcore. On stage, the trio align themselves in a triangle so as guitarist, Dean, and bassist, Nir can both see equal amounts of each other, the crowd and drummer, Ofer. As they aggressively plough through a thunderous set of Nails/Trap Them/Soulground heaviness, Dean and Nir share vocals, with their different styles complimenting one another well. I basically had a grin from ear to ear throughout most of the set; it just hits that spot in my brain that really responds to crushingly angry music. If these guys can stay around longer than Barren Hope, I can easily see them as a welcomed addition to either Prosthetic or Nuclear Blast roster.

4/5

Zaga Zaga

Yes, yes..I'm having to write about Zaga Zaga again! To be honest, I'm writing this review more to give some publicity to the supporting acts. I've written about Zaga Zaga a lot over the passed couple of years. Although my views on them did change after the first couple of times seeing them, they've since just been consistently fun to watch live that there's never really been nothing new to say. With the release of their self titled album (which some are calling their debut, although I personally consider Year One their first proper album), they've now just added more crazily fast, heavy and noisy songs to their set. Joining classic crowd-pleasers such as The Dancer, (I Just Called To Say) I Hate Your Band and Industrial Estate (my personal favourite due to its interesting question-answer guitar breakdown), new tracks such as Black T and Cancer Man are already seeing the crowd get involved. Razorblade Razorblade, although from the new album, has been in the band's repertoire for quite some time. It's jagged, dissonant groove always manages to get my head moving.

There is still a part of me that finds some of the faster songs flying right by me like a barrage of shouting and shredding, but there are at least songs which have enough balance of groove and rapid intensity which make them one of the more interesting bands in the scene at the moment. Also, every time I watch them, I'm reminded of a quote that a friend read in a band's biography (I think it was The Sonics). It was something along the lines of "If you haven't sweat enough from a show that you can throw your shirt at a wall and make it stick, then you didn't give a good enough performance." Tonight, I was worried guitarist Ben was going to create a fire hazard with what was pouring out of his face onto his pedals! Even if the music isn't your thing, everyone can admire how Zaga Zaga give 110% on stage.

3.5/5

Photos by David "Doh Doh" Rosen

New video by Israeli noise makers, Kessef

Live Review: Copout/Spit/MooM @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [10th June 2016]

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.

4/5

Live Review: DUST/MooM/Rainbow Cobra @ Strauss, Jerusalem [7th January 2016]

  This is an absolute first for Punkalovich. Despite there being a few shows in Tel Aviv, including friends Almunim Metim, NEAT and Mondo Gecko, I have traveled to Jerusalem to the underground basement known as Strauss. Situated in the very Haredi area of Zichron Moshe/Geula in Jerusalem, this venue is the absolute opposite of its surrounding; a special place where punks come to enjoy cheap beer and noisy music. Tonight, it is the amazing DUST and MooM who have brought me over to the holy city. 

Rainbow Cobra

   Starting close to 11pm, first band Rainbow Cobra get under way. I was previously unfamiliar with the band but turns out that it is another band involving crazy Juan (Shchurdistan/Dilema/Bat Hayam HaKtana/etc..) on guitar/back up vocals and (South African) Rob (Marmara Streisand) on drums.
   With Eran on vocals and Daniella (ex-Mitan vocalist) on bass, the music is pretty much in the same lines as some of Juan's previous bands, playing pretty noisy crust. His guitar skills and evil vocals have always been the best things about everything he's been in and that stays the same with Rainbow Cobra. His riffs flip in between old school thrash and death metal, even sometimes throwing in some classic soloing. As impressive as that is, it tends to feel let down by Eran's vocals which are mostly repetitive shouting that don't always compliment the musical style. Things get more interesting when Juan and Eran do dual vocals. The songs come across more brutal and take me back to when dual vocals/2 vocalists was quite the trend in the late 90s/early 00s. Eran is at least quite a character to witness but his vocals alone just don't impress me.
  All round, there seemed to be a few mistakes here and there which they at least laughed off and flowed with, which is better and more professional than stopping and starting again. For someone who seems to have been drumming for a long time, Rob's drumming is still pretty minimal. When it comes to playing grooves, their effectiveness tends to get lost and fills in general come off as weak. But I guess this is what punk was always meant to be; energy over skill. Besides Juan's aforementioned talents, there still isn't really anything in the performance or the songs that make Rainbow Cobra really stand out.

2/5

MooM

  Ever since I first saw them some time back, I fell in love with MooM. They play a mixture of crusty powerviolence and sludge a la EYEHATEGOD. The EP (see review) is everything one hopes in an EP of this style; short with both fast parts and slow breakdowns and just extremely heavy. Whereas the EP, recorded originally as a demo, has a raw roughness about it, in a live setting with good enough sound, the band sound so tight that it's unbelievable.
  I didn't really make notes throughout the set because I just wanted to enjoy them. Although I've seen them before, this is the smallest setting I've seen them in and managed to get myself right in front of them. This is how MooM need to be viewed; right up close. Every single little movement every member of the band makes is an important and magical experience. The way Sima (vocals) screams with possibly even more gusto than she does in Not On Tour, Gad's (bass) antics as he vigorously plays and how his face goes all demonic as he growls, Ezra's (guitar) cool demeanour and Heshbon's (drums) flailing yet totally rhythmical arms all make MooM's live performance one of the most exciting I've ever seen. I found myself grinning from ear to ear and trying to stop myself from punching anyone or breaking anything. It might be difficult to tell songs apart at the moment but that will change with time.
 Obviously, this style is not everyone's taste, but being someone who appreciates the likes of EYEHATEGOD, DOOM and more beatdown bands like Xibalba, MooM give me the hit I need. They're basically the nearest thing Israel has to a beatdown and maybe even the nearest thing Israel has to a tight powerviolence band.

5/5

Side note: After MooM, I decided to go for a walk to try and find somewhere open to just buy a soft drink or something. Not only did I not find anything nearby open, but the streets were an absolute mess. The large trash cans had been set on fire and turned over with rubbish flying all over the place. There were fire engines and also quite a few police vans present. Turns out, this was a violent protest by the Haredi community in response to the death of a baby, allegedly shaken by a carer/nanny, whom the community did not wish to have an autopsy that the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court had ordered. It's all a bit crazy, but it's interesting to know that this sort of stuff happens over things like this.

DUST

  I have probably said this enough times on this blog, but I frickin' love DUST, I do. They may have been playing the same set of songs for quite some time, bar a few new ones which I still haven't quite gelled with yet, but luckily the majority are songs that I am more than happy to hear and go crazy to time and time again.
  The tracks from their first record, all of which they play tonight, still get me super pumped. Numb still has one of my favourite intros; melodic and a little tribal, giving it quite an epic feel, before smashing into hardcore groove and the shouting of "WAAAAKE THE FUCK UP!" As well as songs like Midas Touch, Slipping Away and PMA bringing out the hardcore kid in me, currently unreleased but already live staples such as Plastic, Role Model and the (usually) set closer Sick and Tired sound as awesome as ever, even in this tiny place. Once again, frontman Eyva was happy enough to let me do that final line of Sick and Tired. Don't really know how it sounded, but I always have fun shouting it. 
  Dust take after bands like John Coffey and even The Bronx, in some ways; having that hardcore energy and PMA but experimenting with more stoner rock-like riffs and grooves and different time signatures. Most hardcore in Israel is along the lines of straight up hardcore punk or border on metalcore with low toned "chugs", but DUST take all their influences and make hardcore that's a whole lot more interesting. 
   Ofek (guitar), Guy (bass) and Ran (drums) are all incredibly competent musicians and consistently tight. Evya does have a strong voice but he tends to do the same thing a lot. I'm only starting to notice this after about 2 years of seeing and listening to them. As much as I still like his vocals, I guess I would just love to hear him suddenly try some melody or use some more rhythmical/rap-like delivery. Unfortunately, he is also one of those many frontmen who will walk up and down looking at the floor for most part of the show. He does interact with the crowd at times, which is more than some, but it's maybe something that he and other vocalists (including myself) need to pay attention to. 
   A DUST debut album is meant to happen soon and I for one can't wait for it. Although some of the new stuff I hear in shows get a bit lost on me, I am interested in any other tracks they might have up their sleeves. 

5/5

Live Review and Album Review: Knees Please (Where's Ma Money Release Party) + The Great Machine @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [5th August 2015]

  The first time I ever saw either of these two bands was, funnily enough, also at a show they played together. It was some special event at a skate park in Tel Aviv. I had never seen or really even heard of these two bands before but I went along and even filmed part of both their sets. From thereon in, I've been quite a dedicated follower of both bands. Tonight, the two band's reunite to celebrate the Knee Please's debut album, Where's Ma Money.

The Great Machine

    These stoners don't get enough recognition. The Great Machine are a band formed by two brothers, Aviran (bass/vocals) and Omer (guitar/vocals), who, at different points over the last few years, have also owned a venue and a rehearsal space. Many tend to class their music as "stoner", whereas others may say "psychedelic". In a way, their repertoire has consisted of a bit of both.
 Instead of the stage, the band are placed in a sort of triangle pattern on the dance floor. Although this makes dancing a little bit more difficult for onlookers, this is the way this kind of band should be playing. It makes it easier to focus on what everyone in the band is doing.  
   Previously, they have been known to perform with female vocalist, Noga Shalev, whose enticing vocals made their sound go a little trippy at times. She seems to no longer be part of the band, resulting in the brothers and drummer Michael playing a heavier, more stoner and sludge influenced set. There's the odd song that I recognise from other shows, but the rest are either album tracks that I don't know or brand new songs. Either way, there is a fair bit of head banging as the trio rock out. 
   Most of the time, Aviran's mic seems far too quiet and he is really only audible in parts of the song where he sings/talks over silence. Personally, it doesn't make that much of a difference as they could easily work just as well as a totally instrumental band. Vocals aside, the sound is fairly good and their playing over all is highly energetic and on point. I was entertained tonight. However, there was a point where I was so sure they were on a new song but they ended up doing the same bit from a good 3 minutes earlier. So this is either quite a progressive song or they added it in to confuse us.  
  
3.5/5

Knees Please

  The first time I saw this band play the skate park, they were a duo called Tape&Rape, a name which actually stuck until some months back, even after becoming a three-piece. Knees Please are essentially still the same band as back then, Alex (guitar/vocals) and David (drums), with a good amount of the same songs only with slight changes here and there. Bassist, Ben (Zaga Zaga), actually plays his last show with the band tonight and will be replaced by another Ben. 

   The band prepare themselves in the same three pointed set-up as The Great Machine as more people start flooding in. After a few welcomes and stoned banter from Alex, the band kick off their set with album opener, Shit Back. This is a good example of the band's early grunge influences a la Melvins and Bleach era Nirvana; being all quiet one moment and then simply exploding into some very low and heavy riffs. Despite it's title, it lyrically comes off as one of the most serious and relatable songs they have.
   The band pretty much continues playing the whole of recently released debut, Where's Ma Money, in full, including other weirdly titled songs like I Came Blood and Sweaty Chicken in Ma Pants. Both songs are from the band's early days and also use that heavy grunge sound. I Came Blood has always been one of those songs that has lyrically made me go, "What on earth is this about?", as Alex seems to be describing a visit to the doctors because of bleeding genitalia. However, the lyrical content is so memorable that it get's people mouthing along. Sweaty Chicken.. still has Alex's mouth trumpet solo, which now works even better over their thicker and fuller sound. I would have loved to have seen someone actually turn up tonight with an actual trumpet...
   Other tracks from the album and the set that come from the Tape&Rape days include Ceiling, Mine and album closer Vacation. Ceiling is probably one of the band's most famous and popular songs, as drummer David pleases people everywhere by giving us "more cowbell" in both the intro. The song is pretty much how it used to be only with some lyrics changed. The song's groove has everyone in the place moving, whether it is just nodding their heads or fully dancing their socks off. Mine, originally "King Of The Garbage", has also had a bit of facelift, with some edited lyrics and added parts. The chorus still has that epic "I'm king of the wooorrld.." line, which gives the song the potential of being quite a hit if they ever get the right publicity. 

   Songs like Motherboard, Sleepy Time and I Lie are what I consider the highlights of the album and their set. New bassist, Ben (Belial), joins the band for Motherboard, a song I had never heard before listening to the album, despite apparently being an old one. Like with Ceiling, it has the most ridiculously cool groove that I had to bust some sort of move. After grooving in the intro, the band then plays a lot of heavy synchronised "stabs", which on first listen sounded sort of lazy and unimaginative but when played live, it makes you want to break stuff. Sleepy Time is a tune I recognise from previous shows, because I always mistook the intro for that of Teenage Kicks, only played in a slightly different rhythm. The song throughout has a bit of a swing to it, which is refreshing compared to the rest. I Lie is almost the band's quintessential grunge track, based on a steady rock beat but freaking out with an explosive chorus. It has an QOTSA feel to it; you can imagine yourself driving 100mph down a motorway in an open top car to this.
   In their set, the band also plays some brand new songs not on the record, such as Muddy, Barry The Lizard, The Sun and Go In Piss. Barry The Lizard especially stands out, with Alex's crazy vocals jumping along with the bouncy rhythm. There seems to be more of a sludge feel in the newer ones which makes the wait for the next album more exciting.
   After about an hour of rocking out, the band finish, all sweaty and tuckered, as the crowd beg for more. Ben bows out gracefully but the original 2 members take us back to their Tape&Rape days with We Said and its infectious "La la la-la" chorus. This was a nice way to end a set, showing how far they've come and that what they were is still a big part of who they are.
   
I've got a lot of love for Knees Please, especially as a live band. Although the album still has some great heavy stuff to rock out to, there are songs that sound a little bit too similar. For example, Sleepy Time and Mine have the same starting chords, making the latter sound like an extension of the former, especially on record. This could have been done to create some sort of underlining theme, but on first listen sounds sort of lazy. The quiet-loud-quiet method also seems a little bit overdone here, despite it's proven effectiveness for decades. If you like bands like Melvins, The Jesus Lizard and even Helmet, check out these guys some time.

Live: 4/5
Where's Ma Money?: 3/5

All photos courtesy of Eddie Botstein. 

Review: MooM - First EP [2015]

   
    MooM is a brand new band featuring Sima on vocals (Not On Tour), Ez Ra on guitar (The Orions), Gad on bass (has probably been in bands I don't know) and Heshbon on drums (Zaga Zaga). I first saw these guys at a show at Tel Aviv's central bus station and I was absolutely gobsmacked! Despite having a female singer from a pop punk band and a guitarist from a surf band, MooM play fast paced crust/sludge a la EYEHATEGOD. Having only 4 songs and lasting 4:45 minutes, this First EP still probably isn't the shortest EP or even album ever released but it has to come close. 
   As a fan of bands like EYEHATEGOD and Napalm Death, this band feed that love of dirty riffs, super speed and venomous vocals. Sima's vocals give a slightly more punk edge and actually remind me of other Israeli band MESS. The backing vocals (I think done by Gad) add a hint of death metal/grindcore to the mix. With the added factor that this is a purely live recording, the whole thing just sounds raw and brain meltingly demonic.
   I wish this wan't just a 4 track EP and am looking forward to at least 10 minutes more of this kind of stuff from them. I guess seeing them live will have to do for the time being.  
  For fans of EYEHATEGOD, DOOM and Extreme Noise Terror. 

5/5

Live Review: Lailah and Document @ Ozenbar, Tel Aviv [2nd January 2015]

Tonight, I bring myself to one of Tel Aviv's more well known music venues, the Ozenbar. I used to come here quite a fair bit in the first year or so of moving to Tel Aviv, but there hasn't really been many shows of interest here in quite some time. This evening sees a show put on by club night/line/whatever it is.. Reflektor featuring previously reviewed moody duo Laila and post-punk band Document.

Laila

  As regular readers may know, I already like Laila. I like that there's a singing drummer, the dreaminess of the guitars and, at times, the catchiness of their choruses. Especially tonight, with a shorter set than the headlined show at the Zimmer that I previously reviewed, everything seems more structured. Drummer Maya and guitarist Avishag play physically closer together which helps them to stay even more in time and also helps us as viewers see them more as a team. Laila's style of what I would consider "heavy shoegaze", due to its mixture of dreamy distorted guitars (Avishag), slow pounding drumming and heartfelt belted-out vocals (Maya), does not seem to have gotten that many people at tonight's show all that "pumped up". However, a crowd did form and some Laila virgins may have just found themselves a new band to get into. If they are anything like me, they have probably also gone away with the chorus "We've gone far and landed on Mars" swimming around in their heads.
Girls...when are we going to get some form of record from you two?! I'm sure I'm not the only one eagerly awaiting that.
4/5

Document

  Last band of the night before the Reflektor party is Document. I actually heard the band name in passing recently and was then contacted by frontman Nir directly after he discovered the blog. Despite classing themselves as post-punk, the vibe I got from the tracks and videos I checked out prior to the show was more new wave/electro indie. I guess there's a fine line...
  As the band open their set, we get dark and brooding guitars being played on top of electro beats. It seems pleasant enough, but I can already say that both Nir's vocals and the overall energy of the band could be stronger. Nir seems a little out of tune at times. There can be several reasons for this; the monitors may not be loud enough for him, he might already have a bit of a bad throat today or it could have been purposely out of tune. Either way, was a little off putting, personally. According to the setlist, the song is either called New or is a brand new song they've been working on and not named yet. If it's the case of the latter, that could be another reason why the vocals were not spot on. The band in general also seem quite static, but that can be considered normal for this sort of style.

Photo by: Nastya Levin
  Like the first song, second song "Made A Mess" is also dark with some beautiful jangly guitars (Jude and Yaniv), a solid bassline (Barack) and some ridiculously well played electro beats (Amir). To be honest, Amir's drumming is so good that it became a bit of a focus for me. The following songs Weeks and Can't Decide expose Document's more post-punk side. Weeks, the band's first song of the set to come off of their Reset Your Mind EP, reminds me of bands like Wire and Magazine. It's quite an upbeat and intense song yet I'm still not really getting that in the performance. Nir sings well but there is no real expression. The rest of the band, apart from the drummer, still remain pretty static. Can't Decide has some very nice harmonies, both vocally and instrumentally. It is on this track that the Flaming Lips quality of Nir's vocals shine through. It works with their style of music and does not come off as too much of a copycat. Songs Idiot and On The Wall are both nice, the latter especially having some interestingly menacing sounding verses and a bouncy chorus. Last two songs of the set, Where You Are and Settle Down are both off the EP. Where You Are has a strong Cure-meets-Flaming Lips sounds. Nice and upbeat with just the right amount of post-punk. The song gets a few people dancing but I still can't help but feel that if the band itself, especially Nir as frontman, was more physically active then that would have encouraged the crowd to dance more. Drummer Amir still remains the most enthusiastic and even moving the most...and he's sitting down! Final song Settle Down is also upbeat and quite a rocking number. The vocal melody at times is quite reminiscent of Nirvana's In Bloom but the song itself still sticks to the band's post-punk and electro indie ethic.   
  The band itself is tight and I can't really fault their musicianship. The songs themselves are also well written and the band has potential to really make a name for themselves in the post-punk/indie world. Based on their performance, they are not the most fun or interesting bands I've ever watched. I don't know if this was a one-off and they were all feeling a bit lethargic but even Nir's interaction with the crowd, talking about the EP and about the work they are doing on the album, all seems a bit lacklustre. If the band themselves just had a little bit more vitality in their performance, then they could be competing with the big names.
3/4

Live Review: Laila and Haziz Veraam @ The Zimmer, Tel Aviv [27th November 2014]

Tonight, I come to The Zimmer, the place considered Tel Aviv's hub of the weird and wonderful, to see a band I have not seen in quite some time.

Haziz Veraam

As I enter the Zimmer, albeit a tad early, there's not that many people here but the first act is already setting up. The whole performance area was filled with TV monitors of different shapes and sizes. In front of the monitors was a set up of a sound desk, modules and sound generators. I'm not going to pretend to really know all that gets used in experimental, noise and found sound performances. I still haven't much personal experience with those sorts of things. I studied sound recording, using computer software and a bit of akai sampling and tape looping but not the gizmos that I witness here tonight. Haziz Veraam is an ambient music project from Zimmer owner and half of Hetzi Moakh Al Ketamine. To be honest, I think I missed a good part of this performance. When I came in, I just thought it was a bit of a soundcheck or simply some background ambience as an introduction to the evening. I left the place for a while and came back to a slightly fuller Zimmer. As the ambient music of rapid bass lines played, there was static, spirals and all sorts of weird visuals on the monitors. If I had more of an understanding of how this sort of thing is done (and I will start looking into it), I probably would be more engaged in it. It is however a nice calming start to the night and the installations and the visuals were a nice change to see at a show.
2.5/5

Laila

Tonight's headliners Laila are made up of Maya on drums and lead vocals and Avishag on guitar and backing vocals. I have seen these girls a few times before and I always enjoy them. They play moody, almost sludgey "shoegaze" music. They start off the set with a slow, heavy hitting intro which builds along with Maya's vocals. From the get go, Maya has a lot of emotion in her voice. From what I can make out from the lyrical subject matter, she tends to sing about love and/or unrequited love. Her feelings show through as she spits her lyrics with every breath. Changing her vocals from dreamy and seducing one moment to sharp and aggressive the next, her vocals match their musical stylings. Avishag's guitar playing has similar dynamics, using her pedals to good effect. Avishag also helps with backup vocals, which are nowhere near on par with those of Maya's; it's better than just standing there doing nothing. It is a little disconcerting that the two girls are a fair distance apart on the..er...stage, which is really just the floorspace. It's normally nicer to see a band a little bit closer knit, but musically the girls still manage to keep it together.
Having been a singing drummer myself, I can say first hand that it's not all that easy. If you're doing too much complicated drumming, it can make you run out of breath and disrupt your singing. If you're concentrating too much on the singing, you can get distracted from your drumming. Maya manages to play simple enough yet still effective drum patterns that not only help accentuate Maya's meaningful lyrics, it also frees her up to sing melodically. Some of the songs nearer the end have an almost indie feel with "ooohs" and "wooohs", which in this case I found quite endearing.
Throughout the set, the monitors which were set up help add a bit of atmosphere and theatrics with varying visuals such as cowboys, trains, fish and space. Whether these visuals actually had any real purpose...probably not, but this is expected at a Zimmer show. The barmy lot! During a more frantic part of the set, the monitors flash rapidly, adding to the intensity of their playing. That I found impressive. At the very end of the show, the girls swap roles and end the show with a more heavy, dirge-like piece. It's always good to see band members' expanded talents.
Moving from dreamy, low-fi rock to more harsh and heavy styles, Laila are captivating enough to keep your head a-boppin' and you toes a-tappin'.
4/5