Takin' A Ride

Asta Kask – Sweden: I guess I may as well start off with the oldest one first. Probably many of you already know about this band, as they’ve been reviewed in the punk zines forever. They formed way back in 1978 and call themselves “trallpunk”. They play melodic punk and have been covered by many bands and they even had a tribute band dedicated to their songs. For a band that’s been around for so long, it’s pretty impressive that they have had such great consistency in their musical style (i.e. they haven’t done an acoustic album or anything like that, as far as I know) and songs (all catchy, lots of sing-along moments, fast tempos, loud guitars).
Asta Kask – “Jag Mot Allt”

Negazione – Italy: I originally wasn’t even going to put these guys on the list as they have a couple songs that are in English, but considering that they were the first (mainly) non-English speaking band that I got into way back in ’86, they’re in. Full on hardcore with some metal thrown in. Think Poison Idea with some early Metallica here and there. They got a good strong presence on bandcamp, where you can get a whole ton of live albums for “name your price” (as is the case for many of the bands on this list).

Toni Crimine – Italy: Ok, now onto the bands you probably haven’t heard of. Here’s another Italian band. They’ve been around for 20 years and are still going at it, with an album called “3” that was released last January. Toni Crimine play some excellent punk rock. Emphasis on “punk”. Emphasis on “rock”. Emphasis on “excellent”. GBH meets AC/DC.

Les Lullies – France: Kind of cheating on this one too, as they have a few songs in English, but they’re a great band and I may as well give them some publicity. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys a couple times a year or so ago when they came to California. And a couple times weren’t enough. As usual, other people can describe them better than I can, so here’s the spot-on description taken from their bandcamp page: “Aussie punk styles a la FUN THINGS and the classic American riffery of REAL KIDS bowing down to make out with Little Richard’s ringed fingers“.

Lùlù – France: Another French band, but this is different from almost everything I have posted (and will post) so far. Kind of jangly power pop, with some great arrangements and background vocals. In an interview with Remember The Lightning blog, the singer said “I use ‘power pop’ when describing our music because it’s the main inspiration for our sound and it’s such a vast definition. I would add that ‘hooky,’ ‘catchy,’ ‘sweet,’ and ‘energetic’ are all perfect words to describe it,” On the surface, this shouldn’t really work for me (“sweet”?), but it has a charm to it. Half the lyrics are in French, other half in Italian. I reviewed this album here. And here’s a song for you to listen to now:

Thunderroads – Japan: Ok, now I’m really cheating, as these guys do have a lot of English titles to their songs. But they are from Japan and they rock. Big time. MC5-type of rock. High energy, hard hitting songs and solos. That’s all you need.

Negracalavera – Spain: Full on action rock, with great songs and wailing solos. One of my most listened to bands of the past year. On their last 2 EPs, they’ve really gotten their sound down. One of the most rockin’ perfectly produced recordings I’ve ever heard.

The Etters – Netherlands: One of the newer bands on this list, but that doesn’t mean they don’t “got it”. Female fronted full on punk rock. Mainly influenced by the Ramones, but also lot of other punk bands from the ’70s. All of their songs are under 2 minutes and half of those are under 1 minute. Short and to the point, fast and loud. Highly recommended.

Nära Döden – Sweden: A little post-punk. A little new wavey. A little bit like Lùlù, but in Swedish. Not totally my thing, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be yours.

Nära Döden “Missar Tag”

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant – Japan: Another band you’re probably familiar with, but they need to be mentioned in a list like this. I believe they got their name from a mistranslated “Machine Gun Etiquette” from the Damned’s 3rd album. And that’s kind of what they sound like. A Japanese version of the Damned from ’79 maybe mixed with the MC5 and Stooges. Though they were only around for about 12 years, they were extremely productive, releasing a number of albums, singles, and compilation tracks.

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant – アウト・ブルーズ

Eh, Mertxe! – Spain: I discovered these guys via the excellent Folc Records label. What the heck is going on in Spain?! There’s a ton of excellent quality bands coming from there. And these guys are near the top of the list. Rock with punk leanings, but also some pop leanings. Without being “pop punk”. Just catchy high energetic songs. Along the lines of Eddie & The Hot Rods, which is perfect.

Rojo Omega – Spain: See!?! Speaking of kick ass bands from Spain, here’s yet another one! Powerful riff rock ala the Supersuckers and Electric Frankenstein.

Baffes Ou Torgnoles – France: Fast hardcore ala Discharge with a little more melody and some mosh parts thrown in. Just when you think every kick ass riff has already been written, Baffes Ou Torgnoles comes around to give you some more.

El Pibe Barracuda – Argentina: As far as I can tell, these people have 2 albums out. One is a tribute to the Ramones and the other to Dee Dee Ramone. Yes. All in Spanish. They translated all the songs and sing them in Spanish. But you actually know what they are singing about, because you already know the words to the songs. A weird twist that may have your head spinning around a little.