Archives for posts with tag: Arctic Flowers

Dead Cult Fall

Mastering Dead Cult “Fall” on Doomed To Extinction Records.

Recorded at Red Lantern Studios.

“Portland’s premier anarcho/post-punk band’s 1st album. “Fall” deliver 10 angry and passionate songs in the best tradition of the UK anarcho-punk bands like THE MOB, ZOUNDS and dark-punk classics such as SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES. This is unaltered throwback post-punk of the goth variety. Insert includes all the lyrics, which carry a poetic rhyme scheme and are worth the read. If you like CRIMSON SCARLET and ARCTIC FLOWERS this will be up your alley for sure.”

Buy it here!

 

Vicious Pleasures

Mastering Vicious Pleasures S/T 7″ EP on 1859 and Different Kitchen Records.

“4 brand-new frantic tracks from this high-energy Portland punk outfit recorded by Stan Wright @ Buzz or Howl (Arctic Flowers)!

Steeped in the gloom of the Pacific Northwest, Vicious Pleasures play a dark & catchy and blend of Crass and Wipers influenced punk rock. Sara’s tuneful singing interplays nicely with Lisa’s hooky guitar riffs, backed by the solid performance of the rhythm section.”

Buy it here in North America

and here in Europe.

Dead Cult

Mastering Dead Cult “Ghosts Still Dance” on All the Madmen Records.

From the Cult Nation Review:

“Dead Cult may be the youngest band on the resuscitated All the Madmen Records, the anarcho-punk label founded by The Mob in 1978 and resuscitated in 2012 after a nearly 25 year hiatus. Dead Cult‘s 2-song “Ghosts Still Dance” 7″ is being released in June by All the Madmen — undoubtedly an honor for the younger Portland, OR based group.

And a great 7″ it is! It’s difficult to believe that it was over 2 years ago that I interviewed Dead Cult — which CVLT Nation carried here — after hearing their demos, which founding member James Barker smartly posted onto Youtube. One of the demos included a pretty great cover of The Mob’s “Witch Hunt,” as well as several other original tracks. This included the excellent “Progression of Fear.”

The first song on “Ghosts Still Dance” is the title song — a haunting, mid-tempo postpunker, musically reminiscent of “Juju”-era Siouxsie and the Banshees. There are a few aggressive moments in the song that would seem out of place in something “Juju” era Siouxsie, however — but it all serves to tie the song’s message about the destruction of indigenous peoples to the band’s roots in punk. Singer Tawni’s vocals are at once impassioned and determined, finely honed. What struck me immediately about the song was how much more “mature” Dead Cult sounded from their demos of over 2 years ago. The band has definitely developed and has caught onto a tone of quiet ferocity in their sound that serves them well.

The song on side b, “No Religion,” is a foot-tapping mid-tempo punk rocker squarely in the vein of more recent bands like Arctic Flowers, Moral Hex, Annex — or older bands like Lost Cherrees and The Dead. The linchpins to the sound are 80s UK peace punk and the early gothic rock that was clumsily called “positive punk” back in the early 80s by music journalists in England. In fact, bassist James described Dead Cult’s sound as “Anarcho Goth Rock.” Singer Tawni explained: “For me, it’s Anarcho that influences me beyond anything else. James has the ideas for the more Goth-influenced songs, and I’m thrilled with how they’ve turned out. For me personally, I’d have to say bands that have influenced me the most are The Mob, Omega Tribe, Icon A.D., Alternative, Anarka and Poppy, A-heads, Zounds, and Poly Styrene will always be the first woman in punk to BLOW my mind. Always an influence.”

The 4 piece, dark, guitar-driven sounds of Dead Cult do straddle the line between postpunk, purist punk, and gothic rock in exactly the same way that early 80s bands like Blood and Roses did. The result is an earnest and compelling hybrid of smart guitars, dance-friendly percussion and tempos, and intelligent lyrics/songwriting. “Ghosts Still Dance” is a fine addition to All the Madmen’s amazing roster of anarcho-punk releases, and it’s doubly good to see a young American band picking up the torch of the label’s legacy and sounding as perfectly as Dead Cult do on this release.

 

“OBSERVERS, THE:
So What’s Left Now?: LP

Recently re-issued by Taken By Surprise, it never really seemed that hard to find in the States (courtesy of Vinyl Warning), but if there’s a record that deserves to stay in print, it’s this one. Top 10 record of the ‘00s without a doubt. Hauntingly flawless melodies mixed with driving, rallying punk rock and intelligent lyrics. And in the end, as much as I love this record and find myself listening to it years later, one of my favorite things is that these guys are still playing in absolutely killer bands. If you don’t have this, I highly suggest putting down this magazine and getting your hands on it. And while you’re at it track down all the Red Dons, Defect Defect, and Artic Flowers releases you possibly can.

–Daryl Gussin (Taken By Surprise)”

Original post here.