Originality can often be very overrated. Not in the sense that it is unnecessary or inessential, and as my last post about Akrasia showed, I can heartily welcome tasteful touches of innovation in my crust. I am after all a man of rare sophistication (I am currently wearing a Zoe shirt if you need uncontested proof). However, I do not need nor crave for supposedly fresh or unorthodox takes on punk music all the time. To be fair it is not that common anyway and, more often than not, I distrust bands or labels claiming that their brand new release "challenge the listener", "blur boundaries" or "offer something new in the face of conformist punk music". This sort of fake and artificial art school PHD incantations turn out to be quite shallow and generally the promoted bands excessively rely on massive pedal boards that are bigger than an actual surf board and are worth a monthly. I'd much rather have an orthodox take on a beloved punk subgenre emerging from a new or marginalised position, area or points of view instead of wankers pretending to be trailblazers in order to appeal to the middle-class "indie" part of the scene.
Sometimes you just need to listen to something that is extremely predictable. Something that comforts you in your long-established tastes, way of life and dubious sense of dress. Something soothing, life-affirming, something that says "you are not alone" like in that Quarantine song. Something sentimental that makes the old heart beat. Something that sounds exactly like Doom for example (may be substituted with Discharge, Antisect or Amebix) and Relief does exactly that. And I mean in every way, without flinching or trying to bring something original to the table. From the opening of this demo tape, the educated listeners instantly know what Relief are on about, the very name Relief already being a gigantic clue anyway. If you did not see that coming, you not only lost a not inconsiderable amount of crust points but may also very well be on the dangerous track of becoming a poser. Sort your shit out pal.
I am not completely sure about Relief's location but since this demo was recorded in a studio called Strange Matter apparently located in Richmond - it was shut down since though - I would venture that this three-piece were from Richmond. Yet another great piece of clever investigativeness on Terminal Sound Nuisance. I am not very familiar with the Richmond punk scene but I have been told that there were some solid noizy bands over there and quality acts like Destruct and more especially Future Terror do point in that direction and caught my attention. I would not be surprised to read that some of the Relief members are or were somewhat connected with them.
Because of the overall lovable amateurishness of Relief - and I write this in the best way possible - I would endeavour that they were probably a side-project to a more serious and established band that may have been born after a boozy session when someone just exclaimed: "Let's do a band that sounds just like early Doom". The eight songs making up the tape are saturated with delightfull Doomness. From the opening of "Perect world" (!) to the obligatory referential "Relief Pt VI", the tape perfectly refers to and emulate the gruff and raw early days of Brum's favourite cavecore unit. There are also clear smelly hints of other classic European Doom-loving bands from the 90's like the mighty Hiatus so that on a metatextual level, Relief are as much a tribute to Doom than a conscious and self-aware tribute to the 90's art of Doom-loving, placing the band in the long tradition of Doom love epitomised by the aforementioned Hiatus or Japanese crust bands like Abraham Cross, Macrofarge or Mindsuck, a country where Doom love is strong, idiosyncratic and seemingly immortal indeed. They are a tribute to the tribute as much as just a tribute if you will and, if anything, Terminal Sound Nuisance is first and foremost a place where punk romanticism can shamelessly expressed itself and Relief's upsurge of respectful Doom mimicry does pertain to this field.
The sound on the demo is raw, direct and there is an undeniable feeling of urgency. I cannot really tell if the band consciously decided to sound as basic and primitive in a "Alright then, we've got six hours in the studio, let's record as many songs as we can and piss off to the pub as soon as we can". I feel this rather primal approach to the already primal subgenre actually benefits the songs and I do find, again, that sloppy but genuine very-late-80's/early-to-mid 90's feel of early Disrupt, Hiatus, Macrofarge and Co. Maybe Relief went even further into the meta side of prehistoric Doom love with their actual tape. The first side of my copy is actually in mono while the second one is distinctly lower. It might only be my own copy but I like to think that Relief, through the intentional bungle, are also paying tribute to such ancestral mistakes that were very common in the old world of passionate Doom-ish crust tapes. But it might only be wishful thinking. Romanticism indeed.
The tape looks fine and there is a proper double-sided insert included with the lyrics and scribbled bottles of special brew (I assume). It is a pretty rare artifact as far as I can tell and, if you are not particularly keen on a highly referential unoriginal '88-'89 era Doom tribute band or a highly referential unoriginal tribute to the 90's tribute to '88-'89 era Doom sound, you may not like Relief that much. But if you are actually a stylish person, then Relief is for you. I know it is for me.
DIY or fucking die
No comments:
Post a Comment