"SoftSpot has delved back into the post-punk archives and unearthed another virtually unheard gem. Our first full-length LP features the recordings of Kebab, a short-lived quartet of punk-minded Belgian youths. Inspired by the Crass Records DIY mentality, the burgeoning UK art-punk scene, and their own boredom, Kebab combined anti-political punk diatribes with sharp guitars, plodding basslines, synth gurgles, and spastic electronic percussion. The result is an aggressively sparse take on post-punk that remains fresh and visceral sounding today.Side A compiles all their known studio recordings, including the sought-after "Life It's a Joke" 7" from 1982. Side B features select tracks from their original demo tape, recorded in 1981 and limited to only 30 copies. All tracks have been remastered from the best available sources, and are presented on black vinyl in a full-size poster package containing lyric sheet, rare photos, and a vintage interview with the band." (promo write-up)
Good stuff. 2010 vinyl-only reissue. Kebab's angular European post-punk sound is somewhat in league with The Slits (RIP, Ari Up), Siouxsie, Animals & Men, Delta 5, Bush Tetras and Xmal Deustchland, with a small hint of the synth stylings of (very early) Depeche Mode.
Mediafire Download Link: Kebab- We Live In A System (Softspot, 2010)
A1 Life It's A Joke
A2 Anti - L
A3 Hypocrites
A4 Weekend
B1 Girlsfight
B2 Sully
B3 Uber Der Ligne
B4 Rapist
B5 Faced White
B6 Hypocrites
B7 System
5 comments:
Bless you, Nick! This is very, very much appreciated. And the band photo is _beyond_ priceless :-)
The sample tune is nice...but methinks New Wave rather than post-punk would be the better label.
I should ask- -what does post-punk mean to you? I use these kinds of labels reluctantly and with a grain of salt. Drum machines and the occassional synth suggest New Wave in this context. The lo-fi angularity of the songs says post-punk to me. Also, the quoted text above comes from Sunspot's promo material.
Good question: musical labels are always just subjective and associative...to me, this sounds more like new wave bands (Flying Lizards, Food and Shelter, B-52s even) than it does post-punk bands (Joy Division, Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, Savage Republic, PIL). It's a mood thing, methinks.
1981 is certainly late enough to qualify for "post" punk...so if you use a temporal rather than sonic criteria, it works.
Yes, i've heard this one before, but then again i'm from Belgium...
Don't have it on record though, so, many thanks!
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