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[audio:http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/blogs/en/files/2011/02/deaf-wish-the-beat-of-nothings-wrong-01.mp3]
Deaf Wish - "The Beat of Nothing's Wrong"

[audio:http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/blogs/en/files/2011/02/straight-arrows-golden-torch1.mp3]
Straight Arrows - "Golden Torch"
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[audio: http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/blogs/en/files/2011/02/unfuckable-complicated-medication-class-01.mp3]
The Unfuckable - "Complicated Medication Class"Another single from this label that really made me come out of the basement and wipe the chocodile crumbs from my face was the coverless four song wonder from a unit called Knife Fight. Not to be confused with the American Hardcore band of the same name, this New Zealand-based group conjures up images from my mind that are just plain fucked. Freight trains full of old, dry dynamite and B.O.C bootlegs… Bored Youth listening to the first Montrose album before recording their infamous Dave Rice produced demo… the destruction of every leather jacket-wearing garage rock moron… stuff like that. There's another 7" of this stuff lurking around out there that I haven't been able to find via interwebs. Anyone who's holding… let's talk arugula, shall we?
[audio: http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/blogs/en/files/2011/02/knife-fight-boredom-01.mp3]
Knife Fight - "Boredom"
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The Sailors - "Guilty Pleasure Blues"In perfect correlation with these present day Aussie no-goods presenting us with their recorded goods, we also got some re-issues here of stuff by corkhatters from the past. The Slugfuckers are one of those bands whose records only get played at parties you're never invited to where paunchy collectors comb each other's moustaches and discuss what it would be like to actually touch a woman. Luckily, the Insolito label out of Germany just did up both their 7"s from 1979 on a single 12" disc just so you won't have to endure going to such a gathering. What nice people. A glance at the bands' manifesto reprinted on the insert will give you an idea of what you're getting into here; idealist mental patient ramblings with names like the Residents, P.I.L, Luigi Russolo, Throbbing Gristle, and Lee Harvey Oswald dropped cinder blocks into vats of rancid ricotta. Much like these folks, the Slugfuckers were looking into the great beyond for answers to the unquestionable. What they brought back from their gaze-off is some of the most challenging sounds to come out of that whole era where some of the brighter people involved in punk wanted to spring off and disturb the masses via sound rather than with a fire engine red mohawk. Having said that, I personally see nothing wrong with playing something like the Slugfuckers' "Schizo-Revolution" right into the Exploited's "Rival Leaders." But hey… that's just me.
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The Bodysnatchers - "Frantic"Last but not least in our Aussie round-up, we got a cassette by the now defunct White Cop, a mob that included Brendon Annesley (editor of the Negative Guest List 'zine) in its membership. Just like this boys' writing, this tape is a lid-popping punkoid mess that reeks from the stench of self discovery and pill vomit . If these tracks were sandwiched somewhere on the Not So Quiet On The Western Front or Public Service comps in the olden days, I would have declared them lost classics. These days, stuff like this just makes me wanna grab for the extra strength Geritol and my copy of Bryter Layter. That is a compliment, by the way.
BTW…most of this stuff is available here in the US from Goner, Fusetron, or Revolver.Alright, that's enough of this kiwi shit. Next time around it's all America! LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!!! (Ala Aware!)TONY RETTMAN
