Still Believing in ANOK: Kochise "Dans le meilleur des mondes..." Lp, 1997

Let's get real for a second. Terminal Sound Nuisance has become this massive undertaking that is slowly consuming my social life and my eyesight, ruthlessly testing my stamina, gauging how resilient I can be with average crust music and how long I can endure tuneless d-beat raw punk bands and poorly executed faux anarchopunk without overdosing. Forget the labours of Hercules - that half-god, half-man, total mercenary wanker - would not be able to pull out a decent review of a third-rate Doom cover band or see the difference between '86 and '87 Antisect. That poor unsubtle bastard would probably not even know the difference between Dischange and Meanwhile! And he is supposed to be a hero, just because he strangled some kind of snake and hunted a wild pig? Now, are you having a laugh? Bloggers are the true heroes of today (and "content creators" are the scum of the Earth and the real super villains in case you are wondering) and I should be the one people carry down the street chanting my name. But as heroic as I have been for the past 11 (!) years, I realize I have never written about a proper French punk-rock band. The time has now come. That'll teach ya Hercules.

It is not easy for me to reflect about that kind of sound because, on the whole, I have never been much of a fan of French punk-rock. In fact, I don't really like the sound of the French language when used in punk-rock. There are meaningful exceptions but as a general rule, on principle, out of common decency even, I am going to dislike it before actually listening to the band. A bit like an annoying kid who won't taste vegetables, just because he won't, no need to give further arguments. I cannot even pretend to have experienced some sort of trauma, one that would involve being abducted by a demented fan of Bérurier Noir and subsequently forced to listen to Souvent Fauché, Toujours Marteau! for a whole week (an experience akin to an execution of the senses and only an absolutely heartless maniac would do that to a fellow human being). French punk-rock is not well-known outside of the French-speaking world and, to be honest, that can be for the best. Just look at the legions of mediocre French oi bands that have perverted once perfectly sound punk brains on an international scale. Damaging to say the least, fortunately the worst of them have been successfully contained (so far). 

However, as harsh as I know I am with our national punk traditions, some French punk bands are genuinely good and deserve to be praised outside of the cheese-eating world. Enter Kochise, the epitome of French-style anarchopunk. I was lucky to catch Kochise - the name comes from Cochise the name of a famous Apache leader and unsurprisingly the Parisians had a few songs about the political struggles of Native Americans - in 2003 (I think) just before they split up. It was on a beautiful Sunday evening and at that time the band had a mandoline (or was it a banjo?) which, I have to admit, did not strike me as being a particularly good idea since, as everyone knows, such instruments clearly belong to the category of "forbidden instruments in punk music" as stated in the Punk Bible (the Old Testament if you want to check). But it did make the gig quite memorable and, well, enjoyable. The lyrics were great, I could actually understand them without pretending, and they had some great tunes. Despite a plentiful supply of terrible bands, we do have an old tradition of strong female-fronted punk-rock bands with political lyrics in France, La Fraction (a band I rate very highly) being undoubtedly the most famous. Approaching Kochise through this prism is definitely relevant and it makes sense to see the band as a part of the same dynamics and creative political drive as Psycho Squatt, Haine Brigade, Heyoka or Verdun, bands that you are probably not familiar with because you decide to lose your time listening to ghastly bollocks like Komintern Sect or Tulaviok. 

So why pick Kochise as part of a series about the survivance of the old-school anarchopunk sound? Well, I feel the band is a great example of a successful adaptation of the classic UK anarcho sound and stance in a different punk tradition and context, in this case quintessentially French punk-rock. While I can pinpoint influences and roots in the aforementioned British past, Kochise nevertheless sound like a French punk band for many reasons. Their use of unusual instruments is one (sax, for instance, was a pretty common tool, or torture method, in French punk-rock); the very specific way the two vocalists place their voices, the accentuation, the prosody overall and the distinctly revolutionary-sounding chorus to be sung along to; the other genres the band borrow in the songwriting like reggae, French chanson or alternative rock; and of course that vibrancy and emotional tunefulness that can work so beautifully but also end up sounding corny. On that level, the work between Géraldine's powerfully epic and tuneful voice (she can actually sing, which is not something I write to often on this blog) and Cyril's streetwise spoken tone is admirable and worthy of your investigation if you are a fan of global anarchopunk music with the classic male/female vocal structure.

If Kochise make sense in this line of French anarchopunk like Haine Brigade or Psycho Squatt, I would argue that using a broader perspective can also be helpful. It would be a little far-fetched to convoke older obscure UK bands like Sanction or Eve of the Scream because not many people had even heard of them in France by 1997, but early Conflict (with whom they toured in France in 1994 and they would also tour with Schwartzeneggar the year after) would almost certainly have been an inspiration although Kochise never hit quite as hard (they were able to write fast-paced numbers though) and bands like The Sears or even Decadent Few, for the sake of description, could be mentioned as well (but again the relevance could be questioned). Dans le Meilleur des Mondes (the band's second album) is clearly rooted in the 90's however so that looking back to the previous decade may not teach us much. To keep a British frame of reference, Kochise's music and versatility is not unlike that of bands like PAIN or AOS3 in spirit who were working on a fusion of traditional anarchopunk and reggae dub, while the intense emotional-yet-angry side of the band really reminds me of the cruelly underrated One By One. But I am sure other people would hear other things and my rather limited knowledge of French punk-rock may impair my usual omniscience and omnipotent sense of analysis. 

Last but not least, the Lp comes with a massive booklet that reeks of the 90's anarchopunk spirit and its way of communicating and presenting ideas. The booklet includes the lyrics, articles, pamphlets, addresses, context, lists of contacts, artworks, and is just as important as the music itself when you consider Dans le Meilleur des Mondes... as a whole discursive entity. The music is great and accessible but without the notebook, it would not tell the same story. This kind of booklet so emblematic of 90's anarchopunk has almost vanished nowadays and you could argue that the internet and the wealth of information and political database it contains has made the initiative behind such an object rather pointless. I understand the point but when you look at some 90's anarcho records and see the love, the care, the belief that must have gone into the making of these booklets (they really do look like political punk fanzines), it still makes one wonder. Kochise's lyrics are sharp and combative in nature and tackle a wide array of topics (from the democratic circus to state surveillance and Orwell and revolutionary hopefulness). Some songs, notably about feminism and sexism, are still as relevant today as they were 25 years ago or even ahead of their time, which is rather sad when you think about it. 

From what Discogs tells me - our modern Pythia when it comes to records - it should not be too difficult to grab a copy of what is one of the best French anarchopunk works from one of its most iconic contestants, de Paris s'il vous plait.     

Dans le meilleur des mondes...