Lost and Found 7 – Kronstadt, Ogro and I Giugliola
Seventh episode of Lost and Found: three different genres of punk!
For this episode of Lost and Found, I would like to present to you, for no particular reason, three records of three quite different genres, from three different places on the European continent… maybe they have something in common, maybe not.
As far as I’m concerned, I simply liked them and I really think they deserve at least one listen, then it’s up to you! Enjoy reading (and listening)!
Kronstadt – Quai de l’Ouest
A couple of months ago, quite by chance, I came across the latest release by the French band Kronstadt from Lille, entitled ‘Quai de l’Ouest’. Intrigued and attracted by the band’s name (I’m a simple person: I recognize a reference and I dive into it, as the second band in this article confirms) I put on my headphones and pressed play. The first chords start, followed shortly by a pressing rhythm, the voice starts, simple structure: verse-chorus-verse with some very short solo in the middle. Ok the first track is gone, they almost convinced me, but I’m curious, I want to understand the lyrics. Relying on Bandcamp and an online translator I start deciphering song after song. Result: already at the first track, when I got to the verse “Comme un feu de flammes, on brûle d’envie d’exploser“, I was convinced and bought the album in digital format… I said before, I am a simple person after all.
Leaving aside my silly thoughts here’s to you some overall comments: ‘Quai de l’Ouest’ is a tasty record, it doesn’t bore, when it seems that the tracks start to resemble each other there is some variation that keeps the curiosity alive, the lyrics are interesting and well written. An excellent taste of French punk.
A band to keep an eye on (on Bandcamp, they are not present on other social networks) under the theme ‘Amour & Anarchie’. What else should I add?
OGRO – S/T
Always in my random wanderings around the web, I come across this video on youtube…
Immediately I think… IF THEY ARE CALLED OGRO THEY CAN NOT BE SPANISH, SURE THEY ARE BASQUE. While I’m mumbling, I click play… Ok, if before I took you to France with quite melodic punk sounds, now we are in Euskadi, immersed in a wild punk with a good dose of hardcore.
In this case, I can’t find the lyrics, poking around, with a minimum amount of effort because even in this case the band is allergic to social networks (after some days that I wrote this article I found they have a new Instagram account) I can understand that the band comes from Bermeo, Euskadi precisely, and that there is a physical format of this album: 250 copies in audio cassette format with printed bag, cassette holder, booklet, pins, and various gadgets. Pure DIY, that’s amazing!
As for the music: rough vocals, pressing the rhythm, pounding bass and drums, lashing guitars… 6 tracks for 11 minutes that pass too quickly.
If you like hardcore and DIY this is a pearl not to be missed!
I Giugliola – Oh povero te!
Here we are at the last record of this Lost and Found, after two foreign releases I come back home. Once again, we change genre, discovering the Polp-Rock of Giugliola, a band from Verona. The band’s sounds can be distracting and confusing, as we go from a 4/4 track to a 9/8 one… Don’t jump to conclusions, they play Polp-Rock but the Giugliolis have a real punk soul. Click on play, let yourself be captured by the first arabesque notes of the record and you will be immediately catapulted into the ‘great discomfort’ of the Veneto province. Congratulations to I Giugliola for having dedicated this first song to Caldiero, a pleasant village and at the same time a symbolic non-place in the deep Veneto province…
Each track on the album tells a story, in a funny and irreverent way. The lyrics juggle puns and uncomfortable truths, delivering a precise blow to the tranquillity of everyday life. Trust me, the next time you have a coffee at the bar, nothing will be the same.
Musically the album is very varied, between choruses and solos you will never get bored! A good bass that pushes, drums always precise, keyboards with the right amount of psychedelia, solid guitars, and a voice always ringing that accompanies us from one story to another, nothing is really missing! Excellent musical quality for a really complete and well-made album.
Oh poor you, if you didn’t know Giugliola yet, know them now!
Article by Max
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