Wednesday 28 August 2019

Sonatas in D Major (part 2): The Perukers "GBG 1992" Ep, 1993

First, let's talk a bit about etiquette. 

In a genre that relies so much on references and on dischargian knowledge to be really effective - if not enjoyable at all - it makes sense that the practice of covering either Discharge or a band influenced by Discharge is a critical one. And of course, doing it right is a complex task that has to be taken seriously. Picking too obvious a song to cover (like "Hear nothing see nothing say nothing" or "Why" or "Warmachine" or "Police bastard" for instance) does not come recommended. Older bands have already done it and better. The only situation where I can see it working would be if you are not a d-beat band and the choice of covering a Discharge song is a little unexpected. In this case, it does not really matter what song you chose. So unless you are under these specific circumstances, I would not advise picking a dis anthem that is too famous. Indeed, choosing a song that is deemed a minor classic by the-cool-kids-who-know-their-shit (you know the ones, they are usually standing at the back, arms crossed, taking mental notes about the band and examining if it plays the right kind of punk music, and they are usually not actual kids) will make you and your band look well-read and aware of the protocol and you should be able to charge a bit more for your demo (if it is on tape, a cdr will be heavily frowned upon). However, do not select too obscure a song. Covering a song that no one knows makes people feel uncomfortable and insecure about their self worth and punk knowledge and will make you look pretentious, but this time not in a good way (and it will probably indicate that you first heard it on youtube, which is unacceptable). Basically, go for Disarm instead of Total Armsvett. Another, more subtle and clever way, to pay tribute to the good d-stuff is to re-use riffs or arrangements or lyrics or visuals from classic discharge-y hardcore bands in order to notify the cool kids that you are one of them without having to literally cover a song. Again, be careful, if the nods are too easily perceived, it can work against you and make you look like you are trying too hard to look cool (which is the exact opposite of good taste). Unless the plainness is ironic and self-conscious which makes the calculated heavy nods primarily about the process of referentiality and highlight your awareness of the intertextual game. It's an endlessly tough business.



Of course, you can also choose to play it like The Perukers, not give a single fuck and record three obvious covers of Discharge, Shitlickers and The Varukers in three hours. It is probably much funnier as well.

Were The Perukers an actual band? Well, it really depends on your definition of what a punk is or should be. Since they only played one live gig ever and recorded only twice in eight years, I think we can safely say that The Perukers were more akin to an entertaining, enjoyable side project for all the members involved (who were all part of more serious and committed bands), basically something to do when they had time to kill in the studio and were craving to play simple and brutal hardcore punk. I am not completely sure as to who did what exactly in the band but it was made up of Chris, Rigo and Robert from Driller Killer - the latter playing in Anti-Cimex at the time as well - and John from Black Uniforms (apparently Cliff was also involved but his role is a bit unclear as far as this Ep is concerned). With such a lineage, one is entitled to expect beefy, hard-hitting and heavy hardcore music from experienced Swedes and of course one is not disappointed.



The name kinda sucks I suppose. Captain Obvious informed me that it is a massive nod toward The Varukers so let's stick with that. I guess you could say that the name "varukers" kinda sucks too. After all, it is a spelling alteration of "verrucas" and while I am sure it looked like a very appealing idea to their teenage selves, at the end of the day it still refers to plantar warts, we just don't think about it because The Varukers are a classic band. So The Perukers means, in Swedish, "the wigs". Pretty silly I guess, but then it might have been an inside joke between them because judging from band pictures of Driller Killer or Black Uniforms they all had really great hair at the time (in a cheesy metal way) so perhaps people wondered if they were wearing wigs or something. I know I am wondering and it was 30 years ago. But anyway, as mentioned there are three covers on GBG 1992 from The Varukers ("Protest and survive", which was the original spelling of the song on the self-titled 1981 Ep), Discharge ("Protest & survive") and Shitlickers ("Spräckta snuttskallar"). There are many enormous D-Easter eggs on the Ep, from the title referring to Shitlickers' GBG 1982, to the "thanks to no fucker!" on the backcover (if you don't know where that comes from, you must leave your Card Membership on my desk tomorrow by 9:00 am, sorry not sorry), the cover itself depicting two punx wearing studded jackets looking at a nuclear explosion that is the same as that of Mob 47's "Nuclear attack" design, the use of the Varukers font or the picture of a Shitlickers shirt on the label of the side B. The thing is ripe with references, some are grotesquely clear, others a little more subtle, but in the end you can see that the band had a lot of fun doing that and it also shows in the music. Of course it sounds a lot like early Driller Killer being drunk in the studio and still effortlessly nailing four songs before heading back to the pub. The production is quite clear for the genre (it was recorded at the metal-oriented Fredman Studio), the guitar sounds great and thrashes its way through these classic hardcore anthems, everything is highly energetic and even the sloppier parts in the vocals do not diminish the mean, aggressive intensity that The Perukers managed to unleash (the chorus on "Spräckta snuttskallar" is insanely powerful). Being a big fan of early Driller Killer's scandi hardcore style and considering the first two albums Brutalize and Total Fucking Hate as classic 90's hardcore records, of course I have fun listening to GBG 1992, and that's probably what The Perukers intended to produce, a nasty, punk as fuck tribute to some early greats with a metal punk touch. Even their own composition, "Burn out", sounds like a cover of an 80's hardcore band. 

The fact that this Ep was released on Distortion Records (it was the label's second piece of wax and the sleeve design was done by none other than the label's owner) also motivated its inclusion in the Sonatas in D Major series as the label played a major role in the 90's in the development of Discharge-loving Swedish hardcore and crust. I am too young to have known the glory years of Distortion but I was told about its significance many times by a couple of old-timers and even the briefest look at the discography (Anti-Cimex, Disfear, Wolfpack, Driller Killer, Skitsystem, the reissues of Shitlickers, Mob 47 and Moderat Likvidation, Disfornicate... ok maybe not them) can show how important it has been for a whole generation and a series about d-beat without a record from the Distortion catalogue would have been utterly preposterous (I received death threats for much less). The legend has it that Mats, founder of Distortion records, glued Why to his turntable when it came out because he loved the record so much. I have no idea if this is a true story but it is definitely a very romantic one (though it's kinda impractical) and in the end D-beat is a very romantic subgenre. The Perukers released a second Ep on Distortion in 2001 entitled Disploited with covers from GBH, Doom and The Exploited. Not quite as much fun to get into to be fair but you know what they say about sequels.  





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