boss tuneage – Caught in the Crossfire

Doctor and the Crippens
Raphanadosis
Boss Tuneage

doctor_

There are certain albums from the 80s that bring back so many incredible memories that you just have to re-buy them – Raphanadosis is definitely one those. From the grinding blast beats of ‘Garden Centre Murders’ to the zombie intro of ‘Braindead’, (still one of the best intro’s to a hardcore record of all time) this 22-track masterpiece full of nightmares comes packed with super-fast, quintessentially British hardcore with humorous subject matter that will be an anthem for many.

The gritty, monstrous vocals of ‘My Brother Is A Headcase’ still sounds like a vegetarian is tied up in a basement being force-fed bacon whilst listening to ‘Henenlotter’ on repeat. The eerie build up in ‘Button Moon’ still retains a creepy cesspit of misery before you are blown into outer space.’The Kid With The Removable Face’ is still being used as a frisbee (and still making me LOL) and ‘8 Years in Office’ and ‘Extreme Noise T’ are still the best shortest songs on the album. More records should also have titles for the A and B sides too. Side ‘Insecticide’ was always followed by Side ‘Fungicide’ with this release, you could never just listen to half of it. Brilliant stuff.

I feel like ‘Wurzel Gummidge on acid’ listening to this again, a feeling most would probably avoid. Maybe that’s what Raphanadosis actually means. I never knew what it was when I was 16 listening when this was on my record player, in fact I always referenced is as SNIT which seems to have disappeared from the brilliant front cover art. It’s probably gone for a good reason that I don’t understand and that is exactly why this album is so damn brilliant. I never wanted to know who Doctor and the Crippens were really. So stoked I’ve caught Raphanadosis 26 years later.

Top marks to Boss Tuneage this month who have decided to get this classic out of the punk rock vaults and re-package it for the exploding cabbage appreciation society that followed this seminal bunch of laugh-a-minute punks.

Pick up the re-issue from here. It’s a must have double vinyl and CD package that comes with 15 extra tracks from their John Peel Show in (1989), the North Atlantic Noise Attack comp LP and Avant Gardening 12” EP. All that for £8!

Zac

Burning Bridges
(Boss Tuneage)

For a loosely termed musical genre that developed as a tougher edged take on first-wave Punk, ‘Hardcore’ has been subsequently sliced, diced, and generally misappropriated by a whole host of chancers, eager to put a credible spin on marketing their musical output, and even career aspirations. Gawd help us!

So let’s be clear, Section 13 are very much Hardcore as derived from the source, laying down 13 (what else!) bruising and whipped up blasts of anger driven music, with an attitude firmly rooted in Punk Rock. Singer Ian Murphy goes all the way back to mid-Eighties shining lights Visions of Change (from the then scene hotbed of Leamington Spa) and after time in the wilderness returned to action with S-13 a few years ago, “regrouped, reviewed, came back with strength renewed” – Hell yeah!

Burning Bridges is the band’s debut album and comes to a crunching finish a shade under 30minutes. You do the maths. This is super fresh sounding old time Hardcore, that’s screaming for a change, and banging its head against the wall. The lyrics are introspective, venting spite and frustration at personal failings and being disconnected with a world consumed by hate and division such as “I stand outside all those neat lines, not on the fence, not using that defence”.

It all adds up to fast and melodic Hardcore that keeps the true spirit alive, a reason why I am most certainly liking this album a lot! You won’t read about S-13 in glossy music magazines, they will never (ever) be Flavour of Month, endorsed by a sneaker company, or on a backpack sponsored tour. But they were never playing that dumb game in the first place. No shit, this is the real deal, and I cordially instruct you to go check it out pronto!

Pete Craven