Steven Jones + Fluid Japan: Transmission – US – DL [2026]
Transmission 5:09
Wouldn’t you know it, but I was flying to Cleveland hours after Steven Jones + Fluid Japan dropped their latest stylish opus. I bought it immediately in the Bandcamp app on my personal device, but as I didn’t pack phones, it remained until we returned home from the trip on Wednesday night when I could download the track to my Record Cell and give it a proper listen in the car this morning on the commute. And that’s my loss!
The vibe here had a late 70s throwback with the laidback Fender Rhodes electric piano of Jones coiling throughout the song. The sound seemed to gene-splice the feel of “The Bride Stripped Bare” sent through a wormhole into 1993-1994 with atmospherics that built up the edifice around Steven Jones’ performance taking their cues from the Robin-Trower-In-Deep-Space chilled atmospheres of later Ferry opii such as “Taxi” and “Mamouna.”
The sound perfectly complemented the emotionally numb lyrics from Mr. Jones as he delivered them with a detached elegance that belied the stakes in this song. And the secret weapon on this single was definitely the even more chilled backing vocals by Heather Heimbuch of Fluid Japan that acted as a desolate echo of Mr. Jones.
“Whispers fading on the other side On the other side System failing, the lights go dim No explaining No game to win No game to win
This is my last transmission This is my last transmission If you’re out there If you’re still listening This is my last transmission”
Transmission
Meanwhile the rhythm programming and synth atmospherics of Todd Lewis added further eddies of disquiet to the synth syncopations dancing with the drum programming. A palpable sense of unease that was doubled down on by his coup-de-grace eBow guitar. The rhythms came to a terse halt in the song’s climax, leaving only the atmospheric drones, now brittle and cold while shorn of their surroundings, to bring the void at the center of the song right up to our faces as the song’s death-rattle.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
The second Steven Jones + Fluid Japan single staked out a drastically different style to the first one, and it makes me impatient to hear what other strange delights that they have cooking on the back burner yet to come. Though Mr. Jones is the vocalist, his keyboard stylings also added a daring sense of Funk to this slinky delight. And I hope that Ms. Heimbuch has more to offer on the further material to come as her spectral counterpoint here was perfection.
The track is “you-price-it-you-bought-it” at Bandcamp, but smart shoppers might want to avail themselves to the “all you can eat” musical smorgasbord of all 24 Fluid Japan singles for the insane price of $4.61! And how exactly did they arrive at that number???! Sensible listeners should be aware that all of that music is worth a lot more than the risible asking price! Myself, I’ve invested a few dozen fistfuls more and consider my deal a bargain. DJ hit that button!
Steffanie Chriati’an made sure that “Blues For Allah” really sounded like The Blues
[…continued from last post]
The next part of the evening was a leap into the unknown for me. A complete run through of the “Blues For Allah” album by The Grateful Dead. I’d heard four or five Dead songs on the radio or television in my time and I’d never heard enough to find an affinity within myself. If I had to pick a favorite it would easily be the funky Disco of “Shakedown Street.” A song that I’m guessing was [very] divisive to Deadheads. But I would not be one of those.
I had probably heard more live than studio recordings by the band as it was impossible to listen to college radio in the 90s and to not hear The Grateful Dead. And for the record I consider myself indifferent to the free-form jams that my ears told me made the reputation of the band amongst its devotees. So I was curious as to how this band’s interpretations would greet me this evening.
Truth be told I don’t think that The Grateful Dead ever sounded so good to me before. “Blues For Allah” was a melange of instrumental and vocal songs that gave most members of this large band a chance to deliver some hot solos. Guitarist Wayne Gerard was primary among these with a few solos high up the neck but on one of the songs I enjoyed how the solo careened from the top to the bottom of the neck for a bracing quality of extreme dynamism of the sort that I didn’t expect from The Grateful Dead. And with Ms. Christi’an delivering the vocals these “Blues For Allah” were really steeped in The Blues.
Luis Resto also played electric violin as well as keys this evening
Elsewhere, keyboardist Luis Resto shifted between piano and synths but for one song he picked up an electric violin for something a little more expansive. In a move that I would imagine never happened onstage with The Grateful Dead, the trombonist Vincent Chandler also got a solo during one song where he was playing through what sounded like a Mu-Tron envelope for maximum mindblow.
Vincent Chandler drove his trombone through an envelope for one solo
Vocalist Steffanie Christi’an brought grit and soul to the proceedings. Her leads on “Franklin’s Tower [Roll Away the Dew]” were a full flowering of gospel passion that I couldn’t imagine The Dead actually delivering. As a Grateful Dead virgin this song really stood out as something special here. And her physicality at the mic was magnified by her stage garb. Her fringed pants were a constant flurry of motion as she delivered the songs. Often removing her glasses as she was definitely grooving in the face of adversity!
Dave McMurray doubled on flute and sax this evening
Saxophonist Dave McMurray had an investment as deep as Don Was when it came to the music of The Grateful Dead. He had two volumes of reimaginings of their music in his “Grateful Dedications” series under his belt in the last five years and he was ready to move on this material. The fact that Mr. McMurray had been playing with Was and Resto for almost 50 years had laid an incredible foundation for tonight’s performance as he had a profound body of experience in pushing the boundaries of this music to new vistas with his solos, on both sax and flute.
The audience was a mixture of Deadheads in their tie-dye [even in the freezing weather], Jazz fans, and Was [Not Was] funkateers. The Dead fans were joyously taking selfies with the band behind them onstage. I could hear those fans all around me singing along with certain songs in hearing “Blues For Allah” so closely in the wake of Bob Weir’s death. This was maybe a bigger event for them right now as it was for this long-standing Was [Not Was] fan to be finally hearing their songs that would pepper this set.
When the conclusion of that album happened, there was a soft transition to the rest the show with the inclusion of “Loser,” a Jerry Garcia solo song, before the rest of the program happened. Then Ms. Christi’an took to the mic for “Midnight Marauders,” the single from the “Groove In The Face Of Adversity” album. Giving us some tough Reggae adjacent Funk to chew on as we went for the home stretch.
The smoking cover of Cameo’s “Insane” from their third album was a funky part of the evening’s climax
This was followed by something different. With drums and congas/percussion onstage by Messrs. Jeff Canaday and Mahindi Masai, neither of those players had taken any solos yet in the evening so they got a chance to create their own powerful dialogue with an improvisation that had a strong taste of Salsa as the set list called it simply “Drums And Percussion.” Then the pressure rose for the climax of the set when they next dug into the final track from their album, a cover of Cameo’s “Insane.” The syncopation of the rhythm guitar from Mr. Gerard and the horn section was making us get all sweaty on the dance floor. With torrid soloing by Mr. McMurray they next took things up a few notches further into the red with the peerless classic “Wheel Me Out!” This was a real gift from the gods!
The band delivered “Wheel Me Out;” an uncut Funk bomb from Was [Not Was]
Ms. Christi’an famously deadpanned the pure Dada lyric with foxy panache as trumpeter John Douglas took a fierce solo! I was getting my Was [Not Was] fix in a big way this evening! And then the band played a major hat trick of funk by pivoting back to The Grateful Dead canon [!] with “Shakedown Street!” Possibly the only Dead connective tissue that could follow “Wheel Me Out.” Steffanie Christi’an gave the funky strut of the track all of the bite it needed then managed to take it even further with some athletic high kicks on the song’s distinctive hooks to the astonishment of the crowd who added cathartic interjections of “woooo” to each bold move. Then the trombone had the last word as the band took it home.
Steffanie Christi’an made sure to kick out the hooks on “Shakedown Street”
Now it was time for the capstone to the evening; Don Was introduced the whole band, and told the audience that their final song would be a cover of The Impressions never more relevant song “This Is My Country” from their nearly sixty year old album of the same name. A well-chosen cover from the band’s new album. This band had provided an alchemy this evening that found common ground in Souljazz, Funk, and even Jam Bands this night through the expansive chops that this nine-headed hydra brought to the stage.
Don Was And The Pan-Detroit Ensemble gave way more than your money’s worth in concert
And then the house lights came up. It was two hours later but Don Was admonished one and all to stop by the merch table and say “hi” or if anyone needed a shoulder to cry on regarding Bob Weir, whether you bought something or not. I always buy merch up front and already had the T-shirt, but was more than ready to have a few words with an iconic musician from the Record Cell.
I saw more than a few fans with their copies of Was [Not Was] CDs and records in tow. I almost mentally kicked myself for not thinking to bring a CD along that could have fit in a jacket pocket, but the fact was that my copy of the “Robot Girl” UK 12” number one had been autographed by Was! This night it would be more important just to have a brief chat with the man. I got in the line and awaited my turn.
The well-wishers and grateful Deadheads were getting handshakes and hugs from Don as the line progressed. Then it was my turn as I introduced myself and gave him my card. I mentioned that I was a Cristina superfan who had been invited by editor Ian Birch to contribute a small piece to the “Cristina” book and I thanked him for his production on the incredible “Sleep It Off” album. “Possibly the finest album ever made,” as I put it to him.
I also thanked him for taking this band on the road as I was a Was [Not Was] fan dating back to 1981, who’d never had the pleasure of seeing that band live. I told him that this show had gone a long way in scratching that musical itch as we shook hands and I moved out into the single degree Cleveland night. Cruising home in a warm glow thanks to the magic of Don Was And The Pan-Detroit Ensemble. Take care not to miss this band. Personally, I can’t wait for the next time!
the nine-piece Pan-Detroit Ensemble had more than enough firepower to travel anywhere
So this was all down to my loved one asking me if I’d looked to see the concert calendar in Northeast Ohio before heading up there to visit family this week. I had not but when I did I was electrified to see that a very big catch was awaiting my ears at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland the night we arrived. I bought my ticket within 15 minutes of seeing the gig and a good thing, too since when I arrived at the club early last Saturday night I saw the “sold out” sign on the doors.
Admit it… if you saw this club in your neighborhood you’d want to be there
The cheerful club was delightfully old school in its setting in the Waterloo Arts district; surrounded by other pubs and small businesses. It was probably a 90 year old building, well kept and given some nip and tick under the current management to re-attain some of the vibe it probably had sixty years earlier. I entered the hallway to the showroom and stopped to peruse the merch. As I already had the “Groove In the Face Of Adversity” CD I only needed the T-shirt with that motto emblazoned on its front. I paid the lady, happy to see CDs and LPs in evidence, and made my way into the sold out club.
The Beachland Ballroom had that warm patina that only a well seasoned club attained. The violet lighting and glitterball made the medium sized stage pop and we didn’t have to wait long for the show to get underway. At eight o’clock sharp the band walked onto the stage; the nine members fitting snugly into the space.
Don Was was at the rear of center stage with his double bass and before the show began, he took the time to say a few words to the audience. Significantly, only one day after the tour had begun, Don’s bandmate in The Wolf Brothers, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, had died. Was had been asked to join that band on bass by Weir and had risen to the occasion. Playing tours with Weir since the band’s genesis in 2018.
While this tour with the Pan-Detroit Ensemble was centered around playing The Grateful Dead’s “Blues For Allah” album in its entirety to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the mood of the tour had shifted immediately due to Weir’s death. As Was told the audience, the gut punch of learning that Bob had died an hour before their second show on the tour delivered a blow that needed to be surmounted. The first thought was “how can we play?” But the joy of playing music was the way through the pain. Was told the audience how Weir himself had done it when Jerry Garcia had died, and now it was his turn.
“Hello Operator” was a fantastic Was (Not Was) deep cut to send us off
We would all be part of a communal healing process and the many Grateful Dead fans there tonight would be adding their empathy to the circuit we would form together. And with that Don and the band began playing. Be still my beating heart, the first song was the B-side to the Was (Not Was) debut single “Wheel Me Out!” I had been playing “Hello Operator” in my mind on the drive into Cleveland and that was what the band immediately delivered! It was a great pick as the song already had plenty of Jazz DNA in its makeup for this band to run with!
Steffanie Christi’an with Don Was
Singer Steffanie Christi’an was a powerful feminine counterpoint to original singer Sweet Pea Atkinson, with a full bodied voice that called back to Tina Turner minus the AOR tendencies that came later in life. The arrangement here harkened back to how I heard the song on the amazing late 80s live music show Night Music, with the three piece horn section driving the bus.
Next up was a song that was on the band’s “Groove In The Face Of Adversity” album in a live recording from 2024 in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. “You Asked, I Came” was a pensive instrumental that saw Ms. Christi’an exit the stage while the eight piece combo revisited the song that Don Was had written for the “BackBeat” original soundtrack in 1994.
Don Was spun his tale of Leonard Cohen and Iggy Pop for “Elvis’ Rolls Royce”
She rejoined the band for the next number, a second dip into the Was (Not Was) songbook. But performing “Elvis’ Rolls Royce” had never happened earlier, owing to the lead vocal by Leonard Cohen. On this evening, Don Was himself would take the lead vocal on the song but not before regaling the audience with the incredible backstory of the song and how it came to unite Leonard Cohen and Iggy Pop, who sang backing vocals on it.
Leonard Cohen called Don Was and said, “you’re friends with Iggy Pop, right?” “Yeah, sure,” was Was’ reply. “Well, the next time Iggy’s in L.A. will you bring him over to my house,” asked Cohen. Was responded with “he is in L.A., we’ll come over later.”
They got there and went into the kitchen and Cohen had been constructed a reply to a classified ad in the San Francisco Guardian that had said something like ‘…single female, nice looking (at least I think so), looking for a man with the benign nobility of Leonard Cohen and the raw severity of Iggy Pop.’ And Don was tasked with taking a Polaroid of the two of them, waving, from Leonard’s kitchen table. And that girl got it in the mail.
Then the band lit into the swanky Jazz groove of “Elvis’ Rolls Royce” in a manner not unlike the original album arrangement. With the lead groove being carried by the fluid sax of Dave McMurray and the soulful conga drums of Mahindi Masai. I had to say that Don Was acquitted himself admirably on the lead vocal there. Sure, sure. There’s only one Leonard Cohen, but I was very happy to have the song reach our ears in 2026.
Then came a treat for fans of the “Forever’s A Long, Long Time” album by Orquestra Was. With Steffanie taking the lead vocal in a Sweet Pea-free world we now inhabit. Giving it all the subtle grit and fire common to her predecessor as the band re-inhabited the song which had been an outlier from the post-Was (Not Was) era forward nearly twenty years to the Pan-Detroit Ensemble which was still to come.
I was perusing the schedule of a local performing arts center where I saw that there would be a rare Rock concert there right up my alley. I’m excited to see a concert in Asheville where I wouldn’t have to travel to attend, and it was by a band whom I haven’t seen live since their first big national tour in 1989-1990. Better yet, about a week prior I had just pulled the debut album by the band in question and had enjoyed it with the same pleasure I’ve always had when listening to it.
It was on the third Sire “Just Say…” sampler, “Just Say Mao,” where I had first heard The Ocean Blue. I took an immediate shine to the young whipper-snappers, who had still been in high school in Hershey, Pennsylvania when Seymour Stein came a-calling. Their first single was the glorious “Between Something And Nothing,” a dynamic song that still gives me frissons of pleasure after listening to it for over 35 years.
Their fluid cocktail of melancholy and Romanticism was always a huge win with their accomplished song craft and playing. And now they will be practically on my doorstep. And maybe yours as well!
I had wanted to write about this tour earlier than I ultimately have but the busy personal life takes its toll. Even as I write these words I am actually on vacation in Ohio and I usually eschew writing blogposts unless I am on my lunch hour at work. But I’ve managed to eke out some quiet time right now to get this done.
The Ocean Blue at Egyptian Theatre in Park City, UT
Even so we’ve posted too late to list the full tour date roster. The 16th through the 18th saw the band on a three night residency at The Egyptian Theatre in Park City, UT. From whence the band had posted this stage shot as shown above. But the rest of us still have a chance to hear this band’s gorgeous music.
THE OCEAN BLUE | FRIGID WINTER DAYS 2026 TOUR
Jan. 29 | Diana Wortham Theatre | Asheville, NC
Jan. 30 | Neighborhood Theatre | Charlotte, NC
Feb. 6 | Aggie Theatre | Fort Collins, CO
Feb. 7 | The Fox Theatre | Boulder, CO
Feb. 20 | The Historic Beacon Theatre | Hopewell, VA
Feb. 21 | The Birchmere | Alexandria, VA
Mar. 5 | Center For The Arts Of Homer | Homer, NY
Mar. 6 | The Bull Run | Shirley, MA
Mar. 7 | Daryl’s House | Pawling, NY
Join us a little later when we report back on our findings.
Leave it to Independent Project Records to reissue a title I had never heard of but now can’t imagine living without. Usually this means a Southern California Post-Punk band that never pinged my radar over the years getting their due, but this time the target for their reissue program was Mark and Clive Ives. A pair of British brothers who started making music for their own pleasure in the mid-70s without and thought of commerciality.
They holed up in their studio space-slash-Clive’s flat with their synthesizers, guitars, drum machines and percussive array making music on their own time and hoping not to disturb the tenant below. It originally took until 1982 for the Ives to release the first album by Woo, but apart from buoyant reviews in Melody Maker and the NME that this Monk never read [the scant money win my wallet was better spent on records, not expensive import UK press!] I had heard nothing of Woo – a name I associated with keyboard master Bernie Worrell, until late last year when I caught wind of this wonderful CD.
The original twelve songs of the 1982 LP are here, abetted by an extra ten tracks The Ives selected from their large body of work [which has never stopped] to make a complementary and expanded package which is released today by Independent Project Records. The packaging is in their usual folio design, but the letterpress element was relegated to the metallic ink over the less traditional four color offset. Necessary to replicate the vintage children’s book illustration [albeit remixed here into something more psychedelic] that inspired the title.
Independent Project records | US | CD | 2026 | SUN1USSECD
Swingtime 4:22
Pokhara – C.H. Revisited 2:47
A Wave 4:11
The Cleaner 2:36
Wah Bass 5:00
The Attic 2:40 video
Razorblades 4:13
White and Whiter Still! 2:37
Wapping 5:58
Life in Shadows 2:47
The English Style of Rowing 4:35
Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong 3:35
Lovelorn 2:54
Ruby Ruby 3:32
Rosehips 1:39
Tibetan Trains 3:47
It’s Love – Reworked 2:24
Baa Lamb 4:57
Twinkle Toes 2:00
Dobbins Lost His Coconuts – Revisited 1:09
A Western Sunset 2:33
The Very End of the Attic 3:46
When I first put this on I knew that I was in the presence of something that was more unique than my typical fare. The opening “Swingtime” had and evocative bass line with a shuffling rhythm track with synthesizers trilling off in the distance. The feel was European folk music; particularly when the pizzicato acoustic guitar entered the mix. Not long after followed by a series of spacy synths. It was music that was traveling in several divergent directions at once and somehow cohering into something quite beautiful.
The song lasted for 4:23 and just as one was prepared to delve further into its unique vibe, there was a hard cut to the next song! Almost provoking disappointment that the vibe of “Swingtime” had been hijacked by the repetitive folk-trance groove of “Pokhara + C.H. Revisited.” Which at its halfway point morphed from a cheerful cod-ethnic groove into something quite enervated and sinister, as drum box in high velocity burst into the music. Along with double picked guitar awash in reverb; as if a swarm of insects had overtaken the track.
Freeform synths careened through the intro to “A Wave” as the lazy Jazz guitar weaving through the track simply ignored their exotic energies. The appearance of clarinet, an under-utilized instrument if ever there were one, only served to brighten my mood. Leaving the song to come home to roost in a warm acoustic Jazz setting.
With a self-referential title like “Wah Bass” we got what we came for. Hearing this I couldn’t help but think that the Brothers Ives had been taken with Eno’s “Another Green World” and its use of Percy Jones on fretless. The clarinet added glints of light to compete with the subterranean pull of the namesake bass in the slow growing number. Attaining a very funky vibe here!
Having evoked Eno already, the only vocal number here, “The Attic” actually sounded like an Eno vocal number left off of “Another Green World!” You could play the song for an unwitting listener and easily convince them that this was newly unearthed Eno vocal song. It is a glorious and euphonious as anything Mr. Eno has ever committed to tape.
“Razorblades” opened in an almost foreboding fashion with minor key synth burbles with random waves until the waves of guitar [almost sounding like saxes were multiplexed along with them] gave the instrumental the feel of something that might have been on side two of Bowie’s “Low,” at least until they drifted off to leave the rhythm box and clarinet alone for a tete-a-tete.
The distinctive Roland System 100 sequencer and patches immediately gave “Wapping” the vibe of a track we’d recognize from the early Human League era. This one could have been part V of “The Dignity Of Labour!” The use of delay on the sequencer was the flashpoint of the complete break with Jazz that finally occurred at this point in the album. At least until the clarinet fought its way into the last movement of the song to change its complexion completely.
The double picked guitars of “Life In Shadows” almost reached for a frantic bazouki feel in its intro before settling down to gently strummed guitar with mellow clarinet floating above it. A rare piano joined the rhythm box, clarinet, and guitar for a truly beautiful flirtation with waltz time that could have lasted all night by my reckoning.
The winsome title track closed out the original album with fluid acoustic guitar all to itself this time. And with that we entered the bonus track zone. From the straightforward acoustic Jazz of “Lovelorn” to the rich ambience of “Ruby Ruby,” which flowed with a compelling blend of guitars and synthesizers.
“Tibetan Trains” sounded more like mandolins at work as they created a mantra for the scant hints of clarinet to swirl into like marbeling. “It’s Love – Reworked” was a confection with guitar surrounded by distorted harmonics. Glockenspiel and guitar formed a gentle pas-de-deux of Jazz on “Baa Lamb” that reached back to the pre-war era.
“The Very End Of The Attic” was the only later cut here that had quite the same uncanny blend of disparate elements that typically began a song with one vibe before it mutated into quite another. The stillness of the first third of shimmering ambience soon gave way to the peppy, percolating groove of the second third, with warm synthesizers bubbling under the hint of clarinet. Then the coda closed out the CD/track in a manner not entirely different from the way “Endless, Endless” functioned on Kraftwerk’s “Trans Europe Express.”
The invocation of Kraftwerk was not at all untoward for this disc. It really felt like the Brothers Ives had been soaking up early, bucolic Kraftwerk [especially “Ralf + Florian”] as well as the gentle parts of the first three Eno solo albums, with a strong nod to “Another Green World.” And the best influence of all at play here was the fact that the initial album was created without any commercial concerns at all! This was a rare music of unaffected innocence that becomes a balm for the person lucky enough to be listening to it. Especially in 2026! The arrival of this reissue could’t have been more timely.
Purchase options are reliably broad.
DL [24/44.1] – $12.00
CD – $15.00
2xLP [black] – $36.00
2xLP [clear] – $40.00
Each of the formats has the same 22 songs, so no one gets short-changed. Once I put this album on it beckons me to let it play all night long. it casts a compelling spell that I’m not eager to break. And the Ives have another 42 [!] releases in their Bandcamp store to investigate! DJ hit that button!
Buzzkill from [L-R]: Ronan Guaderat, Nolwenn Boyet
By the mid-80s I had turned into a Francophile due to the sad quality of the British music reaching my ears. I was terminally bored with House music and that’s all anyone and their pet ferrets were extruding in England’s green and pleasant land 40 years ago. I found that if I turned my attention across the English Channel I was getting some superb music in return. So for at least eight years I was soaking up a wide swath of French-language artists…at least until the French discovered Hip Hop.
Now that we’re fully in the DIY modern Bandcamp era, I’ve been happy to return to the shores of France once more with various French artists reaching my ears anew. This time with what feels to be an even better wave of material. Last Friday I was made aware of the duo Buzzkill; formed by bassist Ronan Gauderat and vocalist/keyboardist Nolwenn Boyet. Their second release follows on from November 2024’s “I” EP and I’ve been listening to it on a loop all day and why should I have all of the fun? Let’s get into it.
Bandcamp | FR | CD-R/DL | 2026
Buzzkill: Wasteland – FR – CD-R/DL [2026]
Shout 03:58
Deus Rex 03:28
Nowhere 02:59
Après la Pluie 03:50
There Must Be A Place 03:51
Wasteland 04:30
Isolation 04:31
When I first sampled “Shout” I was met with frantic tempo drum machine and howls of Mr. Gauderat’s metallic bass abetted with minimal synth drones. I was immediately referencing the great Métal Urbain for the vibe. So far so good, but music can sometimes stand or fall on the caliber of its voices. There is a certain sort of clichéd delivery that can render even the most aggressive music depressingly neutered. Thrillingly, this was by no means the case with Buzzkill.
Instead the singing of Ms. Boyet was in direct opposition to the frenetic, jackhammer electro thrash of the music. Instead of hectoring our ears with shouted slogans [though there’s nothing especially wrong with that – it has its time and place, such as right now] we had the brain stimulating effect of staccato tempo music with vocals floating above it that were highly legato in delivery! Ms. Boyet actually sounded as if she had been plucked from within a Jazz or Ethereal band and had been placed into some hostile new sonic environment. And it had the effect of pulling me deeply into the music from the very start.
In terms of vibe, it also took me back to the great, early Eurythmics B-side, “4:4 In Leather.” With the difference that Ms. Boyet was much more relaxed in her phrasing than Annie Lennox. Her delivery was so slack that she seemed to resist clearly articulating the lyrics in a less-was-more fashion. The songs here are split fairly evenly between French and English, for example, and most of the time don’t even register as one or the other! Within the intense and frantic music bed the vocals were more accurately described as an oasis of calm within a highly turbulent sonic environment.
“Deus Rex” had a deceptively languid intro but soon snapped into rigorous tempo with the deep fuzztone bass engaging in dialogue with the synth drones before the frantic hi-hats kicked in and the tempo really took off. With the drum machine only dropping out for a breather in the middle eight and the song’s crystalline climax.
The wailing synths were a bit richer in “Nowhere” for a thicker, more cinematic feel but the grotesque bass distortions that led to the song’s cold ending were still shocking and abrupt. Cavernous bass led in “Aprés La Pluie” [“After The Rain”] and the tempo here was merely fast instead of frenetic. The stark, instrumental middle eight dripped with drama until the final drum machine fills carried Ms. Boyet back into the song.
Distorted drum machine and baleful synths immediately created a threatening environment in “There Must Be A Place.” Gut bucket bass and trebly synths vied for our attention until the vocals began. The one lyric that leapt out of the mix for the entire album for me was the evocative “this world is just mess” while surrounded by warning klaxon synths.
A change of pace happened with the title track where heraldic organ patch chords were met by deep snarls of bass guitar; almost suggesting a bullfight scenario in the first minute of the song. Then the pulsating synths were joined with the pitiless hammering of the drum machine to fray our nerves. Save for the slow and mournful vocals from Ms. Boyet.
The closing “Isolation” paired police siren synths with a relentless four-on-the-floor drum machine and the paradoxically insouciant vocals of Ms. Boyet to restate the stylistic imprint of this unique album. The song rushed headfirst into its climax where the rhythm dropped out entirely to allow the synths to become unmoored and to end up floating gently into the ether.
This had been a bracing, compulsive listen. And there exist several ways for it to reach our ears. The band themselves are releasing the music on DL with the 24/48 files yours for €7.00. Then for the tangible among us, they offer a CD [edition of 100] for €10.00. If that calls to you then DJ hit this button.
DL/CD-R | €7.00/€10.00
DL/WHITE CASSETTE | €7.00
Ganache Records | FR | CASS | 2026
Meanwhile, French cassette label Ganache Records are offering a whitecassette tape version of the album on release on Saturday, January 17th, 2026. With DL or tape for €7.00. DJ hit that button!
DL/BLACK CASSETTE | €7.00
Couer Sur Toi | FR | CASS | 2026
But wait…there’s more! If you want more black than white, there’s a second black tape available [with DL] from Couer Sur Toi, also with DL for €7.00 out on Saturday. And their Bandcamp store list 8 copies left to sell, so if you want it dark, DJ hit the other button!
No matter what colors or formats you choose, Buzzkill are definitely a band to watch going forward.
I can’t believe it but here’s a “dual” Claudia Brücken post within 12 hours of yesterday’s but this is a quick one that needs to be out there as we’re trying to accomplish things here before we take a trip next week. Plus, this will probably sell out quickly. We just got the email from Electronic Sounds that their next issue with 7″ bundle features something you’ll want. A cover story on Propaganda’s ZTT years complete with a clear vinyl 7″ of “Dr. Mabuse” b/w “Duel.” And here’s the bait…they are new mixes by David Kosten, who has been making surround mixes for Claudia and Propaganda projects.
Now that I consider it, these are probably the 2025 stereo mixes that I have on the SDE Blu-Ray, but I’m already in and the wax and mag are always worth the £14.99 asking price. Thankfully, I had just the right amount of filthy lucre from CD sales in my account to pay. If this also has your name on it, then DJ hit that button! And come back for today’s planned scrawlings later on.
Post-Punk Monk 
