Category: Features

Written by Ross Horton
Photo: Shot in LA May 1994 by Steve Double

I guess the only way you can judge a band is by their best record. You can’t see every live gig they ever do (unless you’re a millionaire obsessive, or a roadie), so you have a limited number of artefacts with which to judge a band on. For a band as influential, iconoclastic and simply fucking fun as the Beastie Boys, the act of deciding what their best album is takes some consideration.

Their first record Licensed to Ill is their greenest, rawest record and is the one that contains the most songs that casual fans will have heard (all two of them!). It was the first Beasties album I heard, and the first one I bought, and while it’s a hugely impressive early blend of rap, punk and rock, it’s not their best work.

Their second record, Paul’s Boutique, is my favourite. It also happens to be the favourite of most folks, simply owing to the fact that it is undeniably brilliant. It’s a stone-cold classic that defies genres and has endless replay value. Songs such as Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun and Car Thief (which bizarrely shares a sample with Faith No More’s most recognizable tune) proved they were improving but had yet to reach the summit. But it still isn’t their best album.

Check Your Head, their third, is absolutely brilliant but falls slightly short of the monstrous album it followed. By no means a failure, Check Your Head is still a sterling effort from a band about to hit their career-defining peak (and our editor’s favourite Beasties album). Tunes like Pass the Mic and Jimmy James’ll teach you that. Needless to say, it’s not their best record. Some folks would take issue with my opinion on this one, but it just doesn’t have the same magic as P’s B. Dig that.

And so we come to the album that I believe, as objectively as possible, to be their best record. In the same way that I can judge Master of Puppets to be Metallica’s crowning glory, and still prefer Kill Em All. Same goes for Snoop Dogg – his best work is Doggystyle, my favourite is Doggfather… and so on ad infinitum. There are some bands where you just know they hit the jackpot.

Released on Grand Royal on May 23, 1994, Ill Communication is an unbridled masterwork. No doubt about it. From Sure Shot to Transitions and back again all of the tracks show a fierce combination of confidence – attitudinally and materially – and effervescent talent.

Let’s start with the big one – Sabotage. It’s one of the most energetic, visceral white-knuckle thrill-rides ever committed to tape. It also happens to be a solid-gold blend of howling hip-hop and bone-crunching metal, laying down a massive gauntlet for all artists that were attempting to follow in their wake. I guarantee you’ve heard it, loved it, and then subsequently forgotten to look up what record it’s from. Outside of Intergalactic, Body Movin’ and the two from the first record, it’s probably their most well-known tune.

Get it Together – which features A Tribe Called Quest’s legendary Q-Tip in a prominent role – is a low-key groove machine built around a crackling sample track, and is amongst the foremost hidden gems in the Beastie’s catalogue. All of the BBs are on top-form too: All four contributors’ parts are instantly recognisable and rock-solid.

Sure Shot is a personal favourite – the beat and melody are instantly, maddeningly addictive. Some other highlights casually littered throughout are the fat-as-fuck Do It, which features a guest spot from ‘The Clown Prince of Hip Hop’ Biz Markie. The rhymes are sick, the beat is enormous, the samples top class. Best musical backing goes to the superb deep-cut Shambala – listen to that fucking racket! It’s a kaleidoscope of holy noise clattering around on top of some bone-dry P-funk guitar wackas and hangs with a spaced-out red-eyed frenzy. It showcases the Beastie’s talent as both musicians and producers – there’s not one single lyric in the entire track.

The cavernous Alright Hear This (which sounds like it’s recorded in the NY subway), is a quality tune – the vocals are distorted by some mad effect that makes them sound like they’re going through a loud-hailer. Another personal favourite is the crazy-ass anthem The Update. There’s so much going on it starts to become delirium inducing – upright bass, thudding percussion, filtered vocals, keyboard stabs… It’s crazy.

Of course, there are more – you’ll find them when you check the album out. I don’t even wanna mention Root Down… I’ll let you make that discovery for yourself. Ill Communication succeeds in every respect – and demands to be listened to as an ‘album’. That means if you can, buy a copy. If you can’t buy a copy right now, check out the full album on youtube and buy one when you get the $$$.

Adam Yauch (RIP), Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond are irrefutable pioneers that combined to make one of the best records (and best bands) of the past couple generations. Respect to them for making every album a winner, further respect to them for bringing art to a much-maligned audience. They weren’t gangstas or tough guys but readers and street-punks that made a stunning catalogue of incredible music. Now it’s up to you to check it all out.

Bonus mash up video fresh from the web:

Broncho – ‘Class Historian’ (Dine Alone Records)

Either the most annoying track of the summer or the most genius for getting under your skin, but whatever you personally get from this tune Broncho pack a presence, bring an unforgettable stutter like no other and are about to drop an album up there with MGMT, Flaming Lips and Wavves. This is going to be one of my favourite albums of the year already and I’ve only had it 2 weeks. Feast on it. – Zac

The Proper Ornaments – ‘Now I Understand’ (Fortuna POP!)

Their ‘Wooden Head’ album has been playing weekly in our office and rightly so, it’s a fantastic indie record worthy of your ears. ‘Now I Understand’ though is a big stand out track that oozes class and gets right under your skin. It’s a summer 2014 piece of art and I absolutely love it. – Zac

Demob Happy – ‘Suffer You’

Demob Happy are an excellent live band. Groove’s stomping, melodies merging, guitars clashing and hair flying, these Brighton boys know how to spark energy into a crowd. ‘Suffer You’ immortalises their tight, infectious rock ‘n’ roll to tape. Channeling in raw, thrashing grunge and solid songwriting sensibility in equal measure, this track deserves your fullest attention this month. – Augustus Groove

White Sands – ‘Years’

When members of three exceedingly cool London bands come together, chances are they’re going to sound pretty awesome. White Sands, made up of members of Male Bonding, Novella and Mazes, make a swirling racket of noise-gaze in their first track ‘Years’. Taking elements of their respective bands but making a product that sounds completely different is a skill that White Sands have mastered in just four minutes. – Joe Parry

Zig Zags – ‘Voices of the Paranoid’ (In The Red Records)

Along with OBNIII’s the most exciting new band this year, Zig Zags drink gasoline from jerrycans like the similarly acronym-ed ZZ Top. Then with their bladders suitably full, they knock Slash’s top hat off and empty their chambers into it before eating pizzas in a TV party in front of a John Carpenter slasher-flick. You wouldn’t dare make eye contact, yet you won’t be able to take your eyes off them. Too busy having a laugh to name their album, it’s a calling card not heard since the opening salvo from Cerebral Ballzy. Off their faces and in yours via the label of garage quality In The Red Records and brought to you by that man again Ty Segall just before he unleashes his own new banger ‘The Manipulator’. With songs like ‘Brainded Warrior’ and ‘Tuff Guy Hands’ it’s sure not big and clever but there’s no bigger tune than album closer ‘Voices of the Paranoid’, it’s like Ozzy met Fozzie and ate the head clean off a poisonous green frog. – Nick Hutchings

Whirr – ‘Mumble’ (Graveface)

In their debut album Pipe Dreams, Whirr made a strident attempt to push the boundaries of shoegaze into an arguably more accessible sound than their drone-laden forefathers. With new track ‘Mumble’, it’s clear they’re pushing their limits even further with a bass heavy slap in the face, more likely to soundtrack a nightmare than a dream. – Joe Parry

Christian Fitness – ‘aghast, anew, anon’ (Prescriptions)

Straight off the back of How to Stop Your Brain In An Accident, Future Of The Left’s enigmatic frontman, Falkous, steams in with a fantastic album of in-your-face, punk injected ditties. Now operating under the guise of Christian Fitness, ‘aghast, anew, anon’ is a prime example of what to do when left to your own devices with some recording equipment. Get this fast-paced fury in your ears as soon as is physically possible. – Dave Palmer

White Fence – ‘Like That’ (Drag City)

Tim Presley of White Fence first got under my skin and made my follicles stand on end with Hair, the goose bumper-car of an album co-headlined and co-recorded with garage land icon Ty Segall. Recording Nuggets that you can see for miles and miles, the 4-4 psych continued with another 4 track lo-fi album on Castleface, but now with album For The Recently Found Innocent on Drag City, Presley has dragged himself into a studio with real knobs on. Never fear though, he hasn’t forgotten where the action is, and that’s in the spirit of California in the 60s, from the Chocolate Watchband to The Standells. He is also a songwriter in the best spirit of modern day storytellers Bob Pollard and Brendan Benson. The fact that he apparently also talks a good game is no surprise given how effortlessly this album zips by leaving barbed hooks in your lobes with ear-worms attached. This righteous riot not far from the Sunset Strip was recorded by the aforementioned Ty Segall, and it seems only right that he returned the favour given how much Presley brought to his party. ‘Like That’ is the pick of a tight bunch and you’ll definitely like it like that. – Nick Hutchings

The #1s – Heartsmash (Static Shock Records)

Dublin’s power pop boys are back with a new record and this is the leading single. Pure Buzzcocks inspired goodness, members of Dublin’s greatest bands (Strong Boys, Loose Nut, Bang Bros FYI) playing punk that lasts two minutes, what more could you want? – Tim Lewis

Speedy Ortiz – ‘Bigger Party’ (Adult Swim Singles)

Speedy Ortiz follow their 2013 debut Major Arcana magnificently with fantastic new single ‘Bigger Party’. Released via Adult Swim’s notorious singles club, this track packs in what’s becoming classic Ortiz’-style instrumentation, mysterious guitar lines winding around Sadie Dupuis’ lofty vocals, building to an infectiously catchy chorus. A follow-up EP couldn’t come sooner. – Augustus Groove

Gag – ‘Locker Room’ (Iron Lung)

Feedback soaked, utterly deranged and utterly brilliant hardcore, this track serves as a teaser for their upcoming LP out on Iron Lung Records. Released with an absolutely ludicrous video filled with chains and men in balaclavas. Now please, can we have some UK dates soon? – Tim Lewis

Street Beef – Under The Wing (Static Shock Records)

This is the opening track to London bruisers, Street Beef’s second demo. A step up from what’s come before without reinventing anything, inspired by the stompiest of 80s hardcore, this was always going to be a rager. Side to side into all of your mates. – Tim Lewis

Dry Heaves – ‘Weekend Warrior’

Thrashy surfed out hardcore punk from the Kids of the Lughole, California circa 1980 via Sheffield. The Sheff punk scene has been thriving ever since I’ve lived in Yorkshire and Dry Heaves are one of the best bands to come out of it, with a couple of killer EP’s under their belts and an always raw and fun live show. If you like your punk loud, fast and snotty, look no further. – Jono Coote

Destruction Unit – ‘Dust’ (Adult Swim Singles)

The kings of noise rock have delivered yet another deliciously deafening fix. ‘Dust’ see’s Destruction Unit staying true to their chaotic credentials whilst simultaneously straying towards a more traditional ‘song’ structure than their usual psych-outs. Keeping it under three minutes, and fusing pure distortion with ferociously catchy hooks, this is a prime demonstration of how to craft a sensational head-banger. – Dave Palmer

Epic Problem – ‘Petrol Blue’ (Pumpkin Records)

Earlier this year Epic Problem’s EP Lines showed a band fast developing their down and dirty street punk into something special, with hooks aplenty to match to snarled vocals and distorted guitar licks. The first track released from their upcoming split with Holiday on Pumpkin Records, ‘Petrol Blue’, shows no signs of them letting up. Boisterous shout-a-long street punk of the kind befitting alumni of Blitz, the Dangerfields and Dead Subverts, this track latches a whiskey soaked set of gnashers into the spot on your brain where songs get stuck and refuses to be shaken free. – Jono coote

Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestite Mirror (Artemisia Records)

Inventive black metal band gets more inventive. Switching guitars for synths is bound to upset some purists however this track is some of the most expansive work in their discography. It will be interesting to see how some of the more “metal” side of the press take to it but with bands pushing extreme metal such as Anathema and Deaf Heaven thriving, one wonders where this upcoming record Celestite will take them. – Tim Lewis

If you dig these tracks as much as us, and would like to contribute to the next feature, get in touch.

Photograph shot in 1987 by Stephen Marc. Buy it here.

Alvvays – ‘Archie, Marry me’ (Transgressive Records)

As indie ‘hits’ go Canadian pop crew Alvvays have crafted a stunning contender for the best laid-back summer tune of 2014. Melt this into your ears on a sunny day for best results and look out for the album dropping on July 21st. – Zac

Iggy Pop & Nick Cave feat. Thurston Moore – ‘Nobody’s City’ (Gun Club cover)

The coolest, second coolest, and third coolest rockers of all time covering the fourth coolest rockers of all time. One’s the leader of the Stooges, the other the leader of the Bad Seeds and the third the leader of Sonic Youth. Together they pay a mighty tribute to Jeffrey Lee Pierce, leader of the chaotic blues-punk outfit The Gun Club. If you enjoy this little number, get a copy of Miami and Fire Of Love. Immediately. Describe the track? Fuck that, this needs to be heard to be believed. – Ross Horton

White Lung – ‘Snake Jaw’ (Domino)

Hot on the trail of gnarl left behind their shit kicking new single ‘Drown With the Monster‘, White Lung have just dropped the equally stonking B-Side, ‘Snake Jaw’. If you need it loud and you need it now, hit play for a snarling fix. – Dave Palmer

Eight Rounds Rapid – ‘Stalker’ (Cadiz Music)

Hailing from Southend and featuring rhythm and blues punk rock legend Wilko Johnson’s son Simon on guitar, Eight Rounds Rapid’s debut album ‘Lossleader’ is a perfect and very British slab of strutting pub punk rock. Vocalist David Alexander has the perfect ice cold vocal sneer, distilling the essence of Alternative TV, Wire and Dr Feelgood and making it sound totally NOW. Check them out quickly before they fire off all eight rounds. – James Sherry

Chain & The Gang – ‘Devitalise’ (Fortuna Pop)

Ian Svenonius always does good party manifesto. I first heard his “13 Point Plan To Destroy America” with Nation of Ulysses then got to interview him as leader of Gospel influenced MAKE-UP for my old grunge fanzine Velvet Sheep when he said “the only reason we make music is cos what can poor people do to fight against the context they’re forced to live in, in terms of capitalist society? The great promise of rock & roll is the idea of self-creation”. And he’s created yet another brilliant band Chain & The Gang who return after a triumphant MAKE-UP reunion (I was there, I testified as Ian repeatedly smacked a microphone into his Steptoe-esque teeth) with the brilliantly understated “Minimum Rock & Roll”. To call it lean is an understatement.

On the brilliant teaser Ian intones that this record does not contain the following: “Extraneous words, unnecessary sounds, frivolous notes. Fewer Words — Fewer Notes — Fewer Beats. You’re tired of hearing them, we’re sick of making them”. Like The Cramps this is cut to the bone. Still funky, still sexy, still incandescent. But made from rubbing two sticks together rather than with a flame thrower. If politics is about personality these days, I say we should all clamour for Ian’s immediate election. – Nick Hutchings

Perspex Flesh – ‘S/T’ (Static Shock Records)

Hailing from Leeds, Perspex Flesh play a particularly ugly and thrilling mutant form of hardcore punk that is bathed and smothered in so much feedback that pain is as much a part of the listening experience as pleasure is. However, underneath the swathes of noise lay some killer punk rock riffs and rhythms. Excellent new hardcore that looks forward as much as it does to the past.- – James Sherry

Jack Ruby – ‘Hit & Run’ (Cargo Records)

On his liner notes for this remarkable reissue Thurston Moore says “Jack Ruby may be the most influential punk band from New York City that no-one ever even knew about”. He first wrote about them with Byron Coley for his ace book “No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York 1976-1980” and now with the help of the internet connections have been made, and the rediscovered sound is like the connections of two live wires unearthed. The band’s George Scott III went onto become the bassist of the kinetically brilliant Contortions, but if you’re familiar with James Chance’s sound then you’re only half way there. Think of Crime – the rediscovered roughcut diamonds in police uniforms who proclaimed San Francisco to be doomed, with a dose of Electric Eels “Agitated” and Sonic Youth’s “Shaking Hell” and you are nearer the compelling carnage of this proto-punk “Hit & Run”. – Nick Hutchings

Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires – ‘The Company Man’ (Sub Pop)

Need something to put the swagger back into your step? Maybe this Alabama quartet can help. ‘The Company Man’ is Southern rock at its finest; underpinned by a fuzzed-up beast of a riff, topped off with Mr Baines’ rootsy road-dog drawl, and probably an absolute belter when played live. Here’s hoping for some UK dates soon. – Alex Gosman

Lola Colt – ‘Vacant Hearts’ (Black Tigress Records)

Lola Colt’s sonic explorations never fail to satisfy. Live, or on record, the past couple of years has seen this six-piece consistently deliver the most mesmerising, psychedelic soundscapes you could ever wish to indulge in. Now approaching their highly anticipated debut album, scheduled for release at the end of the year, Lola colt have dropped their third single ‘Vacant Hearts’. As per, this track oozes cool, and is laced with that hot desert sand ‘Colt fans will be oh so familiar with. – Dave Palmer

Wonk Unit – ‘Lewisham’

New Wonk Unit album Nervous Racehorse is melodic, indie-tinged punk at its finest, and ‘Lewisham’ evokes the same feel as the best that Fat Wreck or Epitaph had to offer in their mid-90s heyday. A ridiculously hook-laden ode to the South London borough that is bound to get you out the door and on your skateboard. – Jono Coote

Wussy – ‘Teenage Wasteland’ (Damnably)

Taken from Wussy’s fifth album, Attica! Lead track ‘Teenage Wasteland’ is the perfect introduction to the Cincinnati five-piece’s restrained rock ‘n’ roll. A slow burner that builds on a quaint piano riff to an uplifting crescendo. Prepare for howling pedal steel, throbbing Hammond organ, and an obligatory theremin thrown in for good, psychedelic measure. This is a summer haze to be fully embraced. – Dave Palmer

Arctic Flowers – ‘Anamnesis’

Playing gothic-tinged hardcore punk in the vein of TSOL/45 Grave/Nerve Agents, Arctic Flowers often stray closer to UK ’77 and 80’s post-punk sounds than the aforementioned comparisons. ‘Anamnesis’ finds the group at their fastest and loudest, but they are equally at home creating foreboding, gloom laden dirges. – Jono Coote

If you would like to contribute tracks next month or write for us then don’t be shy, get in touch.

Words by Ross Horton

Whenever you ask someone what their favourite Black Flag record is, you tend to get a snap answer. Usually it’s one of three – the iconic (rightly so) Damaged; the brutal My War; the late-era masterpiece In My Head. Occasionally you’ll get some hardcore animal saying First Four Years. All are, of course, perfectly reasonable and perfectly righteous choices – what fan of punk music could live without any of them?

If your favourite is amongst that list, fair play and kudos to you – but when it comes to the best Black Flag album, after a little discussion people tend to come around to the idea that Slip It In is (probably) their best record. It also happens to be my favourite. Over the course of the record’s eight blistering tracks Messrs. Ginn, Stevenson and Rollins – and of course the inimitable, endlessly captivating Miss Kira Roessler – create a ridiculously tense atmosphere.

Tension, to me, is what punk’s all about. Disagreements are welcome here, of course. But to this mind and these ears, the most cathartic release that human beings tend to be able to experience – be it sonically, sexually, sensually – comes after a period of unbearable, excruciating tension. Goddamn, the record is called ‘Slip It In’!

The terse mood of the record is its primary success: Sure, Black Flag were always about feeling powerful and feeling pointless at the same time… but Slip It In gives you tonnes of the former, an almost unbearable amount of the latter, and it’s the first record in their catalogue where Rollins’ testosterone-fuelled aggression finds its greatest outlet.

That outlet is Greg Ginn’s highly advanced, mature songwriting. The songs on Slip It In are quite frankly incredible. From the first track to the last, all of the tunes are solid gold. Ginn’s ever-expanding guitar abilities enabled his band to crash and pound away without it ever seeming like pointless, bottled fury.

The title track, which opens the record, is an exercise in genius songwriting – Ginn pits Rollins against Roessler in a fucking amazing coital showdown. The riff chugs and squeals away underneath the dramatic interplay between the two primary characters, and the two singers play their roles in superb fashion. They put so much emphasis into their respective performances that the listener feels like a grubby, squinting voyeur gawping through an open window at some illicit sexual encounter between some musclebound maniac and his more-than-willing punk princess prey.

Roessler’s yearning, seductive groans remind the listener of Kim Gordon at her sneering best, but Kira’s sexual sparring partner (in the track) isn’t Thurston Moore, it’s Henry Rollins – which flips the vibe completely. The lyrics seem to be half-condemnatory, half-celebratory towards adultery… but the singers play it in such a way that we can all see the resemblance to the kind of horrid situations we all get ourselves into sometimes. Sometimes you can’t help yourself, and the song deftly recognises that.

And then, after the night before, you’ve got Black Coffee. This is one of the more ‘conventional’ punk cuts on the record, but it’s also one of the best tracks in the Black flag catalogue. Rollins gets into an Iggy-like cyclic depressive state while drinking his black coffee and staring at the walls and imagining horrible things that may or may not be true.

Sonically, the track writhes and slashes away in a refreshingly violent manner underneath all the lyrical paranoia – don’t listen to those folks that try and taint the punk credentials of this record by slapping stupid tags on it: I’ve read ‘heavy metal’, ‘jazz metal’, ‘jazz punk’… all are bollocks, to be honest.

It’s a fitting musical (punk) backdrop for themes and events we can all identify with – paranoia, thinking you’re wrapped up in a horrible conspiracy, hating yourself, voiding out, staring at something blankly for interminable amounts of time, looking for answers that aren’t so easily found (if there are answers at all.)

Tension, tension, tension. There’s a phrase to describe being tense: ‘Wound up.’ The third track of Slip It In is fittingly titled then, no? It’s remarkable because it’s one of Rollins’ best compositions – the guitar bends and chugs are undoubtedly down to Ginn, but the bruising sensibility has all the hallmarks of Rollins’ finest songwriting.

It’s this kind of tune that would go on to inspire grunge bands, especially Mudhoney – Mark Arm has always maintained that his favourite Black Flag albums are the later ones. The scraping guitars, the thundering drums, the streetwise slinky tightness of the instrumentation… Wound Up has it all. It’s a lithe, nefarious cut in that grinds you down and rolls over you in equal measure – the pent-up aggression Rollins conveys in his lyrics is translated perfectly when Roessler, Ginn and Stevenson lock into a groove rather than join in a clatter-fest. Who said punks can’t ‘play’ huh?

Back to Mudhoney, and can you detect the similarities between Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More and the next track on Slip It In, Rat’s Eyes? Apart from sounding very similar riff-wise, both lumber along on a crushing slice of sludge riffing. Rollins sounds fucking demonic barking away: “I see the world through/Rat’s Eyes/Rat’s Eyes/Rat’s Eyes…”

Ginn’s abrasive tone on this cut is totally punk – it’s confrontational, belligerent and builds a tonne of tension into what would ordinarily be a mid-album slump. Of course, Black Flag had never heard of such a preposterous idea… can you find a dull moment on any of the ‘proper’ records? (I’m not counting What The… , which isn’t really a Black Flag record, or Family Man which was an important experiment but nothing more.)

The next number is a beast – killer instrumental Obliteration. Obliteration opens with a gong-hit, and then spirals outwards with tremendous off-kilter down-tuned riffing. On this track, Ginn’s riffs roll and sway and creep and splatter with a monumental gravitas – there’s tonnes of kinetic energy going on in this track.

Some call Ginn’s fretboard explorations noodling, some call it pioneering – either way, it sounds awesome, as though the track is careering towards some kind of inevitable doom. Stevenson’s complex drumming is taut and locked-in at all times – it deserves highlighting here because he’s obviously tied into his leader’s madman guitar pyrotechnics.

The Bars! Roessler kicks the record back into gear with a monstrous bass groove before Stevenson drops in with a tight-as-fuck rhythm and Ginn rocks up with his best Ron Asheton impression, all guitar-grating and squealing solo jamming. Rollins’ jagged lyrics go back to their paranoiac comfort zone while some A-grade hardcore punk crashes around him. It’s the most ‘Black Flag’ song on the record i.e. it wouldn’t be out of place on My War or Damaged, likewise In My Head… but it’s place here on Slip It In practically assures the guarantees I made earlier.

If you’re one of those Luddites that doesn’t own an iPod or any portable listening device (I am one such heathen) then The Bars would be a shoe-in for any Black Flag mixtape you’d ever care to put together. It’s that good.

The fact that it’s completely unrepresentative of the album it belongs to only adds to its charm, in my view. Why bother regressing so obviously, you could ask, but the answer is clear: because they kill hardcore punk every time. They kill it.

The hyperspeed thrashing of My Ghetto would go on to inspire numerous grindcore acts – it has a furious, undeniable pace, a blazing rhythm and a searing, shrapnel-sharp guitar assault. At only just over 120 seconds, it’s the shortest track on the record… and the stone-wall refutation that Black Flag couldn’t do punk after My War, if any were needed.

The ferocity and chaos of the track is carefully orchestrated and the focus and intensity they imbue the track with is staggering. Imagine what it’s like to be hearing that for the first time, you know? It’s a fragment of hectic, ripping punk that says and does all it needs to before it fucks off and leaves one final titanic number to close the album out.

That gargantuan slice is You’re Not Evil – imagine throwing howling MC5 garage rock in a blender with Blue Cheer’s crushing blues-rock, then dicing it up and stretching it out. Here you find Black Flag going against any expectations of what it means to be ‘punk’, but totally embodying the very ethos of ‘punk’ in their sheer distaste for close-minded musical bigotry.

Sure, it can seem ‘progressive’ – but ‘progressive’ doesn’t mean it’s ‘prog-rock’, you dig? It’s got more in common with the Dead Boys than Jethro Tull. The Stooges made tracks this long with regularity, and they’re the daddies of punk.

Ginn’s guitar playing kicks it to another level on You’re Not Evil – he synthesis salty acid-rock tones with a blistering metallic aura and practically innovates and shimmies with each passage of the track. It’s a moment of undeniable brilliance on an album full of them – and certainly the most interesting album closer Black Flag ever did (bold, I know, but hey.)

Slip It In is one of the best punk albums of all time, and it holds up against some of the better-known and better-loved iconoclastic records of 1984 (even My War, also released in 1984!). In 1984 Meat Puppets released the unquestionable masterpiece II, Hüsker Dü released the kaleidoscopic masterpiece Zen Arcade, St. Vitus released their epochal self-titled debut… And they’re just SST’s releases in 1984! Greg Ginn’s label! Unreal ain’t it?

Without Black Flag, music would be a dire place. Punk would be vastly different, without a doubt. I know Grant Hart blames Rollins for bringing ‘jocks’ into hardcore and thus ruining it – but he also brought a whole generation of angry, paranoid kids into the scene… and those kids would eventually pioneer the music of the following generation.

If you are interested in guitars, punk rock, rock, the female contribution to punk, the interplay between the sexes in music, the art involved in playing aggressive music… you have to get Slip It In. You have to cherish it. You have to consider it amongst the pantheon of rock and roll’s finest records. Ignore the bullshit that Ginn has got up to in the intervening years, ignore the lazy accusations that they abandoned punk, ignore any hate and believe this: Slip It In is Black Flag’s greatest album. Dig that.

Tarot photo by Matias Corral.
Words and interview by Jono Coote.

Last week was a belter of a music session at the Brudenell Social Club, starting on Monday with Tommy Guerrero and then continuing through the week with Mike Watt on Wednesday and the over the top rock ‘n roll, soul extravaganza of King Khan and the Shrines on Friday.

Working a long shift on Friday alongside a couple of writing sessions well into the night on the previous couple of days hadn’t left me at my best, but I’d heard too much about the band’s stage reputation to write a night off and the chance to interview the man himself was the icing on the cake.

I arrived at about the same time as the band’s curry order so after some time spent eating, acting out scenes from the movie Kingpin, discussing the health problems arising from soft drinks and decrying the flagrant false advertising of the magazine Uncut (a cover mount CD with a Ramones photo but absolutely no Ramones tracks contained within is not an acceptable way to carry on, we agreed), we headed to the van to talk about where Khan was currently at.

For those who don’t know, who is King Khan and who are The Shrines?

My name is King Khan and I play psychedelic rhythm and blues music with the Shrines. I put together the band in 1999 and yea, we play revolution rock…and soul!

You’re in the midst of a far ranging European tour at the moment so, as someone known for intense live shows, what’s the strangest thing to happen so far on this one?

I guess maybe not one of the strangest but one of the greatest was when we played in Athens. Our promoter invited us the year before to this festival and I was doing a lot of chanting and getting the audience to chant against the Golden Dawn, the fascist party there. It turned out the security were from the Golden Dawn so then he got death threats for that show…he was happy though, it meant that it was hitting them where it hurts. We played again this year and things got pretty crazy, the reaction of the young kids was really beautiful. I dedicated the whole set to Killah P, a hip hop artist who was murdered by the Golden Dawn. It was pretty wild to see kids ready to fight against the police and try to do something…especially nowadays when it seems that most people are very lazy and try to revolt against the system through the internet. Which I guess does work in some ways!

It’s got its place, but I suppose sometimes you need real action.

Yea, sometimes you need to hit the streets. I mean I come from Montreal which was notoriously a riot town when I was growing up. It was funny, they would riot if they won the Stanley Cup or if they lost but the punks would also take the opportunity to riot. I remember seeing a riot when the Exploited didn’t make it across the border, and I saw maybe 5,000 punks just tear into the streets. I remember seeing a toilet bowl ripped out of a bar and thrown into a cop car, it was great. So I really admire cities that still have the riot gene.

Carrying on from that thought, there is a running social commentary throughout the new record. How important do you think music is to raising political awareness? I once saw Billy Bragg say to a crowd that music can’t change the world, but I took that as bullshit.

I definitely think they go hand in hand, especially the music which inspires me the most, the music inspired by the civil rights movement. Free jazz as well – I’ve been thinking about this a lot, the whole idea of Black Power, it’s a very strong and beautiful thing which people misunderstand. You can’t compare it to white power; black power has much more to do with…

I guess for a start, it’s born of oppression…

Yea, but also there is a very big spiritual aspect; it comes out of oppression, but also out of freeing yourself from that oppression through other means. For example Sun Ra, Art Ensemble of Chicago and a lot of free jazz artists at the time, they found an almost alchemical way of freeing their souls from the shackles of being in America. They tapped into another universe that was waiting to be discovered. You know, music is ultimately the universal language, a mystic language and it can take you to far places within your consciousness. I think people forget that, especially because of the way pop music numbs the masses and praises mediocrity – that never changes and seems to get stronger and stronger. But there will always be that 1% of people that are creating. I can also see with my two daughters and the way me and my wife have raised them, they have great taste in music and they understand the roots of revolution. They’re gonna be great human beings and it has to do a lot with just teaching them the right things – and I know there’s enough parents out there who are doing it right to counteract the majority of parents who are doing it wrong. So in summary, I guess you’d say I disagree with Billy Bragg on that one.

Me too! On the subject of the Black Power movement you are also working on the soundtrack for The Invaders, a documentary about a militant black power organisation – how did that come about?

I was asked by the founder of the Invaders, who were a militant black power group from Memphis in the late 60s…it was a couple of guys who were working for government programmes, but at the time the FBI was basically getting newspapers and journalists to write articles against people who were helping the movement with community work, stuff like that. I won’t go into the whole story now but the director played my music to John B Smith, the founding member, he loved it and asked me to do the soundtrack so I got to do all the music supervision and write some original score and that was really beautiful, a great experience.

The Invaders is an untold story, these guys got all the youth in Memphis, all the teenagers and all the young adults, to fight the police. They got blamed for a lot of riots but it wasn’t there thing; they were organising the youth, feeding children and helping them with their homework. They were an amazing team who managed to unite all the gangs, north, east, south and west in Memphis. Martin Luther King was impressed by their whole organisation and asked them to be a part of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign, then the day after that he was shot. This was an untold story for a long time.

So they were within an inch of becoming part of the mainstream history of the civil rights movement?

Yea, and King knew that he needed to work with the militants and this was one thing that the ministers wanted to keep hush hush, because they didn’t want King’s name to be tarnished by militants or something similar. So there is a huge untold story that is finally being told and I’m really proud to be a part of it. I think it’s coming out later this year or maybe next year.

That sounds fucking awesome! (I’d woken up a little by this point). Going back to the new record, what influenced its sound and has that differed much to what has influenced previous work?

I think that the influences pretty much remain the same…to be able to combine soul music, punk and psychedelic elements, some free jazz. I was never a purist, I like to record in an old fashioned way maybe but in terms of song writing and stuff I like to be really free

I guess with each of your bands you’ve combined similar, but noticeably different musical elements from group to group.

Exactly, with me and Mark for example we’re so inspired by doo-wop and old rock n roll but at the same time we also love GG Allin and punk rock…which is also totally revolutionary. Yea, the elements are all earth, wind, water and fire, they never really change! (Laughter)

Moving on, who makes up the Kukamongas Death Cult, and what are its aims?

It started off in the beginning when the Deadly Snakes asked the Spaceshits to go on tour with them around the States. I was booking the tour and I told them there wasn’t gonna be any money and they had to fend for themselves and find somewhere to stay. We wound up, there were twelve of us on tour and it was like a roving gang. This was when we were teenagers, maybe 19 or 20 years old, it was then that we most started enjoying a gang mentality. We wanted to be the Kukamongas MC – not motorcycle club, but musical club! That later evolved in to a death cult when the Black Lips joined the whole thing and it became a little bit more cultish.

At the time I’d started using tarot cards so we mixed in all these weird, mystical ideas. I remember it was the tour with me, Mark Sultan and the Black Lips in the South, doing two weeks or something –we went to Memphis and Jackson, we went to where Robert Johnson met the Devil, the crossroads…Clarksdale, Mississippi. Me and Cole went to the crossroads, I had my tarot cards and Cole grabbed them, threw them on the floor and started mixing them in the dirt. The game was to try and find the devil, we kept flipping cards on at a time but after about twenty times we hadn’t found him. But then later, every morning Cole would grab my cards, focus and try and pull the devil out of the pack and I swear every day for the next four days he did it…and Cole I guess in some way is pretty connected to Beelzebub. That became a game, if people wanted to be a part of the death cult then we’d put the card out and see if they could pick out the devil card, which they never really did [laughter]…sometimes maybe!

It’s basically just a family, a chosen family and there have been people all over the world. In some ways I think of it as a lost tribe of rock and rollers, although I haven’t really been initiating new members or anything like that. I guess it had to do with growing up too, when you experience these things when you’re young, then you don’t need to add more people. It’s not about spreading it like some kind of club, it’s more just a cool family of great people. Right now we’ve got The Spits, the Gris Gris were in it, Jay Reatard, great people who are still brothers and sisters.

(This is followed by some comedy Khan flatulence!)

Cheers to the death cult!

Oh god, it stinks, sorry! It’s gunna leave a stain on the windows!

Pre gig curry will do that! You mentioned the Spits, who I know skate. I think the first time I heard you was via the Creature video Hesh Law where the BBQ Show song Zombies was used on the soundtrack. Do you or any of the members of your bands skate?

Actually you know what, there was actually a board company that made graphics out of my paintings, Lurkville out of San Diego. I always wanted to skate, my parents got me a banana board and I dunno, I just never really got into it. I hung out with a lot of graffiti kids as a teenager. When I was with the Spaceshits, a lot of us were into doing graffiti, and they all skated but I’m…I’m very clumsy.

Me too! (Brandishing my bandaged and cast covered arm) I was going to ask about the collaboration that started to happen with the GZA – did anything more come of that?

I played two shows with him, NXNE and at a Texas festival in Austin, playing guitar for him. The way we met was really cool actually; I was playing in Toronto with Mark and the BBQ Show and Fab Five Freddy was in the audience, he was freaking out and then the next day he invited me to go and meet him and GZA at a press conference. I went there, they were discussing the history of hip hop and that was amazing to just watch. During the conference Fab Five Freddy gave me a shout out, he was like ‘Yesterday I saw a great rock n roll band, King Khan and the BBQ Show’.

It doesn’t get better than that!

I know, it was badass! Anyway before the conference we were drinking Bloody Caesars, me and GZA and Fab Five Freddy. We were talking about all sorts of stuff, GZA invited me to his hotel room and I took my guitar so we were hanging out jamming. Then he asked me to come and play on about five songs from Liquid Swords so that was really badass. Unfortunately we talked a bit about doing some kind of collaboration stuff then, I dunno, all sorts of stuff happened with my brain. I went through a breakdown and stuff, and never got back in touch about doing stuff. I got a Wu name though, which is Lord Khan!

Right, as I can hear the first band starting to play, let’s have the final question – how did Lindsay Lohan take getting a face full of arse at the Cannes Film Festival?

That was really hilarious, because shortly afterwards she invited us all up to her hotel room. Me and the Almighty Defenders were all hanging out, I did her tarot cards up there, it was funny because she got the card…it was an old deck I used to use and it was a woman, covering her face in a boat sailing far away, which actually kind of happened to her – she got arrested not long after that. She was really nice actually and we were having quite a lot of fun. It’s kind of sad when people like that are turned in to targets. I even saw it with Jay Reatard, people used to go to his shows to do something bad just to make him angry and see him explode. It’s so sad when that becomes a trademark of your existence; you wind up getting in a lot of trouble all the time. I’m glad I have nothing to do with that…I think if you approach music in a certain way and are open about who you are, what you are, there’s no mystery about you…a lot of people, especially in music hide that their married, or have families and stuff and it’s so idiotic. That’s one thing I’m happy about – I’ve been so open about my life so I don’t get these crazy stalkers and shit like that.☮ ✌

King Khan & The Shrines have a killer album out right now on Merge Records that you should check out. Khan has re-united with long time partner in crime Mark Sultan to record a brand new King Khan & BBQ Show album which should be released later this year.

Look forward to that with bells on, but in the meantime, indulge yourself into this ‘Road Tape’, stacked with a bunch of amazing tracks that King Khan & The Shrines play whilst on tour. Miss them at your peril at the Scala in London tomorrow evening 24/4/14.

Remember that scene in the Lost Boys where Sam goes into the comic book shop? He’s looking for a copy of Batman #14. He’s politely informed by the Frogg brothers that there are only five in existence. His response is priceless: “[There are] Four, actually. I’m always looking for the other three.”

Now, depending on how much you fetishize one-offs, limited editions, misprints and other purchase-incentive collectables, you will either see this as harmless collector braggadocio, or serious asshole syndrome.

By flexing his collector muscle in such a grand fashion, he will either remind you of Poison Idea (Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes) or your own sick hunger for commercialist trinkets. Some of us fall on both sides of the fence – we rabidly collect things just to have them, and we fucking hate other people for doing the same. I’ve got my hands up – I’m guilty. I love ‘deluxe’, ‘limited’, ‘super deluxe’… all that stuff. But if I see someone else bragging about how hard-to-get their own collection is, I feel sick.

You know the Wu-Tang Clan. Shit, we all know the Wu. We know what they’re all about. So it’ll come as no surprise that we had to mention this particular news story:

Wu-Tang Clan’s legendary spokesman, leader and resident genius The RZA (the artist formerly known as Bobby Digital) is causing the music world a whole heap of grief on this topic with his announcement of a new Wu-Tang Clan record that will be limited to ONE copy. That’s right, one, uno, un, eins… a single fucking copy.

But that’s not all – the record, handily titled The Wu – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will be toured across the globe as a ‘pay to hear’ spectacle, which is essentially a gig without the performance aspect. The details aren’t finalized, but it would appear as though closely-guarded headphones will be installed in museums across the globe, and folks can pay $50 to sit for two hours to listen to the record. Once. All two hours of it.

So after that tour is over, the album will be sold to the highest bidder. Be it a banker, a car salesman, Alan Sugar, Rob Dyrdek,… whoever the fuck is rich enough and stupid enough to buy it will surely be deserving of the scorn sent their way by a public who aren’t guaranteed to ever be hearing it.

This, of course, raises many questions. Amongst them are:

“What happens if I need to piss/smoke/eat/cry/call somebody? Can I pause the record?”

“What happens if the album is shit? Do I get a refund?”

“Just how big of a mug do you think I am?”

“Is this Alcoholics Anonymous?”

It supposedly features all of the Clan, some FC Barcelona players and a string of unannounced guests. Exciting? You betcha. Worth the hassle? Probably not. I didn’t even know Xavi could rap, and I certainly wouldn’t want to hear Dani Alves’ bars, they’re probably wack.

Of course, this concept is, technically, revolutionary. The fact that all recorded music is free nowadays is not lost on the RZA, who wishes to put the ‘art’ back into ‘artist’ and ‘asshole’ back into ‘money grabbing asshole’ with this grand plan of his. It wouldn’t be the first time.

If you’ve heard any Wu-Tang album, especially the first one, you’ll know that they’re capable of brilliance. No, they are capable of making a perfect record. How close Once Upon a Time gets to that level is beyond a guess.

Of course, my guess is that this is actually a Funny Or Die hoax to promote their actual new album A Better Tomorrow. The site that’s marketing the album is called ‘Ezclziv scluzay’, which sounds a bit like Exclusive Clues Ay. Don’tcha think? I call bollocks. He might be having a little dig at Jay-Z, who sold $5,000,000 worth of his latest album to Samsung in some marketing shenanigans. Who knows?

I, for one, hope it’s one big joke and Funny Or Die will come out soon to claim the credit for this shit-heap (like the comedy terrorists they are) much like they did for the Flaming Lips’ announcement of a companion piece to Dark Side of the Moon. If it’s not a hoax, then the joke is on Wu-Tang Clan, I’m afraid.

In any case: RIP ODB.

“PS: EZCLZIV SCLUZAY = Easy clues I’ve schooled you’s ay?”

I think I’ve worked it out – if it’s a hoax.

Ross Horton

Sleaford Mods – ‘Tied Up In Nottz’ (Harbinger Records)

Like seventies New York electronic art punks Suicide but from the streets of Nottingham, Sleaford Mods are pure street poetry set over a clanking bass and minimal rhythms. Like John Cooper Clarke but with twice the venom and acidity, vocalist Jason Williamson’s way with words and lyrical rhymes are powerful, thought-provoking and at times, totally hilarious. He also swears better than any other f**ker I’ve heard. Believe the hype. – James Sherry

Human Eye – ‘Gettin’ Some’ (Goner Records)

When life serves you human sized bugs, exterminator’s and gunge in garage rock format from Detroit, you should thank your lucky stars someone spent their weekend up to their guts in it and then dive in head first. Human Eye released this filthy bug jam last week from their ‘4:Into Unknown’ album and it’s utter filth. You can also thank King Khan for sending this one over to us. – Zac

Thee Oh Sees – ‘Penetrating Eye’ (Castle Face)

John O’Dwyer threatened a hiatus for Thee Oh Sees after last year’s ‘Floating Coffin’ but despite flirting with electronica with his Damaged Bug project he wasn’t ready to hammer the nail in that wooden box yet. He did move to LA from San Fran, but other than that it’s business as usual. The new album is called ‘Drop’ and it’s about to ahem drop on Record Store Day. It was recorded in a banana ripening warehouse and the banana skinny on this record is that the quality has not slipped. ‘Penetrating Eye’ is the wince inducing intro track, part Ty Segall part Led Zep, as shredding an opening as you could hope to witness, it scared me shitless. – Nick Hutchings

Fist City – ‘Let’s Rip’ (Transgressive Records)

Girl gangs are taking over the world, well, in Canada anyway. This latest gang bang was shot in a bar whilst the owner was out and the band got away with it. Fist City just cruised through the UK last week and played a bunch of sold out shows that were awesome. Get some of their punk inspired malarkey on the re-issue of “It’s 1983, Grow Up” out on May 19th, you will not regret it. – Zac

The Skull Defekts – ‘The Known Unknown’ (Thrill Jockey)

Abba are from Sweden, you know? So are rabid, krautrock-flavoured noise-rock miscreants The Skull Defekts. Their new album is likely to be busting a lot of houses down when it drops this month, you’d be doing yourself a favour by making your house one of ’em. The Known Unknown is like the groovy offspring of a junkie robot and a broken amp, highly recommended. – Ross Horton

Black Bananas – ‘Physical Emotions’ (Drag City)

Snake-hipped pillow-lipped Venusian Goddess Jennifer Herrema made her triumphant return to the world of ‘pop music’ with this absolutely monstrous groove-thang. Like all of her work with (my favourite band) Royal Trux, RTX and beyond, this track totally defies genres and will warp your mind if you listen to it loud enough. Go go go. – Ross Horton

OBN III’s – ‘No Time For The Blues’ (TTT Records)

Austin Texas band OBN III’s third album ‘Third Time To Harm’ is a party record that reminds me of the much underrated Lee Harvey Oswald Band. ‘No Time For The Blues’ is like Andrew WK doing Iggy doing the ‘Spaghetti Incident’, a party record with monster riffs where you can feel free to check your brain by the door and flex your neck up the front. – Nick Hutchings

Protomartyr – ‘Come & See’ (Hardly Art Records)

Welcome to the world of Protomartyr who fit somewhere between punk and post-punk, shunning the noir-ish drama of the latter without losing the fervor of the former. Despite this being one of the more restrained tracks on their new album Under Color of Official Right there’s an clear darkness to ‘Come & See’, all held together with a delicious groove. – Joe Parry

Greys – ‘Guy Picotto’ (Car Park Records)

‘Guy Picotto’ is the first track to emerge from punks Greys forthcoming debut album, coming out in May. A slab of tongue-in-cheek hardcore with some Jesus Lizard ingenuity clashing with fellow Canadian’s Fucked Up’s ear for melody. – Joe Parry

Kevin Drew – ‘Bullshit Ballad’ (Arts & Crafts)

Kevin Drew, one half of Canadian super group Broken Social Scene, has just dropped a brand new solo album. Darlings is expectedly full of synth slurs and instrumental murmurs, atop which sit Drew’s ever suggestive vocal, laced with subtle sleaze. A mellow album certainly worth listening to, highlights come in the form of ‘Bullshit Ballad’. – Dave Palmer

Violent Reaction – ‘Dead End’ (Painkiller Records)

Let’s end this on some excellent shit-kicking Oi! influenced hardcore from Merseyside, Violent Reaction are pure musical thuggery. Think Negative Approach meets Sham 69 and the 4-Skins biting your nose off. They’ve just been snapped up by legendary hardcore label Revelation so expect to be hearing a lot from these boys and their Dr. Marten’s boots this year. – James Sherry

If you would like to contribute tracks next month or write for us then don’t be shy, get in touch.