This time we give you a ’37 track two CD deluxe digipack containing all of the singles issued by “UK/82” Punk Rock legends G.B.H.’ Lightheaded who ‘are, simply, a great pop group.’ Softwave’s ‘ enthralling, celestial shoegaze bliss and crushing dense swathes of sound’ The ‘formidable force in the realm of noisecore’ that is Cathari. ‘Canadian tech death metal act Sentiment Dissolve’. The second ressue from Captain Oi! this week, ‘3CD 69-track deluxe digipack containing all of the singles issued by Punk legends The Vibrators between 1976-2017.’ and the two recent Khanate reissues that are described simply as ‘terrifying music’. Read what we thought and listen to the releases below.
GBH – Complete Singles Collection
Captain Oi!
Brum’s finest hardcore Clay Records shoutalong bleached spiked up bristly sons. Charged GBH were the nasty spotty horrible little studded punks that hung around swigging cheap cider and flicking the Vs at people. This is their singles and they are bloody ace. Death, sex, politics and just dumb humour abound. Some of it is rough fast shouty punk, some of it is more polished fast shouty punk and some of it is heads down straight ahead shouty fast punk. People have said that they got more metal as they went on. I’m not at all sure about that, I think that metal got more GBH, look at the list of bands that cite them as an influence, have covered their songs and loved them. Not bad for a bunch of scruffy punks from Brum.
Lightheaded – Combustible Gems
Slumberland
This is good, bright, shimmery indie pop music. It conjures up kids hanging around and just getting on with life’s ups and downs, it’s straightforward, easy to digest and fuzzy around the edges. A great record.
Softcult – Heaven
Easy Life
This is a delicious slab of dreamy fuzziness. Shoegazing poppy psychedelia with a lovely female vocal. Made to sink into a field of marshmallows and watch the fluffy clouds drift across the sky to.
Cathari – It Will Hurt The Whole Time You Are Alive
From the title of the EP you already know that this isn’t going to be a jolly jaunt down a musical highway. No, this is a lost in a ditch clawing your way through thorns and broken glass bleeding and screaming sort of musical journey. It’s hard core noisy nastiness with a bleeding throat angry vocal. Pretty good.
Sentiment dissolve – The Orwellian Dream
CDN Records
This is low down and grunty metal, a pinch of funky bass to begin with which soon gets battered into submission by the relentless double bass drum kicking. It’s full on thrash, like being punched repeatedly in the head and then odd little prog segments as they pause to massage their knuckles before kicking your head in again. They like nice slow introductions and then massively violent thrash nastiness. It’s decent, if you’re into that sort of thing.
The Vibrators – The Singles 1976-2017
Captain Oi!
I’ve got some of these singles, heard most of them over the years and to be honest, liked them more back when I was a kid coming out of being a metalhead and heading into rougher territory. The classics are still there, Automatic Lover, Baby Baby and Pure Mania are particular highlights, but on top of those are filler tunes, different versions of the best songs and their straying into new wave grooves. So, buy for the classics, leave the rest in the case.
Khanate – Capture and Release/ Clean Hands Go Foul
Sacred Bones
Two reissues from Khanate. They consist of two tracks on the first and four on the second, and they are really really disturbing. It sounds like a mind disintegrating slowly and terrifyingly into madness and loathing. There are jarring noises and shouting but the overriding feeling is of emptiness. There is so much empty space that the menace and dirt is more shocking than it would be in a dense noise. It’s horrible.
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GBH are on Facebook, Instagram and X as @gbhuk
Lightheaded are on Instagram and Bandcamp.
Softcult’s website is softcult.band, they are on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and X as @softcultband
Cathari are on Instagram, Bandcamp and Facebook.
Sentiment Dissolve are on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.
The Vibrators website is thevibrators.com they are on Facebook.
Khanate’s website is khanateofficial.com, they are also on Facebook, Instagram and X as @officialkhanate.
All words by Adrian Bloxham
