"This week's song is courtesy of the Czech indie rock label Free Dimension. The band is called Deverova Chyba and their latest album "Do Stran" was released this year. Here is the song "Heading For", or in Czech it would be called "Speje"." - Tim Krysko of Punk International
"Getting back into the regular flow of things, I have for display this week a band from Switzerland that recently caught my eye. They're a hardcore band called Fullstop and their latest album was released last year on the Swiss label Condor Records, called 2001 Fullstop Odyssey." - Tim Krysko of Punk International.
"A few weeks ago the music scene suffered a serious tragedy when a car accident involving members of Kemuri took the life of one member (Ryosuke Morimura) and injured several others. I was unable to give this tribute on time, but here it is now. I have been a fan of Kemuri since 1998 and I felt it was appropriate to give anyone interested a chance to hear what they've accomplished as a band. Here is one song from their 2002 album Emotivation (called "Bonfire"), one from Senka Senrui - one of the best ska albums of all-time in my opinion - called "Lullaby", and finally one from their 1998 album 77 Days, their anthem "PMA - Positive Mental Attitude"" - Tim Krysko of Punk International "Bonfire" from Emotivation (2002)
"Lullaby" from Senka Senrui (2000)
"PMA - Positive Mental Attitude" from 77 Days (1998)
"This past week, the Union Label Group in Montreal announced that they will be handling the North American release of the new Misconduct album United As One. United As One is already out in Europe on the band's own label Side By Side Records; Union will be releasing it in February Coincidentally, at the same time the announcement was made, Misconduct was the featured band on Punk International and I had just completed an interview with the band. This seems like a good time to give their new album a push. Check out the single "New Beginning" and look forward to their North American tour in the spring." Tim Krysko of Punk International
"A few days ago my girlfriend returned to Vancouver from her summer in Japan and she brought me back the new Husking Bee CD The Steady State Theory that has not yet been licensed for North America. Husking Bee is easily my favorite Japanese band, and this is their fifth album in my collection. The previous three Husking Bee CDs were licensed to Doghouse Records and I hope they get around to releasing this one as well. Until then, The Steady State Theory is available only on the Japanese label Toy's Factory, but their 2001 album 4 Color Problem is a must-have. The song I've selected is track eleven on The Steady State Theory, called "Ichodo-no Idea"." - Tim Krysko of Punk International.
"Less is a melodic political punk band from Izmir, Turkey. They were featured on a split CD with the Norwegian band Crash (who was featured here in June), released by a Turkish Distro called Crackpot. Less already broke up last year, which is unfortunate because they were definitely one of Turkey's finer assets. At least one ex-member has a new band now, but I don't know anything about it yet. The split only costs 4 Euros if you live in Europe, 5 for the rest of the world (not bad for a 20-song CD)." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Less - Pissed Off (MP3)
"I got this demo a while ago from a Swedish band called Jet Pilot. The label they belong to is Samuel Records from the Czech Republic, who appears to have released these songs as an eight-song EP called "Sessions With Him". Samuel Records has several Czech bands on their roster worth checking out as well. But for now, enjoy Jet Pilot." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Jet Pilot - See You Around (MP3)
"We haven't visited Latin America in several months, so this week here's a track chosen by Punk International's Brazilian correspondent Taú. The band is called Entrefuego, they're from Chile, and they do Spanish-language hardcore. Their latest CD is called 'Himnos de Esperanza & Frustracion' (translated as something along the lines of 'Anthems of Hope and Frustration'), released on a Brazilian label called 78 Life." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Entrefuego - En Contra de las Cenizas (MP3)
"Mínus is by far the best band on the Victory Records roster, in my opinion. I just finished up a great interview with their guitarist Frosti for Punk International, and felt inspired to give them a second showing in the International Spotlight (a track from their 2001 album "Jesus Christ Bobby" was in the February 6 edition of the spotlight) and give a nod to their excellent new album "Halldór Laxness". Mínus was out on the road this past May and June with Darkest Hour and Curl Up And Die. Look for them to come back to North America this winter." - Tim Krysko of Punk International
from "Halldór Laxness" Romantic Exorcism (MP3)
from "Jesus Christ Bobby": Chimera (MP3)
"France's punk rock veterans Burning Heads have a new album out called "Taranto" on the label Yelen Musiques (they previously released albums on Victory Records and Epitaph Europe. "Taranto" sees the band return to their punk rock and melodic hardcore roots, after a reggae album two years ago called "Opposite" provided a refreshing change of scenery. It's their best work yet, and comes fully-loaded with seventeen songs and four music videos." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Burning Heats - Autopilot Off (MP3)
Speaking of Punk International, the website has just gone through a spiffy new redesign. Check out the Country Profiles for an interesting read on the various national punk scenes.
"A couple months ago I was writing a history paper about the emergence of punk rock in China, and one of the bands I came across during that time was a Hong Kong band called King Ly Chee. I grabbed this mp3 from their website. It appears to be a song that's going to be on their first album that they're working on right now. The title is "Sau Kin Sau Mun", which is translated as "Sickened Eyes". It's an unmixed recording (and the vocals are going to be re-recorded), but still sounds rather good. Check this out if you've never heard HKHC or loud music screamed in (I'm presuming) Cantonese." - Tim Krysko of Punk International King Ly Chee - Sau Kin Sau Mun (MP3)
Adam: I forgot to post this last week. Expect two this week.
"Last week we posted the North American tour dates for Israel's Man Alive, and this week here's a track from the CD they're supporting, called "Work In Progress". This track is called "Over You" and can also be found on a split 7" with Useless ID available at Interpunk. "Work In Progress" can be purchased at Indie Vision Music." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Man Alive - Over You (MP3)
"We're returning to England this week for the sake of Giddy Motors, an abrasive but jazzy indie rock band from South London who are starting their US tour on July 3 in Madison, WI. The album they're supporting is called "Make It Pop"; It's available on Fat Cat Records and for sale at Interpunk. Here is one of my favorite tracks off it, called "Hit Cap"." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Giddy Motors - Hit Cap (MP3) Adam: Yes, this band and song were previously MP3 of the Week as well, however they rule enough to get a second mention. Click below for those tour dates.
"I went off topic last week, so to make up for lost ground I decided to double-feature the band I had lined up for this week. They're called Crash, and they're from Norway. The two founding members formed the band in prison, and they have since released a 7" and a 10" on their label Firefly Recordings. The CD, which shares its name with the 10", is called "Young Boy Can I Help You Through Your Exams", and it contains all tracks from both vinyl releases, plus an unreleased one. Here's a track from both the 10" and the 7", and of course both tracks can be found on their CD as well." - Tim Krysko of Punk International Crash - Forever But Ending (MP3) Crash - No One Is Scared (MP3)
Tim Krysko's taking a bit of a detour from the usual Spotlight this week. Look for international coverage to return next week. As always, you can check Punk International or look through the Spotlight archives to get your fix:
"Every once in a while I need to take my eyes off the international scene for a moment and give some of local talent a piece of this forum. I decided to break from convention entirely for this week's spotlight by focusing on a group that is neither punk nor international, because they're a hip hop group from my hometown of Vancouver. Even though musically the Sweatshop Union is far from punk, their lyrics and attitude are in line with any politically or socially aware punk band."
Check out the track "Don't Mind Us" and click below for Tim's full post.
"For some reason, whenever I say this band's name in my head I think of the "Mr. Sparkle" episode of the Simpsons. I tend to say Mr. Zippy in that stereotypical Japanese accent. Moving right along, Mr. Zippy's new album, their sophomore effort, is called "Ambition Is Critical" and it's out on Golf Records in the UK. I really like this track "Not Beaten"; I can't resist fast, catchy skate punk with rapid fire vocals." - Tim Krysko of Punk International
Mr Zippy - Not Beaten (MP3)