SUPERFLUOUS RECORDS

DOMINIC s/t 7" finally out!!!

2011-06-24T18:39:00.006+02:00

once again thanx to apocaplexy records for busting their asses off and getting this record done despite myriad of problems (original release plans [a split LP with traktor] being skipped, pressing plant fuck-ups, huge mail fuck-ups, not enough covers etc.). anyways, this is superfluous records # 10 and a another fine colabo with apocaplexy recs., not another record label and great northern records.

here you can listen to "skin deep" from the side A of this record:

this beautiful piece of plastic features two brand new Dominic tracks -- without doubt one of the finest scandinavian screamo outfits -- and is definitely your thang when you like JR Ewing, Traktor, Rumble In Rhodos & Catena Collapse. the nice folks from collective zine once wrote that dominic "is probably too melodic to be screamo, too screamy to be emo, but probably somewhere near post-hardcore or something like that." while this won't win the Pulitzer Price, it's a pretty accurate description ...

there's 500 copies in total, all on solid black vinyl and packed in a full colour cover. in the superfluous shop we offer 15 copies that come with a silkscreened patch (those were supposed to be the pre-order versions). if you want one of these beauties, hurry up >>>>> http://superfluousrecords.limitedpressing.com

schmelzer schreibt ne kolumne bei PA ...

2011-06-09T22:16:00.005+02:00

... und zwar heisst das ding SIEBEN ZOLL MUSIK und dreht sich thematisch mehr oder weniger lose um 7" singles. das ganze findet ihr bei partyausfall.de unter folgender url:

http://www.partyausfall.de/kolumne

froie mich über kommentare.

d.

WELTRAUMSCHROTT 7" out now!!!

2011-04-15T21:16:00.012+02:00

superfluous recs. # 11: WELTRAUMSCHROTT -- die platte mit dem cowboy 7"

-- zwei sonx feinster deutschsprachiger punk aus berlin, die nach den üblichen verdächtigen aus hamburg klingen ... single kommt mit downloadcode.
-- auflage: 500 (350 schwarzes, 75 grünes, 75 gelbes vinyl)
-- co-release mit folgenden labels: elfenart recs., atom park recs., john steam recs., mydelight recs., knick knack recs., matula recs.

hier als hörprobe der titel "asphaltcowboy" von der a-seite der platte:

bestellen könnt ihr das teil ab sofort über unseren webshop: http://superfluousrecords.limitedpressing.com

unrestrained live in nyc

2011-04-13T10:33:00.006+02:00

we like ...

heartfirst recs. interview ...

2011-04-08T19:33:00.003+02:00

... zum zwanzigjährigen. natürlich kein wort zu strain oder sparkmarker, hahaha.

http://www.radio-z.net/de/kultur-beitraege/themen/71153-heartfirst-records-das-diy-punk-hardcore-label-wird-20.html

review im TRUST für die UNRESTRAINED / REBARKER split 7"

2011-04-08T19:09:00.004+02:00

ENRICO + WELTRAUMSCHROTT ... LIVE.

2011-04-03T23:05:00.004+02:00

wow, seit langer zeit mal wieder konzerte mit den herren von ENRICO und den punx von WELTRAUMSCHROTT. letztere werden auf diesen shows ihre neue 7" single präsentieren, an der auch superfluous records beteiligt ist. weitere infos folgen asap.

08.04.2011 ----- ENRICO + WELTRAUMSCHROTT im riff, magdeburg

09.04.2011 ----- ENRICO + WELTRAUMSCHROTT + THE BRUNETTEZ im trickster, berlin

NEWS FROM UNRESTRAINED ...

2011-03-28T11:54:00.004+02:00

after the split 7" with REBARKER on our label, Portland, OR's hardcore warriors UNRESTRAINED have released another split on trip machine labs and will play some very interesting shows in NYC at the beginning of april. here's the info:

INCENDIARY / UNRESTRAINED - split 7"

This split 7" brings together 2 heavyweights of modern hardcore. Long Island, NY's INCENDIARY follow up their 7", LP and split 7" with Suburban Scum with 2 brand new songs of powerful political hardcore. Mixing together elements of many 90's hardcore icons such as INDECISION, TURMOIL and 108 but adding a modern twist. Portland, OR's UNRESTRAINED follow up their 7" and split 7" with Rebarker with 2 emotionally soaked songs showing their love for such 90's bands as THREADBARE and HARVEST. 7" includes digital download.
check www.tripmachinelabs.com for all sorts of crazy vinyl colour options.

UNRESTRAINED SHOWS IN NYC

-- April 8th - Brooklyn, NY ***** Indecision, Incendiary, Unrestrained @ TBA
-- April 9th - NYC ***** Unbroken, Indecision, Jesuit, Burning Love, Unrestrained, Psychic Limbs @ Santos Party House

highly recommended!

SPRFLS RECS # 10 ...

2011-03-21T19:39:00.004+01:00

Hell yes, a new record from DOMINIC -- one of Europe's finest post-punk outfits -- is on it's way. The two song seven inch single will be released as a joint effort by Apocaplecy Recs, Not Another Record Label and Superfluous Recs. The songs on this piece of plastic are new and exclusive (as for now, hahaha) and go by the names of "A new dawn" and "Skin deep". Stay tuned for more info on this release. Here's what the artwork is gonna look like:

REBARKER LIVE MAYHEM!!!

2011-03-17T15:51:00.006+01:00

veranstaltungstipps für alle nicht-facebook-freunde:

NUMMER EINS
-- 18.03.2011 // Scherer 8, Berlin // 2100: Buchvorstellung "Sober Living For The Revolution - Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge & Radical Politics" von und mit Gabriel Kuhn. (GÄHN!!!) // 2230: Konzert mit REBARKER und TBA

NUMMER ZWEI
-- 22.03.2011 // Zoro, Leipzig // 2100: Konzert mit GLASSES, REBARKER, DEATH RITE

NEUES REVIEW zur RBRKR/NRSTRND 7"

2011-03-16T16:41:00.008+01:00

neues review in der aktuellen ausgabe vom VICE:

REBARKER/UNRESTRAINED
Split 7"
Superfluous Records

Gute Unrestrained-Seite; der monumentale Furor wird dann aber doch insbesondere von Rebarker eingeprügelt. Man kann wohl sagen, angesichts der harten Entstehungsbedingungen— die Band residiert noch immer in Magdeburg—und der bisherigen Diskografie ist das hier deren bislang konsequenteste Radikalisierung von 90er Screamo- und Northcore-Standards in Allianz mit der brennenden Überwindung ihrer eigenen finstren Lebensrealität.

OTTO VON GUERICKE

hier nachzulesen.

REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" -- REVIEW!

2011-03-12T19:57:00.003+01:00

aus dem FUZE # 26 vom februar/märz 2011:

REBARKER on AIR ...

2010-11-18T15:26:00.001+01:00

on november 16th, the spanish radioshow CIUTAT PODRIDA played some tunes from the REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED split 7". they also talk a little about the record and stuff. go to http://ciutatpodrida.blogspot.com/ to check out this awesome fanzine/radioshow project and support these folks by leaving a comment on their blog! thanx.

listen to the program online:
http://podcast.radiobronka.info/?p=1213

download it here:
http://www.archive.org/download/CiutatPodridaRadioshow16112010/CiutatPodridaRadioshow16112010_vbr_mp3.zip

YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS ...

2010-11-14T16:26:00.004+01:00

as we are friends with the ENRICO folks we try to support them where ever we can. they just released a split 7" on elfenart records (http://www.elfenart.de) that you might wanna check out. here is the info from the label's website and a picture of the record:

Die Herren von ENRICO und BEN RACKEN verbinden vor allem zwei Gemeinsamkeiten. Zum einen ist da eine vollendete Kindheit/Jugend in der heutigen Landeshauptstadt Sachsen-Anhalts, zum Anderen die Liebe zur Musik. Beides ist in ihren Liedern irgendwie zu hören.
Traumatisiert vom martialischen Textgut der frühen MANOWAR-Alben und gleichermaßen fasziniert von der Schnörkellosigkeit und durchschlagenden Brachialität ganz früher RAZZIA und INFERNO liefern ENRICO hier "Golgatha" ab, eine Schlachthymne ohne Schlacht, kraftvoll/dynamisch, drückend, anklagend, jedoch in der Ganzheitlichkeit immer positiv.
BEN RACKEN kredenzen nach bereits zwei hervorragenden Langspielern einen exklusiven Doppelpack. Dieses Mal treten die 3 Jungs allerdings gehörig auf die Tuba. Das ist einfach mächtig sportlich-rasanter HC/Punk, jedoch nie ohne diese düster-melancholische Grundstimmung aus den Augen zu verlieren, die sie auf besagten Platten auszeichnete. Na klar werden hier alle Freunde schneller EA80 und Fliehende Stürme-Titel jubeln.

REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" -- OUT NOW!!!

2010-09-13T17:56:00.003+02:00

it took us ages but now it's done and everybody is happy. here's the info on our newest release ... sprfls # 09: REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7"

the inventors of the PNA (Positively Negative Attitude) are back! magdeburg's chaos-violence-machine REBARKER, bring us six new songs on this record that rather resemble pissed off all-out-war blasts than traditional hardcore songs. coming a long way, this five piece has perfected its mix of 90's hardcore, Bremen-style madness and (the very few good) screamo, combining all of these influences with their unique approach of playing raw hardcore fueled by desperation, rage and disappointment. being compared to LOXIRAN, THE SWARM and TRAP THEM in the past, this powerhouse proves once again that the edge has not gone dull.

portland's UNRESTRAINED name "the passion and intelligence of the 1990's hardcore movement" as one of their main influences. while they do sound somewhat like a modern mix of THREADBARE and HARVEST, they are by no means stuck in the past. lambgoat-dot-com reviewed one of their recent efforts as follows: "(the band) showcases a slightly more discordant approach with a touch of metallic influence that is reminiscent of '90s hardcore à la Indecision. And, oh yeah, they nail the sound." nuff said!

this record is limited to 313 copies. all records are hand-numbered and come with a cut-out cover.

pressing info: 17 x marbled vinyl 48 x white vinyl 48 x orange vinyl 200 x black vinyl single copies are 4,00 € plus postage.

for a limited time we are offering the following deals:

-- REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" + REBARKER -- "krähen" 7"
for 5,50 € plus postage.
-- REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" + ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRES split 7"
for 5,50 € plus postage.
-- REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" + VENEREANS / LOS PLATANOS split 7"
for 5,50 € plus postage.
-- REBARKER / UNRESTRAINED -- split 7" + the three seven inch records above
for 8,00 € plus postage.

please specify the vinyl color you want.

online store: http://superfluousrecords.limitedpressing.com/
website: www.superfluous.tk
email: lauramarshq@gmail.com

LIMITED EDITION for REBARKER "KRÄHEN" 7"

2010-06-08T22:57:00.007+02:00

the REBARKER "krähen" 7" is almost sold out now and has gotten very good feedback so far. when checking numbers the other day we found some leftover copies of that record without covers ... first we wanted to do a CHAIN OF STRENGTH ripoff cover, but then the band decided to go for a MAYHEM design. this is due to some strange comparsion made by an unknown drunkard. anyways, the idea was then presented to the people at dekorlabor / apocaplexy recs. who did not only come up with an excellent layout (just look at the lettering!) but also did the amazing 2/2c silkscreenprint on recycled paper.

there is 50 copies (black vinyl) of this one! order your copy for 5 € ppd via: heresy1972@gmx.de

I will leave you with some pix:

links

2010-04-03T23:14:00.006+02:00

apocaplexy records -- website | blog | myspace

refuse records -- website | myspace
not another record label -- website | myspace

ponyhell records -- myspace

adagio 830 -- website | myspace

elfenart records -- website
atompark records -- website

matula records -- website
knickknack records -- website
mydelight records -- website

rebarker -- myspace
los platanos -- myspace
dominic -- myspace
heks orkest -- website

weltraumschrott -- myspace

stuck in the past -- blog

double cross -- blog

REVIEWS: OX MAGAZINE

2009-12-17T08:04:00.003+01:00

again some reviews. this time in OX # 87 ( Dezember 09/Januar 10) ...

LAURA MARS

Vultures

LP | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Das Magdeburger Quintett LAURA MARS liefert mit "Vultures" eine Platte ab, der ein gewisser Neunziger-Jahre-Spirit innewohnt, die dabei aber nicht annähernd altbacken wirkt. Die Songs klingen wie eine Melange aus SxE-Newschool á la UNBROKEN oder NEWBORN und hardcore-punkiger Rumpeligkeit der Marke COMADRE. Obwohl die Zutaten alte Bekannte und übliche Verdächtige sind, wirkt die Scheibe insgesamt unheimlich frisch. Kommt mit ultraschickem Artwork und erklärenden Anmerkungen zu jedem Song. Ich kann mich erinnern, dass dies in den Neunzigern im Krachuntergrund noch Usus war; heute leider so selten wie ähnlich gelungene Rückgriffe auf Vergangenes wie dieses hier.

Konstantin Hanke

ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRE

Split

7" | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Die Magdeburger Kombo ENRICO spielt deutschsprachigen Punkrock, der keinen Wert auf stumpfen Suffpunk legt, sondern eher den Rock im Auge behält und sich damit sowie auch mit den guten, deskriptiven Songtexten deutlich in die Nähe von TURBOSTAAT gesellt. Von der US-amerikanischen Band ZILLIONAIRE gibt es einen irgend melancholisch-emoesquen Indierock-Song zu hören. Zwei recht unterschiedliche Bands, aber die QUalität stimmt.

Konstantin Hanke

LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS

Split

7" | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Zwei spanische Bands aus dem Garage/Punk-Bereich: LOS PLATANOS gehen dabei eher abgeschmackt-rotzig zu Werke, während die VENEREANS leichte Surf-Anleihen in den rumpeligen Sound einflechten. Zwei Songs pro Band, durchsichtiges, marmoriertes Vinyl.

Konstantin Hanke

REVIEWS: VICE MAG and ALLSCHOOLS

2009-11-25T11:16:00.005+01:00

we got some reviews for our records in vice magazine. read here or here:

LAURA MARS | Vultures 12" | Superfluous Recs

Wenn Laura Mars Love an die Magdeburger Aldi-Lowlifes senden würden, hätten sie vermutlich ein recht großes Publikum. So gibt es aber Props an die Magdeburg Straight Edge, was de facto bedeutet, dass sie sich selbst respektvoll die Hände schütteln. Völlig zu Recht übrigens, denn eine dermaßen präzise und leidenschaftliche Abarbeitung von Mitt- bis Endneunziger New School-Hardcore (inkl. Zegota, His Hero Is Gone, Snapcase und Shai Hulud) hat der ja bekanntermaßen sehr fruchtbare Bördekreis bislang noch nicht hervor gebracht.

KARL TOFFEL

LOS PLATANOS/VENEREANS | Split 7" | Superfluous Recs

Ich kann mich noch dunkel an diesen Klassenfahrt-Sommer an der spanischen Ostküste erinnern, der nicht zuletzt wegen des seinerzeit grassierenden Eurotrash-Hypes zu den kulturellen Tiefpunkten meines noch jungen Lebens zählte. Aber selbst schuld. Man hätte sich ja auch ein bisschen Mühe geben und statt des touristischen Gröl- und Kotz-Milieus die ansässige Garage- und Surfpunkszene erkunden können, die dann Jahre später solche Bands wie diese hier formen sollte.

DRÜRGEN JEWS

ENRICO/ ZILLIONAIRE | Split 7" | Superfluous Recs

Auf der A-Seite ein paar EmoPunker aus dem Osten, die sich an so Themen wie Versagen, Stehenbleiben und Nostalgie abarbeiten, dabei aber noch sehr dynamisch und geladen klingen. Und auf der B-Seite ein paar Amis, die davon singen, dass sie gleich anfangen zu heulen und dabei auch genau so klingen. Bildest du daraus die Quersumme, dann ist dieses Release ungefähr so gut wie die Silbermond-Sängerin flachzulegen. (Bei Kerzenschein).

RONNY STÜTZE

---------------------------------------------------------

another one in allschoolsnetwork:

ENRICO ZILLIONAIRE split 7"

Gar nicht mal so einfach über vorliegende Bands und Label Infos zu finden. Im Netz findet man nämlich alles und jeden, eben nur nicht das, was man in diesem Falle sucht. Das wären zum einen die fabelhaften ENRICO, die US-Indies von ZILLIONAIRE und zum anderen das sympathische Superfluous Records. Auf diesem erschienen bereits Bands wie TRAKTOR oder LAURA MARS und nun eben die vorliegende Split.

Die besticht durch reine Abwechslung und unbekümmerte 11 Minuten. So haben ZILLIONAIRE aus den USA mit ihrem ruhigen „New Symbol“ die goldene Mitte der Platte erwischt und stehen mit verträumter Indiemusik eher verlassen im Walde. ZILLIONAIRE passen mit ihrem wunderschönen Song nicht so ganz ins Konzept, das ist aber auch der einzige Kritikpunkt den man hier bringen könnte.

Denn ENRICO sind schon eine kleine Überraschung. Sie gehen dabei als zusammengewürfelter

Haufen aus Bands wie DON QUICHOTE oder OPEN YOUR HEART hervor und überzeugen durch Deutschpunk der verschlufften Sorte. Ungefähr so würden beispielsweise EA80 heute klingen, oder die B-Seiten zur „Brut Imperial“ von den BOXHAMSTERS. Stets mit textlicher Schärfe, stets wunderbar instrumentiert und mit „Harry“ sogar inklusive einem kleinen Hit. Fazit: EP geht voll und ganz auf und erfüllt seinen Zweck. Freunde von gutem Deutschpunk sollten hier definitiv mal reinschnuppern.

Author(s): Raphael

TRAKTOR “Lights” LP

2009-11-18T10:22:00.005+01:00

yes! so good to work with people who got their shit together... we collaborated again with APOCAPLEXY RECORDS and with NOT ANOTHER RECORD LABEL from Norway to release the TRAKTOR -- "lights" LP as SUPERFLUOUS RECS. # 8. it's a vinyl re-release of their 2006 album. actually, we had very little input in the whole thing as everything was so perfectly handled by maik from apocaplexy and the band.

the record: only 330 copies in total: 100 clear black, 130 clear pink, 100 clear. we got only a few copies of all color varitations...

the music: TRAKTOR “Lights” LP -- caution! we stole the following text from vinylcollective.com as it describes this record way better than we ever could: The soundtrack for the wedding party of anger & gloom. Traktor from Sweden, which are not only highly considered in circles of connoisseurs because of their extraordinary live qualities, perfect their grim chaos-core on their first full length, entitled "Lights". The typical Traktor sound from the early days with indigestive breaks and dissonant guitar riffs in the vein of famous San Diego bands like Drive Like Jehu or Swing Kids is getting enobled with dark & calm passages. Although the album was mastered in the much sought-after Tonteknik-Studio in Umeå, the regulary comparisons to Refused or early JR Ewing are less present, then genre bulks like Lack or Breach. Lights is an album designed for a cheerless winter, post-hardcore between aggression & depression.

the deal: the record is 9 € plus postage. please get in touch if you are interested: heresy1972@gmx.de

HEADS AND HEADS / EL EJE DEL MÄL split 7" OUT NOW!!!

2009-10-16T20:51:00.004+02:00

so there's no big story behind this record... I know the guys in EL EJE DEL MÄL for quite some time now because I played for a couple of months in what was the original line-up of this band and when guille asked me to join this project I didn't have to think twice. as for HEADS AND HEADS... they are just an incredible band and we are very happy to have the chance to release some of their material on this record.

-- OUT: OCTOBER 2009

-- only 300 copies made. all black vinyl.

-- HEADS AND HEADS are from barcelona, catalunya and play what I would call an energetic bastard of 90ies ebullition screamo and y2k-indie-emo-with-nice-melodies (read: yage, envy etc.). EL EJE DEL MÄL is a four piece from alacant that opts for a similiar approach but they are rawer, have a more dischordant guitar work and are altogether a little more pissed than most of the bands in this genre nowadays (read: end of the line, heroin, izarea). all lyrics in castellano.

-- we got like 56 copies and I guess these will be gone rather quick. split label release with dance tonite, hombre bueno, el club silencio.

REVIEW IN http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/ (28th November 2009)

Reviewed by Oli Saunders

Here is a new split from two pretty awesome Spanish chaotic emo bands. For me El Eje Del Mäl have improved greatly as time has progressed; their songs on a four way split in 2005 were pretty poor. Things got much better in 2007 when they released a 7'', that whilst not being spectacular is really solid. Now they have some new songs and things have improved further still. They've found their own sound which, whilst still fitting in with a lot of euro skramz bands from the past years, is sufficiently different to warrant attention. The vocals stand out reasonably well from other bands and the guitars are not complete octave chord rip offs - they've got a really nice jangly messy vibe. And I have to say, on this recording the sound is raw as fuck. Someone on Collective was looking for screamo that sounded like it had been recorded by angry spiders in a bin. Well this fits the bill pretty well. Two songs of fairly high intensity and craziness, with lyrics in Spanish that I can't understand. If these things sound appealing then check this out. I should admit at this point that I am going to help release two other songs by the band fairly soon (hopefully). This is not to try and promote this in any way but to accept this slight bias in what I have written about them.

Heads And Heads play on the other side. They released a one sided 12'' not too long back which is really great and continue in similar style here. In fact the first track on here is off the 12'' I think - not sure why they did that. It does sound rawer than the other version at least - plus it is pretty damn good so to hear it again is not a bad thing. The second track is new and is pretty special too. I really rate this band, they are not simply euro screamo - I would say they lie in between other Spanish screamo bands like El Eje Del Mäl and Enoch Ardon, and the bands replicating 90s emo somewhat such as Ciudad Del Cabo and Ulises Lima. Heads And Heads and Costacurta seem to tred this region of emo and both are pretty phenomenal in my opinion.

Overall, this is a really good split put out by five labels who know what they're doing. Spain right now seems to be in a similar position to the UK, having a small but good quality scene with a few bands putting out some really cool emo of different descriptions.

LAURA MARS -- "vultures" 12inch -- OUT NOW!!!

2009-09-12T12:50:00.009+02:00

the LAURA MARS "vultures" 12" (SUPERFLUOUS RECS. # 005) has been released september 10th, 2009. it's been a long time in the making and we got the numbers twisted again -- record number 5 released weeks after number 7 came out! -- but well, we are all more than happy that it finally sees the light of day. superfluous is a label meant to release the records of our own bands and with two of the three people behind superfluous playing in LAURA MARS this is a very special record to us. we approached a number of labels before deciding to release it completely on our own and got the reactions we knew we'd get: too hardcore for the screamo/noise section, too noisy/crazy for the hardcore section. so much for stereotypes in the punk scene. finally, we decided to give it a shot on our own and asked some friends for help. steffen did the whole artwork, maik did the screenprinting and we robbed some banks to pay the pressing plant. now it's done and looking at the final result we tend to think that we did the right thing.

technical stuff: 5 sonx on one-sided, white vinyl. the non-music side has a one-coloured screenprinting. 500 copies in total. 50 copies with red screenprint (hand-numbered), 450 copies with blue screenprint.

if you need a description: LAURA MARS has current members of REBARKER and ex-members of UPSET, DON QUICHOTE and THE JUKEBOX SCENARIO and is a punk outfit based in magdeburg, germany. while being an outspoken straight edge hardcore band, the five piece tries to avoid genre stereotypes in their lyrics as well as in their music. some describe their songs as influenced by the LOVITT-post-hard-mathcore bands of the late nineties (read: 400 YEARS, SLEEPYTIME) but aiming for a harder sound bringing them closer to bands like BOTCH and DEAD GUY. the often melodic, sometimes discordant, but highly rhythmic guitar work combined with the powerful drumming also bring bands like YAGE and more recent screamo bands to mind.

LAURA MARS recorded a song for a split 7inch with portland punks UNRESTRAINED and will hopefully continue to combine their 90ies heritage with an unrestricted musical approach and a critical attitude towards modern day hardcore.

if you are interested get in touch with our mailorder geek called "Junni": heresy1972@gmx.de

single copies are 8 euros plus postage. wholesale rates upon request. trades are welcome.

we do send mp3s to people who ask nicely.

REVIEW AUF http://patrickloveslife.blogsport.de -- 10/09

Laura Mars kommen aus dem Osten der Republik und haben vor gar nicht all zu langer Zeit ihre erste Platte „Vultures“ auf Superfluous Records herausgebracht, ein kleines Label aus Magdeburg. Der Fünfer setzt sich aus Mitgliedern vieler anderer Bands zusammen, unter anderem The Rebarker und Don Quichote. Laura Mars spielen rauen Hardcore, der nicht nur Elemente aus den dunklen Neunziger Jahren vereint, sondern auch Frisches und Melodisches aus der Gegenwart. Wenn man sich „Vultures“ bestellt, flattert eine toll gestaltete 12″ bei einem ins Haus, einseitig bespielt und mit einem schönen Druck auf der anderen Seite. Da steckt wirklich noch Liebe drin, welche man Heute leider viel zu oft vermisst. Auf der 12″ finden sich fünf Songs, welche sich zwischen His Hero Is Gone, Botch und Killing The Dream ansiedeln. Kraftvoll, energiegeladen und authentisch. Authentizität fordern Laura Mars auch gleich mit ihrem ersten Song „Anthem For Meaningfull Singalongs“, bei welchem der Titel Programm ist. Der Song ist ein Weckruf für Szene, welche überflutet ist mit Klischees und Plagiaten und macht einem klar, das Hardcore doch eigentlich viel mehr ist als nur Musik. Leider wird dies aber zu oft vergessen und so findet man wenig Eigenständigkeit, besonders im musikalischem Bereich. „If A Problem Doesn‘t Stare You Back…“ ist ein melodischer Song und handelt über etwas, was viele uns betrifft, dem ständigen Wahn der Kontrolle. Wer fragt sich nicht des öfteren „Habe ich den Herd ausgemacht?“ – „Just have to let it go and believe.“ ist die Antwort von Laura Mars auf diese und ähnliche Fragen, welche auch ich mir fast täglich stelle.

Das Laura Mars durchaus auch politisch und gesellschaftskritisch sind, das beweisen sie mit Stücken wie „Bring It On, I Can‘t Wait Any Longer“ und „Nobody Wanted To Play With Steve Ballmer“. Ersteres beschäftigt sich mit einem Thema, welches in der Musik nicht allzu oft eine Rolle spielt: Dem Klimawandel. „Nobody Wanted To Play With Steve Ballmer“ hingegen mit der dritten Welt und der Konsumgesellschaft. Beide Stücke präsentieren sich abwechslungsreich und lassen damit keine Langweile aufkommen, besonders nicht wenn man sich näher mit den Texten beschäftigt.

„Curtain Falls“ bildet das Schlussschlicht und ist mein persönlicher Favorit auf der Platte, einfach ein intensiver und emotionaler Song. Nach knapp 14 Minuten springt die Nadel des Plattenspielers wieder auf Anfang und was bleibt ist die Gewissheit eine tolle 12″ in den Händen zu halten, von Vorne bis Hinten.

Laura Mars haben mit „Vultures“ die beste Debut-EP abgeliefert, die mir dieses Jahr untergekommen ist. Kritisch, emotional und frisch präsentieren die Songs der Band. Ich hoffe sehr, dass man in der nächsten Zeit noch viel von den Jungs hören wird. 8 von 10 Punkten

REVIEW AUF http://www.allschools.de -- 10/09

Willkommen in der Welt von LAURA MARS aus Berlin, Magdeburg & Dresden. Genauso wie sich die Mitglieder der Band physisch auf verschiedene Städte verteilen, oszilliert der Sound des fünfköpfigen Gespanns zwischen diversen Polen ohne sich irgendwo heimisch zu finden.

Noisige-mathcore atmendes BOTCH Material begegnet heimischer Screamo Avantgarde à la YAGE. Intelligente und tiefgehende Texte mischen sich mit Punk Spirit und entfesselter Hardcore Leidenschaft, das Ganze konsequent DIY. LAURA MARS vertonen auf diesem wahnsinnig schmuckem Vinyl Release (einseitig bespielt, auf der anderen Seite mit Siebdruck versehen. Dazu ein Cut-Out Cover, limitiert auf 500 Stück) ihre dissonante und scharfsinninnige Sicht des Status Quo. Es wird die Ideenlosigkeit und der Stillstand des Punkrocks aufgezeigt (dabei hat man doch grade 30 Jahre Punk gefeiert) ("ANTHEM FOR MEANINGFUL SINGALONGS "), die Politik monopolistischer Konzerne kritisiert ("NOBODY WANTED TO PLAY WITH STEVE BALLMER WHEN HE WAS A KID") oder man überwältigt den Hörer auch einfach nur mit düsterem Seelenstriptease ("CURTAIN FALLS"). 5 intensive Hörerlebnisse mit gehörigen Cross Selling Potential, die man unbedingt mal auschecken sollte!

REVIEW IN VICE MAGAZINE -- 11/09

KARL TOFFEL

REVIEW IN OX # 87, Dezember 09/Januar 10

LAURA MARS

Vultures

LP | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Das Magdeburger QUintett LAURA MARS liefert mit "Vultures" eine Platte ab, der ein gewisser Neunziger-Jahre-Spirit innewohnt, die dabei aber nicht annähernd altbacken wirkt. Die Songs klingen wie eine Melange aus SxE-Newschool á la UNBROKEN oder NEWBORN und hardcore-punkiger Rumpeligkeit der Marke COMADRE. Obwohl die Zutaten alte Bekannte und übliche Verdächtige sind, wirkt die Scheibe insgesamt unheimlich frisch. Kommt mit ultraschickem Artwork und erklärenden Anmerkungen zu jedem Song. Ich kann mich erinnern, dass dies in den Neunzigern im Krachuntergrund noch Usus war; heute leider so selten wie ähnlich gelungene Rückgriffe auf Vergangenes wie dieses hier.

Konstantin Hanke

REVIEW IN PLASTIC BOMB # 69

LAURA MARS "Vultures" 12"

Zwei Leute von den Dreien, die das Superfluous Record Label aus Magdeburg/Berlin machen, spielen auch bei LAURA MARS, demnach handelt es sich hier um eine Haus-und Hofveröffentlichung auf dem eigenen Label. Wobei man immer wieder erwähnen muß, daß sich Superfluous Records immer etwas Besonderes für ihre Veröffentlichungen einfallen lassen. Diese 12" enthält 5 Songs auf weißem einseitig bespieltem Vinyl, während auf der B-Seite ein Bandlogo per Screenpainting aufgedruckt wurde. Das Cover der 12" zeigt einen fliegenden Raubvogel (Adler, Geier...?) und ist zur Hälfte schräg ausgeschnitten, so das man das schöne Screenpainting auf dem Vinyl sehr schön sehen kann. Das ist etwas wirklich geiles für's Auge! Musikalisch bewegen sich LAURA MARS im Bereich der aktuellen HC Bands des neuen Jahrtausends, die stilsicher Elemente aus allen Jahrgängen der letzten 2 Jahrzehnte des Kardcore Punk verwenden. Bei Zeiten hört sich der Sound stark nach Mathcore an, dennoch ist der Sound hart und heftig genug um prall und fett aus den Boxen zu quellen und dich um deinen Verstand zu bringen. Das hier ist keine leichte Konsumware, sondern heftiger Tobak.

Helge

REVIEW IN www.aversionline.com

Laura Mars "Vultures" one-sided 12"

Posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 @ 7:02am » permalink

Laura Mars - Vultures"Vultures" is a one-sided 12" EP on white vinyl with a screenprinted B-side, and it's also my first exposure to Germany's Laura Mars (from Superfluous Records). Having been rightfully compared to Botch and Deadguy in the past, their overall sound does bear similarities to the form of "metalcore" more centered around discordant, angular chunks and lots of pull-off runs, though they don't really sound like either of those bands as a whole. There's definitely a hint more variety here in that there's also a really cool "screamo" angle happening, with lots of intense melodies scattered amidst raw, frenetic riffing – not to mention a multi-vocal attack that combines a few forms of shouting/screaming. The recording's crisp enough to be heavy but retains a good amount of acerbity for the looser riffs, and from what I can tell they've got a cool eye for D.I.Y. packaging as well. It seems these guys are admirably inspired by the 90's era of hardcore in general, as suggested by this statement regarding their lyrics posted on their MySpace page:

"Yes, it is important to us that people read our lyrics and understand what they are about. What we have to offer lyric-wise is definitely far from enlightened and most probably of little relevance for you. And no, we are not one of these hippie-esque "I-want-to-share-my-feelings-with-you" bands… we are just five guys who are convinced that it still makes sense to address certain topics in song lyrics, although everybody in this modern hardcore crap tells you otherwise."

With just five songs in 14 minutes there's not a ton to go on, but you're left wanting more, and that's always a good sign. I like what I'm hearing/seeing/reading, and I'll be looking forward to more from Laura Mars for sure.

The 12" is limited to just 50 hand-numbered copies with a red screenprint and 450 with a blue screenprint, so get in touch with the label via the link below to see about getting your hands on one…

REVIEW IN www.handlemedown.de

LAURA MARS - VULTURES

Der östliche Teil der Republik ist ein gutes Pflaster für DIY-Bands. Davon künden auch LAURA MARS, die sich über Magdeburg und (fast gewohntermaßen) Berlin verteilen und deren Debüt-12“ „Vultures“ über das eigene Label Superfluous vertrieben wird. Dessen Besonderheit ist die Spezialisierung auf Vinyl-Pressungen, was den Sympathiewert schon vorab merklich hoch ansetzt. Diese Politik offenbart einen Traditionalismus, der die Musik keiner Restriktion und erst recht keinem Szenegespenst unterwirft.

Eine Augenweide ist bereits das Artwork der limitierten Platte, die, nur einseitig bespielt, mit Siebdruck und ausgeschnittenem Coverentwurf mächtig Eindruck schindet. Aber was nützt die schönste Verpackung, wenn der Inhalt doch bis zum Himmel stinkt? Bei den fünf Songs von LAURA MARS braucht dahingehend aber niemand die Stirn in Falten legen. Denn die Band führt den modernen Hardcore auch musikalisch mit Herzblut zu einer Ursprünglichkeit zurück, die von Modetrends und Catwalks der Affektiertheit weit entfernt verortet wird.

Das belegt schon der Opener „Anthem for Meaningful Singalongs“, der eine Lanze für musikalische Bodenständigkeit bricht und entfremdender Selbstinszenierung rigoros einen Riegel vorschiebt. Aber auch vor politischen Themen verschließen sich die abwechslungsreichen und trotz überschaubarer Kürze angenehm verschachtelten Nummern nicht. Der Schreigesang leistet melodischer Raffinesse Vorschub, die zwischen (Post-)Hardcore und Punk stetig Anspruch mit Kurzweil zu verknüpfen versteht. Ein überraschend ausgereifter Erstling – und ein unbedingter Geheimtipp!

8.0 von 10 Punkten

REVIEW IN poisonfree.com

LAURA MARS - VULTURES

„Magdeburg Straight Edge“ lacht einen breit von der einseitig bespielten Picture Disc an, während man mit dem anderen Auge noch auf das tolle Cut-Out-Artwork der 12“ schielt. Laura Mars haben hier bereits mit einem Demo hier im Office Eindruck hinterlassen, von welchem die Songs nun endlich angemessen veröffentlicht werden. Wir hättens ja selbst gemacht, aber die Zeit stand schlecht...

Laura Mars jedenfalls sind teilweise auch die Leute hinter Superflous Records, und entsprechend ist das sicher ein Meilenstein für Label & Band. Warum in die Ferne schweifen wennn....

Die Herren singen, pardon, schreien englische Lyrics, und spielen eine tolle Version von Hardcore. Ja, Hardcore. Rau und ungeschliffen. Oder doch Punk? Post-irgendwas? Das ganze weigert sich zum Glück, einem Genre klar anzubiedern. Stattdessen gibt es klassischen 90er Screamo, aber auch deutlichen Noise, ein bisschen Botch hier, ein wenig Ebullition dort, ein bisschen Yage hier. Na, klingelts? Nee, solls auch nicht, denn die Mischung ist zwar teilweise aus altbekannten Fragmenten geformt, und zum Glück total trendlos, aber an sich dann doch kreativ und eigenständig. Abwechselungsreich gehts entsprechend zu. Von schnellen Parts wird man in langsame, noisige Passagen geworfen, pausenlos wird geschrien, und Schlagwerk und Bass legen in teilweise gesteigerter Hektik ein ordentliches Fundament, welches Leitfaden und Rückgrat zugleich ist. Darüber hinaus findet man immer wieder tolle Melodien und beinahe zerbrechliche Momente, die dem ganzen Gefühl und Tiefe verleihen, ohne je weinerlich zu wirken. Ich erinnere nochmal an das Namedropping von oben – keine Sorge also vor Collegerock und anderen Trends. Hier gehts handfest, ehrlich und erwachsen zur Sache. Und im Gegensatz zum Labelnamen dann auch total ohne Oberflächlichkeiten, stattdessen energetisch und krachend.

Die Lyrics sind politisch und gesellschaftskritisch, und da die Band auch noch Straight Edge ist, was heutzutage ja eher doppelt als gar nicht erwähnt werden sollte, gibts also auch Food for the Brain, altgediente Hardcore Ethik und damit neben Form auch Inhalt.

Also passt hier alles zusammen, von Aufmachung & Präsentation über Ohrenschmaus und Gehirnschmalz. Anchecken, soviel Talent gibts nur alle paar Jahre in unseren Landen.

LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS split 7" OUT NOW!!!

2009-08-25T19:56:00.006+02:00

the LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS split 7" (SUPERFLUOUS RECS. # 007) has been released this week. a lot of people might think that this release doesn't quite fit in the superfluous family, but we can assure you that these bands fit perfectly!!! ivan (singer of los platanos) and jonathan (singer of venereans) are not only long-time friends of ours but dedicated punx, incredible musicians and some true diy monsters (they got a zine, a label, a online-mag and two or three bands each). so when they approached us with the idea of doing this split we were instantaneously interested but lacking the financial ressources. eventually, a small label from spain called THRON-U-SOUND RECORDS joined in to finance half of the pressing and that was that. please read on for more details on the record and the bands...

300 copies in total. 50 copies on yellow vinyl and another 50 on transparent vinyl. the cover is the same for all records. all copies will be hand-numbered.

LOS PLATANOS: alicante, spain is the place; garage punkrock the genre. two exclusive tracks (not even 01:30 in length) of energetic punk with a high-pitched voice and spanish lyrics. band members are/were active in EL EJE DEL MÄL, BLASPHEMIA ANAL, PROVISIONAL ROCK UNIT and others. they got another 7" on the way and some plans for touring. I think they even recorded a full length recently.

http://www.myspace.com/lospltanos

VENEREANS: let's start with some names: LE JONATHAN REILLY, SALCHICHA, THE CAR CRASH SLEEP etc. -- that's some of the members' former bands. like their split partners, this valencia (spain) based outfit offers us two short and fresh punk tunes but with a little more surf influences here and there. their LP is scheduled for the end of this year on TIC TAC TOTALLY and DISCOS HUMEANTES.

http://www.myspace.com/venereans

REVIEW IN VICE MAGAZINE -- 11/09

DRÜRGEN JEWS

REVIEW IN OX # 87, Dezember 09/Januar 10

LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS

Split

7" | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Konstantin Hanke

REVIEW IN http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/

LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS Split 7"

Los Platanos are an Alicante punk band, here offering two short tracks of tuneful garage at hardcore speeds, with slightly blown-out production. The guitars are nice and treble-scratchy, and the impassioned/screamed vocals sound like they're coming from a transistor-radio inside a concrete mixer or similar slowly rotating metal receptacle. The first tune is slightly more poppy - coming across as a more up-to-date Gorilla Angreb with male vox. The second cut is rougher in approach, with some good response shouts. Kudos to the bass player for a convincing performance throughout. For my ears this could have been a little more blown-out and 10-15% faster - but these tracks are both sick. The thanks to communism and drugs in the insert makes me wish I could understand the Spanish lyrics.

Venereans from Valencia were a real treat; mid-paced, surf damaged punk with the ocassional reverb flourish. "Terminal Beach" kicks off with a bassline that reminded me of Klaus Flouride, with some nice Beefheartian dissonant guitar, then into a mashed potato chorus. The whole time there's a nice production touch of a reverby instructive shout in the background. The second track is more of the similar, but straighter and with another killer chorus. Some blurb I found on the net mentioned that the Venereans can't decide whether they want to be Dead Kennedys or the Kinks, but I'd change that Kinks for "Safe as Milk" Beefheart, and then add a touch of Angry Samoans for the speed and production values. They have an LP on Tic Tac Totally - which you can download in its entirety from http://venereans.bandcamp.com/ - and which contains both these cuts.

There are 300 clear copies of this split, and it's a split release between German label Superfluous and Spanish label Tron-U-Sound.

REVIEW IN Maximum Rock and Roll #323

VENEREANS / LOS PLATANOS 7”

Two bands from Spain puke up somre really cool early-style punk tunes. I can´t say I like one more than the other; they are both really cool. If you are searching out some snotty ass punk ´n´roll , then check this shit out. Great party punk, so have your local punk DJ search this out.

ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRE split 7" OUT NOW!!!

2009-08-18T22:23:00.008+02:00

number # 006 and we got more coming (is this a promise or a threat?!) well, the story behind this record is a short one: ENRICO guys did a label in the 90ies and released records from florida-based emo sensation POGOH in Germany. a few years went by, POGOH became ZILLIONAIRE and the friendship between the ENRICO guys and the POGOH/ZILLIONAIRE lasted. so they decided to do a split. strange but interesting mixture.

technical: 300 copies in total -- 50 copies on orange/yellow / 50 copies on transparent vinyl for pre-orders (different cover color). plus 200 copies on black vinyl with the regular silk-screened poster type cover. all copies are hand-numbered.

descriptions for people who are to lazy to check out the sonx in the player...

ENRICO: magdeburg/berlin/leipzig-based fourpiece that plays emoish punkrock with German lyrics. by "emoish" I refer to "Texas is the Samiam Knapsack" type of stuff. by "punkrock with German lyrics" we are talking turbostaat/oma hans/muff potter but with more drive and punch. the kids in this band did time in DON QUICHOTE, CUBEHOG, OPEN YOUR HEART, FRÄSE, BIRCHWOOD DRIVE and several other bands that you wouldn't know. it's their first release and others are planned. it's excellent stuff. believe me!

http://www.myspace.com/enricorockmusic

ZILLIONAIRE: this fourpiece from tampa, florida plays moving slow core -- some might call it "indie" for the lack of "core" and describe it as a "prawling culmination of college rock slowcore that’s melodic, dissonant and ominous". anyways, some of you might know them for their records under the name of POGOH. they got a full length CD out on NEW GRANADA RECS. and have 1842 myspace friends.

http://www.myspace.com/zillionairetampa

REVIEW IN VICE MAGAZINE -- 11/09

RONNY STÜTZE

REVIEW AUF ALLSCHOOLS -- 11/09

Denn ENRICO sind schon eine kleine Überraschung. Sie gehen dabei als zusammengewürfelter Haufen aus Bands wie DON QUICHOTE oder OPEN YOUR HEART hervor und überzeugen durch Deutschpunk der verschlufften Sorte. Ungefähr so würden beispielsweise EA80 heute klingen, oder die B-Seiten zur „Brut Imperial“ von den BOXHAMSTERS. Stets mit textlicher Schärfe, stets wunderbar instrumentiert und mit „Harry“ sogar inklusive einem kleinen Hit. Fazit: EP geht voll und ganz auf und erfüllt seinen Zweck. Freunde von gutem Deutschpunk sollten hier definitiv mal reinschnuppern.

Autor: Raphael

REVIEW IN OX # 87, Dezember 09/Januar 10

ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRE

Split

7" | superfluous | superfluous-records.blogspot.com

Konstantin Hanke

REVIEW IN PLASTIC BOMB # 69

ENRICO/ZILLIONAIRE split 7"
Wie bei dem Berliner Plattenlabel Superfluous üblich bekommt man eine außergewöhnliche Verpackung der vorliegenden 7". Vor ein paar Jahren hatten Leute von der Magdeburger/Berliner Band ENRICO auf ihrem damaligen Label eine PLatte der Band POHGOH aus Florida veröffentlicht. Aus POHGOH wurden ZILLIONAIRE und die Freundschaft zwischen Deutschland und Florida blieb bestehen. Was würde daher näher liegen als zusammen eine PLatte herauszubringen ? Die beiden Songs von ENRICO gefallen mir ausgesprochen gut, bieten sie doch einen wirklich guten Sound. Sie spielen Emocore mit deutschen Texten, wobei sie ihre Musik im Sinne von Emo Bands a la SAMIAM und deutschen Texten a la MUFF POTTER oder OMA HANS sehen. Das kann ich durchaus bestätigen, denn die beiden Songs auf dieser Split 7" wissen durch Kompaktheit und einer guten Soundqualität zu gefallen.Die beiden Somgs verfügen über einen deutlichen Punk Appeal.
Mit dem einen Song "New Symbol" von ZILLIONAIRE werde ich aber überhaupt nicht warm. Dieser Song ist total langweilig, bewegt er sich doch überhaupt nicht von der Stelle. Als Labelchef hätte ich diesen Song zur Veröffentlichung abgelehnt. Die ENRICO Seite dieser Split 7" geht vollkommen ok, wobei diese Split 7" auf 300 Stück limitiert ist. Es gibt je 50 Stück auf gelbem als auch auf orangem Vinyl und 200 auf schwarzem Vinyl.

Helge

REBARKER -- not even a minute!!!

2009-08-16T22:04:00.005+02:00

we are working hard on our new releases. in the meanwhile, please enjoy this little REBARKER video:

SUPERFLUOUS SHIRTS...

2009-07-31T12:55:00.004+02:00

yeah, we did it. here's some shirts for y'all. we figured the simple label logo would be most appropriate for non-fashionable people like us.

SIZES: xs (girl), s, m, l, xl. BRAND: fruit of the loom/stedman. SHIRT: yellow. PRINT: brownish. PRICE: 8,00 € (plus postage). ORDERS: heresy1972@gmx.de

REVIEW: THE MONACO HEARTATTACK 7" in SCHIZO FANZINE # 01

2009-07-25T13:41:00.001+02:00

at least it's an entertaining read:

Since I'm not really into this scene I thought it was best to do some research before I started with this review. Wikipedia - Screamo and Emo. It was really interesting because it is a genre who descend from the punk/hardcore scene. But I didn't know about any of those bands who was list on Wikipedia, but I said it from the beginning, this is not my scene even if I like brutal and screamy hardcore. The Monaco Heartattack from Malaysia are signed up on a German label, and the scene seems to be strong in Germany. When I listen to the music I get strong vibes that Im into a dark forest, and yeah, if I didn't know better I would probably count this music into black metal. My research also bring the question, are The Monaco Heartattack a band who lend all "true"/"early" emocore concept for their image or are they true by themselfes? It is vinyl/DIY/so emotional lyrics etc... I don't know, but I guess they are true to their scene since they say "Death to false emo". I really like the music but the concept disturb me even if I try to be objective. An "Emo" is not really popular in Sweden, I don't know how they are treated in other countries. I will not be surprised if The Monaco Heartattack will play on big festivals in Germany and France this summer because they are a band who make impressions, good or bad? That's up to you to decide. (schizo fanzine #1)

Pre-order for ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRE split 7" starts July, 20th

2009-07-19T11:24:00.003+02:00

hello everybody,

the ENRICO / ZILLIONAIRE split 7" (SUPERFLUOUS RECS. # 007) will be released in august and we decided to give you guys the chance to pre-order.

it's only 300 copies in total. there will be 50 copies on orange vinyl and another 50 copies on transparent vinyl for pre-orders only. the cover will be the same (silk-screened poster type) but all copies will be hand-numbered. the thing will be 4 € plus postage. if you are interested get in touch with our mailorder geek called "Junni": heresy1972@gmx.de

note, that we got two other 7" singles and a 12" coming up in august/september. so maybe you folks want to save postage and pre-order these records also...

LINK: http://www.myspace.com/enricorockmusic

ZILLIONAIRE: this fourpiece from tampa, florida plays moving slow core -- some might call it "indie" for the lack of "core" and describe it as a "pprawling culmination of college rock slowcore that’s melodic, dissonant and ominous". anyways, some of you might know them for their records under the name of POGOH. they got a full length CD out on NEW GRANADA RECS. and have 1842 myspace friends.

LINK: http://www.myspace.com/zillionairetampa

WHAT'S COOKING?

2009-07-10T14:26:00.001+02:00

wow...

2009-07-04T12:47:00.002+02:00

... we made it in the green hell catalouge without selling them records! looks like a promising future to me (hahaha).

REVIEWS in TRUST # 136 and PLASTIC BOMB # 67

2009-06-25T23:50:00.004+02:00

REBARKER 7" -- PLASTIC BOMB # 67

dies ist die erste veröffentlichung auf dem neuen SUPERFLUOUS record lable aus magdeburg, und mit dieser 7" von the REBARKER haben sie eine erste "duftmarke" gesetzt, denn die 7" kommt in einem sehr edlen cover daher, im comic-stil ist ein schwarzer rabe auf dem frontcover, wobei der rabe in seiner kontur heraus geschnitten wurde. diese art von cover ist definitiv nicht billig, aber das resultat sieht absolut cool aus. meine single ist die nummer 39 von 250 stück... dieses gute stück dürfte also limitiert sein. REBARKER spielen aggressiven, dreckigen , verzweifelten hardcore ohne viel schnörkel. es wird gelitten und gehasst, und auch das verzweifelte, pausenlose geschreie drückt genau das aus. die gitarren wirken breit und irgendwie fies und böse. die soundqualität ist absolute spitzenklasse für eine vinylsingle. insgesamt ist diese REBARKER 7" ein schwergewicht unter den aktuellen hardcore-veröffentlichungen. helge.

GEPÖPEL "no one can stop advance" 7" -- PLASTIC BOMB # 67

nachdem die erste sehr gelungene 7" von rebarker auf dem neuen superfluous label aus magdeburg erschien, folgt nun der zweite streich. wer zur hölle ist GEPÖPEL? vermutlich werden sich nur die alten hardcore säcke erinnern, die auch schon in den 80ern am start waren. GEPÖPEL war eine band aus holland, genauer gesagt, am anfang war es eine 1-mann band, die 1983 vornehmlich aus niels bestand, der alle instrumente auf dem ersten demo eigenhändig einspielte. und eben jene 6 songs vom ersten demo befinden sich hier auf dieser 7", die ich als "liebhaber" und kenner von allem holländischem hardcore einfach nur geil finde. man hört keinen reinen hardcore, welcher die band später 1985 mit ihrer "paracide" 7" weit über die grenzen von holland bekannt gemacht hat, sondern eine reihe von anderen einflüssen von anfang der 80er jahre. auf einigen stücken wird auch eine orgel verwendet, so dass sich GEPÖPEL am anfang ihrer karriere noch sehr grufti-mässig anhörte. nichtsdestotrotz sehr wuchtig und vor allem sehr trashig. mit dem song "enheidsworst" ist auch der erste hardcore-song von GEPÖPEL auf dieser 7", der auch noch einer der fähigsten und rausten hardcore songs aus holland ist. die songs auf dieser 7" waren zwar vor kurzem erst auf der diskographie LP von noise & distortion records aus belgien erschienen, aber die demo songs auf einer 7" machen sich immer noch verdammt gut. auf 300 stück limitiert. helge.

MONACO HEARTATTACK 7" -- PLASTIC BOMB # 67

screamo-slow-core aus johore in malaysia. wenn ich mir nicht die myspace-seite der band angesehen hätte, wäre ich vom reinen sound her nie drauf gekommen, dass es sich hier um einen band aus malaysia handelt. wenn ich ehrlich bin, musss ich eingestehen, dass ich --a-- die mucke schneller mag und --b-- ich auf schreigesang überhaupt nicht stehe. wie auch immer... diese 7" ist von superfluous records aus magdeburg mit einem sehr geilen layout versehen würden, das nicht allzu aufwendig gestaltet wurde, aber dennoch sehr effektiv aussieht. von dieser 7" gibt es 52 stück in durchsichtigen vinyl, 46 in durchsichtigen orange-marble vinyl und 156 in durchsichtigem blau-marble vinyl... das nur mal so am rande erwähnt. 4 songs befinden sich auf dieser 7", die ziemlich fett im studio aufgenommen wurde und sich wie ein langsamer psycho-lindwurm durch dein hirn und deine eingeweide frisst. nichts für weiche gemüter. helge.

REBARKER - same EP 7" -- TRUST (# 136 Juni/Juli)

LS: gutes intro. FO: ja, hat was (song geht los) LS: Oh my god! wall of sound. FO: drückt wenigstens. AK: beste meldung. KA: wart's doch mal ab! HC: endlich mal power. AK: sinnloser krach, will ich haben! FO: nicht schlecht. IM: recht death-metallig. AK: ich finde es nicht death-metallig, kenne mich aber bei death metal nicht aus. FO: können bei uns spielen. AK: wollte ich auch gerade sagen. JO: wollte mal drauf hinweisen, dass es eine etwas andere art von plattencover ist. mir gefällts. HC: yow. das ist korrekt. ZK: musik ist keinerweise eigenständig oder innovativ, aber gut gemacht. AK: hat nen schönen sound-teppich. HC: beste single bisher. schön gemachtes teil. AK: eher noise als death metal. FO: wobei ich anmerken muss, dass die besten metal-bands aus dem noise kommen. JO: diese kommt aber aus magdeburg. (einstimmiges wohlwollen)

DON QUICHOTE -- six song 10 inch

2009-06-09T15:53:00.006+02:00

this record was originally released in autumn 1996 on Heartfelt Music, a label that some superfluous people were involved in back then. some weeks ago we found some copies in the basement without jacket, so we decided to make new sleeves with a different artwork... and here we go: there are 5 different cover versions and overall there's like a 100 copies left. so be fast or be sorry.

-- music wise it's powerful/intense german mid 90's EMOCORE in the same vein of AGE / HEROIN / MEREL / ANASARCA and other Ebullition/Gravity/Repercussion stuff.

-- here is a review from HEARTATTACK Fanzine (Issue #14, June 1997):

"this people have struck the nerve of emo-hardcore's official sound. Don Quichote features a lot of epic swinging melodies that AGE first began playing so well. the lyrics are all in german so i can't say much about them, but the live pictures make Don Quichote look like a good live act"

REVIEW -- Don Quichote 10" on
http://thatspunk.linustorvaldsfacts.com [sept. 2009]

everyone seems to be intrigued by '90s emo. whether it's the harmonic Cap'n Jazz style of emo displayed by e.g. Bells on Trike posted below, or whether it's this more noisy attempts inspired by Heroin and so on - like Don Quichote demonstrates on this self titled 10" from '97. they are kind of like Age and Assay meets 125, Rue Montmartre and Cerulean. it's Ebullition meets Gravity. it's '90s emo/hardcore. really intense, like I.Witness that are on this blog as well. Don Quichote's voals remind me of Evergreen and The Pine. it's slightly nasal and very emotional. their intense guitars also sound a bit like - you've guessed it - Evergreen and The Pine. heavily distorted angsty harmonies with nervous twinkling in between them. add mellow and dynamic bass lines that while being in the background still somehow manage to stand out and steal focus to the mix and you're set. the bassist does a splendid job at adding a melodic and soft touch while not being an attention-whore. the bass basically makes you close your eyes and be mesmerised by the beautiful harmonies. finally I must address the very competent drummer that has no qualms about constantly revolutionising the tempo as well as the overall feel of the songs. it's full on. these things are utterly amazing by themselves, but put them together and you have a holy symbiosis of magic that is untouchable. nothing comes close to sounding like this band. this 10" is a unique experience that everyone should go through. you need to download this. and afterwards you need to buy it while you still can at:
http://superfluous-records.blogspot.com/2009/06/don-quichote-six-song-10-inch.html

HELL YEAH!

2009-04-24T22:55:00.009+02:00

WE***********************

*GOT*********************

**A***********************

***MAILORDER**********

****NOW.*****************

*****SO*******************

******BETTER************

*******CHECK************

********THE**************

*********LINK*************

**********ON**************

***********THE************

************LEFT.*********

*************NOW!********

**************THANX.*****

THE MONACO HEARTATTACK -- s/t -- 7 inch

2009-04-10T10:11:00.012+02:00

yesterday we got our copies in the mail and they look beautiful: all kinds of vinyl colors and three different cover versions. hats off again to maik from apocaplexy for this awesome screenprinting job.

-- punk screamo three-piece from far malaysia. this is a split label release with our friends from apocaplexy records.

-- technical stuff: approx. 200 copies were made in all kinds of colors and three different cover versions. (drop us a line if you want to know what's still available.)

REVIEW in PLASTIC BOMB # 67 (Juni 2009)

helge.

REVIEW in SCHIZO FANZINE # 01 (Juli 2009)

Ox #84 (August 2009)

Heftiges Vier-Song-Debüt der malaysischen Screamo-Hardcore-Band und zweite Veröffentlichung von Apocaplexy in schöner handgemachter Aufmachung. Viermal Stimmbänder am hohen Anschlag, dazu heftige Gitarrenbreitseiten, die in die 80er/frühen 90er gehören. Eine D.I.Y.-Band, die man im Auge behalten sollte.

8/10 | Matilda Gould | ox-fanzine.de

http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/ (August 2009)

Reviewed by Oli Saunders

Hooray! I finally got copies of this 7'' today after it originally came out in March. I am a fan of this band's demo, which I meant to review on CZ ages ago but never got round to it. It's really nice to see a Malaysian band other than Utarid getting on a slab of vinyl too. Okay Orbitcinta Benjamin have been on a 12'' split release but that's about it - there are LOTS of planned split releases between bands supposedly coming out on vinyl but some of these have been planned for a long time and have not materialised. I hope they do happen. It seems that in a niche genre Malaysian screamo still manages to find a very small corner (though not as much as South America) - it's god damn amazing stuff but because screamo is so saturated it gets overlooked. I hope so much that these bands can make it over to Europe and beyond to tour at some point.

As I put this 7'' on there is quite a big contrast with the Joan Baez record I was playing before it. Gone are the insanely beautiful vocals that Joan delivers and the nice and simple but pleasing to the ear finger picked guitar. Instead we have, well the insanely beautiful chaotic mess that is emo violence. The Monaco Heartattack here advance their sound from their demo. It's still the same kind of stuff, fast, short and messy, but it just sounds somewhat improved. Listening to it on vinyl is perhaps one reason things are better - the instruments have a lot more force than when I listen to the demo tape or MP3s of the music. But just the overall song writing and chaos is a higher quality too. The guitars and drums combine well and the out of control screamed vocals sound great over the top. The unclean sound is precisely how it should be, whilst the lyrics are pretty simple but straight to the point and honest.

Overall no complaints, it's over pretty quickly (6 minutes) but that works pretty well with this sort of thing. I know the band are talking of releasing an LP, one thing I would say is that I think they need to get a bit more variance going for this to work well.

REVIEW: REBARKER 7" in OX # 83

2009-04-06T12:05:00.000+02:00

GEPOPEL -- "No one can stop advance" 7"

2009-03-30T13:28:00.008+02:00

Gepøpel was a Dutch punk band that existed from 1982 until 1985. It started as a one-man attic-only punk/DIY thingie, then gradually mutated into a "real" band playing fast hardcore. The following month(s) two Gepøpel rereleases will see the light of day: an LP (and possibly CD) retrospective of the hardcore years on cool Belgian label Noise and Distortion is out already, and an EP containing 6 early solo tracks will be released together with issue 1 of Spanish 'zine Burka for Everybody!
(from http://www.myspace.com/gepopel)

finally, it's out (imagine a happy face)! so there isn't that much to say about this record. or you know these Dutch hardcore punk pioneers and love them or you don't. simple as that. this record features 6 songs from the 1983 demo casette entitled "No one can stop advance". the record itself comes with a little booklet that contains the original artwork and a short GEPOPEL interview.

there are some 300 hand-numbered copies on black vinyl. no test pressings. no colors.

it's a split label release with BURKA FOR EVERYBODY from spain. they got 200 copies, we got 100. so you better be fast!

REVIEW in PLASTIC BOMB # 67 (Juni 2009)

helge.

REVIEW IN MRR # 323

GEPOPEL “No one can stop advance” 7”

This classic Dutch band came out with only a few releases, but were intense and distinctive, with a disordered HC sound not unlike a messy BGK. The six tracks here employ basic-as-possible songs, mostly founded on repetitious guitar riffs and a slashing instrumental sound. Aside from one curious tune with ah experimental mix of synth and a swelling backdrop of guitars, the remainder of the material is uniformly aggressive that improves markedly with higher volume. Not quite as arresting as their debut, but time hasn´t interfered with the urgency of their sound.

REVIEW: REBARKER 7" in WASTEOFMIND.DE

2009-03-23T10:06:00.001+01:00

Oft sind es gerade die kleinen Veröffentlichungen, in denen viel steckt. Bei "Krähen" fällt gleich das hübsch gestaltete Artwork ins Auge. Der als Comic gestaltete Textsheet zeugt ebenfalls davon, dass die Band aus Dresden und Magdeburg viel Liebe in die Gestaltung ihrer 7" gesteckt hat. Und die Musik hält mit der schicken Aufmachung locker mit. Sechs Songs, angepisster Hardcore-Punk, bei dem keine Zeit für ruhige Pausen bleibt. Stattdessen wird gnadenlos durchgeknüppelt. Schöner 90er Einfluss plus eine hohe Stimme - macht Spaß!

Julius Stiebert 7/10

REVIEW: REBARKER 7" in POISONFREE.COM

2009-03-16T18:23:00.002+01:00

Die 7” von Rebarker aus Magdeburg ist nicht nur vom Layout her sehr schick, sondern bietet auch überraschend schlagkräftige Musik für einen (zumindest in meinem Regal) neuen Namen.

Rebarker spielen aggressiven, dreckigen, verzweifelten Hardcore ohne viele Schnörkel. Es wird gelitten und gehasst, und auch das verzweifelte, pausenlose Geschreie drückt genau das aus. Die Gitarren wirken breit und irgendwie fies und böse, und genau das sollen sie auch. V.a. aber stimmt die Intensität des ganzen. Man kann diesen Sound darbieten, und trotzdem weich und wenig überzeugend klingen. Hier aber fragt man sich, ob Magdeburg wirklich so schlimm ist, wie viele sagen, und ob das die Ursache für die Überzeugungskraft und Ernsthaftigkeit ist, mit der die Band ihren Sound transportiert. Ach ja, straight edge sind sie auch nocht. Das ist gut und immer gern gesehen.

Die Produktion reiht sich genau ein wo sie soll, und verleiht dem ganzen die nötige Durchschlagskraft. Ein bisschen The Swarm, Trap Them, Cursed und all diese Namen plus ein bisschen 90er Bremer Schule sollten reichen, um die Band besser einzunorden. Beeindruckend und eine gründliche Inspektion wert.

REVIEW: REBARKER 7" in VICE MAGAZINE

2009-02-22T23:41:00.008+01:00

not so good magazine. excellent music section, though.

NEWS FLASH -- WEEK 08/09

2009-02-16T18:26:00.007+01:00

so, our next release -- GEPOPEL "No one can stop advance" 7" -- (SPRFLS # 03) is currently in the pressing plant and will hopefully be ready in early march or so. we will probably be the first label that releases its 3rd record before the 2nd one, because the THE MONACO HEARTATTACK is still not done yet... but what they hell, nobody's waiting for these records anyway.

the GEPOPEL record will be a split release with our friends from the BURKA FOR EVERYBODY zine. is there a better name for a zine/label?! I don't think so. brilliant!

so here's a nice picture from GEPOPEL and some words from the BURKA FOR EVERYBODY guys on the upcoming record:

The GEPOPEL "No one can stop advance" demo cassete from early 80..s now in vinyl. Classic dutch punk as it best! Think some Urinals ... chaing gang ... Killed by death , messthetics... djvjdoivjowcnxjnz!!! Only 200 copies so if you want you can pre-order now! Split release with my german amigo of Superfuous records.

well, it's gonna be 300 copies and they spelled our name wrong, but we'll forgive them because they are nice folks and did an awesome interview w/ Niels from Gepopel.

as you might know already we are from this east-German shithole called Magdeburg (some of us emigrated already, though) and decided to put on diy hardcore punk shows on a regular basis. the kids running these shows have a blog now and will post news, pics, songs, dates for upcoming shows and hopefully some nice videos from shows they did in the 90ies like catharsis, morning again, boy sets fire etc.

check it out and come to the shows, but be warned as everything that KNUT said in an interview about this dump is totally true:

"...or this city in east-germany, magdeburg, which is like the capital of nazis and skinheads and the squat we stayed was packed with punks who had scars across their faces and pick necks (??) beside their beds. holy shit, that was scary."

soundtrack: MOCHIPET, PULLING TEETH, DEAR READER and THE WIPERS. good nite.

NEWS FLASH -- WEEK 05/09

2009-01-31T23:32:00.010+01:00

so, we will try to publish some news on the label more often in the future. maybe not every week -- but definitely more frequently than in the past.

first the bad news: as you might have heard already, the THE MONACO HEARTATTACK 7" single has been delayed again due to complications at the pressing plant. currently, we can't really say when it's gonna be out -- 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks... we simply don't know. in the meanwhile you might wanna check out the band's myshittyspace site or take a look at the lovely covers that have been screenprinted by Maik from APOCAPLEXY RECS. keep on checking his blog anyway as he will post news concerning the release of this record immediately.

next on superfluous recs. will be a LOS PLATANOS / VENEREANS split 7", a GEPÖPEL 7" and a LAURA MARS / UNRESTRAINED split 7". now you gotta shake your head and wonder why we release records from bands that noboby heard of before... well, we love them. that's all. hopefully, all of these records will be out until may (if so, we will probably be broke). also, we will do superfluous recs. t-shirts for little money.

soundtrack: brainworms / dynamite arrows split 7" (yes, I tend to listen to a single 10 times in a row until I can sing along.)

LAURA MARS suchen shows

2009-01-02T17:03:00.011+01:00

frohes neues erstmal. wir haben einen sack voll pläne für das jahr 2009 und einer davon ist, mit unserer band LAURA MARS wieder mehr unter die leute zu kommen. wir suchen also ab sofort ständig nach konzerten. ganz konkret geht es um folgende dates:

19.03. [DO] -- help, please!
20.03. [FR] -- lm + xxx -- tba, plauen
21.03. [SA] -- lm + xxx -- chekov, cottbus
22.03. [SO] -- lm + grave maker + battle -- lokal, berlin

09.04. [DO] -- help, please!
10.04. [FR] -- help, please!
11.04. [SA] -- help, please!
12.04. [SO] -- lm + planks + the gentle art of choking -- heizhaus, magdeburg
13.04. [MO] -- help, please!

wir freuen uns aber auch über andere offerten. wer was organisiert, was weiß oder uns sonst wie weiterhelfen kann, schreibt einfach an
> lauramarshq [at] googlemail [.] com <

vielen dank für eure hilfe und stay punk... LM.

p.s. foto von ISH und soundtrack von subtitle.

THE REBARKER -- "Krähen" 7 inch/mcd

2008-12-21T01:47:00.010+01:00

it took us ages to get this thing out, but it was quite worth the wait -- our first release is finally out now on vinyl seven inch and mcd: THE REBARKER -- "Krähen" -- 7 inch/mcd

-- pretty accurate self-description: "a train full of optimists crashing into reality". 6 sonx of pissed hardcore punk from one of the most fucked up cities in germany... think The Swarm, Chokehold and all your other heroes from the 90ies with a fresh sound and a high-pitched screamo voice. mcd version has 2 extra sonx.

-- technical: 250 copies (all on black vinyl, hand-numbered). both formats are 4.00 € w/out postage. trades are welcome. wholesale rates upon request.

REVIEW in VICE MAGAZINE (V5N2):

Rebarker bilden sich etwas darauf ein, aus einer der abgefucktesten Städte Deutschlands zu kommen. Es geht um Magdeburg, Ladies und Gentlemen, haben sie kurz Mitleid bitte... Prekäre Milieubedingungen waren schon immer hilfreich als Authentizitäts-Push-up für Frustdokumente. Dementsprechend herzlich klingt diese Aufarbeitung von Slap-a-Ham-Standards, alter Bremen-Schule und neueren Genre-Updates (siehe oben), die in den letzten Jahren aus nicht ganz so abgefuckten deutschen Städten eingereicht wurden. Darum: Hands down for Machdeburch und Räborkor.

REVIEW in POISONFREE.COM (März 2009):

Die 7” von Rebarker aus Magdeburg ist nicht nur vom Layout her sehr schick, sondern bietet auch überraschend schlagkräftige Musik für einen (zumindest in meinem Regal) neuen Namen.

REVIEW in WASTEOFMIND.DE (März 2009):

Julius Stiebert 7/10

REVIEW in OX # 83 (April, Mai 2009):

Rebarker aus Magdeburg, mit einem musikalisch soliden, enorm schick verpackten Kleinformat. Zu hören gibt es sechs knackige Songs modernen, dreckigen Hardcores, der ohne überflüssigen Schnickschnack und nach Aufmerksamkeit heischendem Pseudo-Geblubber auskommt. Sollte was für Leute sein, die auf Zeug stehen, das nicht mit Weichspüler auf eine Hochglanzversion des Genres getrimmt wurde, die aber auch nicht in der "guten alten HC-Zeit" kleben geblieben sind. Da geht (wieder) was in Sachsen-Anhalts Landeshauptstadt. Ein Lichtblick für eine in dieser Richtung etwas ausgedörrte Stadt/Region.

Konstantin Hanke

REVIEW in PLASTIC BOMB # 67 (Juni 2009)

helge.

REVIEW in TRUST (# 136 Juni/Juli)

REVIEW IN http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/ (december 2009)

Reviewed by Oli Saunders

One of the greatest things about being a music fan is when you stumble across something completely unexpectedly that blows you away. You then play the music over and over, perhaps shaking your head in disbelief at just how fucking good it is. It's a great feeling that I don't find in many other areas in life. Now before I get carried away any further, that hasn't quite happened here, but this record has certainly made my weekend. I found out about it a month or so ago back when looking through Superfluous' list of releases. It sounded decent from the one song preview I heard so I thought I'd give it a try. Now giving it a proper listen without massive expectations this afternoon I am enjoying it a huge amount.

Back to the calm and collected review that attempts to be objective, you have probably heard bands like The Rebarker before. They certainly exist. The band themselves compare their music to hardcore such as The Swarm and Chokehold. I don't actually remember what these bands sound like I have to admit! Maybe they are much better, I'll look into it. For me there is a bit of screamo vibe going on; a little bit in the guitars maybe, which race about all over the place with lots of distortion. And particularly the vocals, which are unmistakenly German in sound. Think Enfold or Linsay, but it's all a bit faster and punkier than that Bremen hardcore sound. Maybe Francis Brady but with less high pitched vocals? The drumming is pretty damn pummelling most of the time too. If only I could remember what The Swarm and Chokehold sound like this review mgiht be easier. Overall it looks like there are a lot of influences that have shaped this music, but at the end of the day it is simply good old raging hardcore.

There's a nice audio sample to start things off and then BAM! A nine minute onslaught of screams and instruments. 'Old Choir' is the first track and I am all over this, probably one of the best on the 7''. The rest are similar in quality, however, and there is little time given to letting up. The final track 'Whats Left To Do?!' ends things brilliantly, it goes instrumental in the middle before climaxing with awesome riffs and screams. 250 copies pressed, I think this could appeal to a lot of people into German hardcore. One final thing is the lyrics booklet which is great: comic book panels have been taken and the lyrics have replaced where the speech once was. Simple but pretty damn cool. Pretty surreal too when there's a cartoon of Batman and Robin exchanging cryptic lyrics about consciousness dying. Good stuff.

UNRESTRAINED -- AN INTERVIEW

2008-09-19T17:36:00.000+02:00

we will release several records in the coming months -- one being an UNRESTRAINED/LAURA MARS split 7". as we work with almost unknown bands we felt that the world needs to know a little more about them. at SUPERFLUOUS we want to give these bands an outlet -- not only music-wise, but also an outlet for their ideas and thoughts. that is why we started e-mail interviews with them hoping to get a better idea of what these people are all about. at least this will be more informative than your average "we-played-with-Sick-Of-It-All-in-2004-at-the-salzwedel-open-air-and-have-21.956-myspace-friends"-band biography, that are so popular these days.

this whole conversation will be a continuous thing; we will be adding new questions and answers as soon as we get them from the bands. feel free to post comments.

1. could you briefly introduce yourself and the band, please?

Andy: My name is Andy, I play guitar for Unrestrained. We’re a hardcore punk band from Portland, OR, USA, home of the Wipers.

Justin: I'm Justin, and I do vocals for the band. We're just some dudes that have been friends for quite some time, and finally came together in one band.

2. what is your motivation for being in a band and what are your long/short-term goals?

Andy: My motivation for being in a band. . . tough question. I got into punk really young, I was about 12 when I first started seeking out punk music, and 13 when I started seeing bands play. I’ve always been musically inclined, I come from a musical family, the majority of my family members for three generations wrote / recorded / performed music, so I was born into an inclination for song ideas. When I was younger, I definitely saw music as my outlet for emotional / psychological discord. I have a history of being a painfully introverted person, and of my introversion being perceived to people around me as stand-offish, elitist, or weird, all of which perpetuated my aloneness. I’d been writing songs all my life but when I started putting together bands it was both an opportunity to establish relationships with people (friendships, working relationships, etc.) as well as to communicate my perspective through song, since it was largely my place to speak up. As I’ve gotten older, I have a tendency to be exhausted by music. I am a generally goal-focused person, and that seeps through to my bands. My girlfriend called me out the other day, she said I always need to have a project to have as an urgent concern, and it’s totally true. Teaching song ideas, booking shows / tours, checking mail (electronic mail, but whatever), it all keeps me busy and occupies my time. However, I can do these things in other media, so why music? I had to think about this, and I guess what is comes down to is, when I’m not playing music, I feel like something’s missing. In some ways it bugs me, and at the risk of sounding very “poor me”, sometimes I’d like to be a person that doesn’t need to play music, it can be very exhausting to the energy, the emotions, and the pocketbook. But, in the periods where I’m not playing music, I feel like something’s missing. I almost feel detached from my emotions and myself, or have in the past at least- it’s been a while since I’ve not had a band, haha.

Justin: Being in a band is the best outlet for me. Before I joined my first band 8 years ago, everything got bottled up inside of me, and would fester for untold amounts of time, until I erupted (usually not at the most opportune time, or directed at the proper people). Even though being in a band serves as an anger outlet, I still find it to be fun. My only goals at the moment are to continue having fun making music with my best friends.

As for goals. the answer to this changes daily. Being goal-focused means there’s always a brass ring I’m chasing in one form or another. I’m hitting a period where I’m trying to learn to let go of the brass ring, to just have fun playing music for a while and when it’s not fun, to put the brakes on, no questions asked, no further concern, and revisit music when I feel like it’s fun or that I miss it. It’s an interesting place to be, especially when the ball is rolling in so many directions.

3. how did you get introduced to hardcore/punk music and what is your opinion about the current state of affairs regarding this subculture of ours?

Andy: I was introduced to punk in a few different ways. First was my parents. I grew up hearing all kinds of music, some of which was punk. I’d heard the first Ramones record, The Clash “Combat Rock”, and X “Wild Gift”, among others, before I was old enough to know what I was hearing. So in some respects I’ve always had exposure to it. As I got older and started discovering my own music, I found northwest alt-rock, partially because it was accessible as it was the early to mid-90s, partially because it was in my region of the country. As I found that much of it still left something to be desired, I started investigating other forms of music, bands that had influenced them, bands with interesting names frankly, basically anything I could get my hands on. I started gaining some awareness of classic punk- The Clash, Subhumans- and went from there. I started discovering local current punk, and from there started going to shows. I saw a band from Portland called National Guard a lot, they were influenced by Minor Threat, Gorilla Biscuits, and Uniform Choice, and seemed to influence EVERYONE in our town and age group- I’m currently in three bands, and two of them have members I became connected with as a result of our following National Guard. From there I was completely immersed in punk. It was about twelve years ago, so fast-forward to today, haha.

My current feeling in regards to punk is one of disconnection. It’s increasingly hard to feel a part of what’s around me, through I still feel very connected to the feelings I grew up with. There are good people everywhere, and that includes punk, so I have to remind myself to stay open to finding them. However, I also have feeling a part of what’s going on right now, it doesn’t feel the same to me. Part of that I’m sure is just my age, everyone’s “back in the day” is something kind of special to them. Additionally, I just find that my music taste has changed drastically. I have an increasingly hard time listening to hardcore punk, both because I have a hard time finding songs that I like and because the volume and tone of the music tend to give me headaches and feelings similar to motion sickness. Call me old, I don’t care, haha.

Justin: My story is slightly similar to Andy's, in that I first discovered punk at the age of 12 when I found my Dad's Sex Pistols record. That led to other bands like the Clash and the Ramones. Around that same time, I was learning to play guitar, and had a subscription to Guitar World. They dedicated an entire issue to the top 25 records of most musical genres, and as an addition to the top 25 punk records, they had a page listing their take on the top 10 hardcore records. The article described hardcore as the bastard step brother of punk, and not more than a week after reading that issue, I had managed to purchase records from Minor Threat, and Black Flag. It was a few years later that kids my same age were beginning to start their own hardcore punk bands, and as Andy mentioned, National Guard were a huge part of that. Sure, Portland has had many legendary punk bands, but this was finally something my friends and I could call our own.

Hardcore today...this is a subject I've gone on numerous rants about. Andy and I have had multiple discussions about the matter via text message while at work even. Hardcore has been a part of me for a little over half my life now, and it's something I'm still very passionate about, but I've found myself more and more disinterested in a fair portion of current bands. I don't get that same sense of passion and genuine outrage from them like I did from the bands I used to go see live. This isn't to say that there aren't some great bands around today, because there certainly are, but in this digital age, I find it takes me a little longer to give a band a real chance, as opposed to the days of when I would buy up just about anything I saw in a distro. Hardcore always ebbs and flows, and I'm hoping that something major will come along soon to reinvigorate it, and make it ugly and filled with rage again.

3.1. Both of you talk about being "disinterested", feeling "disconnected" and having "a hard time listening to hardcore punk" when asked about your relation and your feelings in regard to the current state of hardcore… Why are you still sticking to hardcore punk, then? Have you ever considered getting more involved in a different subculture or playing another style of music?

Andy: Natural inclination really. I feel very connected to punk, it’s just that the punk I feel connected to isn’t in my immediate reality, at least musically. It very much is in the people I surround myself with (both through having friends in punk, and having friends who are unafraid to be themselves, which, whether they found it through punk or not, is very much a part of my personal description of punk) and the way I choose to live my life. Punk ethics is something that becomes easy for people to spout off about and to get on a soapbox about, but I’ve always understood punk as like a feeling I have almost as a reaction to myself, if that makes sense- through finding out more about myself, I find out more about myself, at the risk of sounding obvious and redundant. That being said, musically, a lot of current punk is really boring. I tend to gravitate to people whose songs have a blend of traditionalism and forward-thought, which are somewhat contradictory on paper, but when they work, they really work. When people are playing punk, no matter what the genre, you can hear it. It could musically sound like alt-pop, but some people play it so it feels like I’m listening to Adolescents, they play it with courage, with heart, with soul, they keep me as the listener on my toes, and do the same thing to themselves as the creator. That’s the punk I’m interested in, and maybe I’m looking in the wrong places, but I just happen to not find that feeling in a lot of what is currently associated with punk. As far as getting involved in a different subculture, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I didn’t know where to start with punk, either, I just sort of ran with it when I got a taste. It felt right.

Justin: I got into punk at a relatively young age, and it’s become a part of who I am. It’s very hard for me to let go, because every time I listen to the bands that got me into punk/hardcore, they still continue to fill me with passion for this subculture. I enjoy other forms of music, but they don’t fill me with a desire to get into them on a performance level, unless of course I could join an AC/DC cover band!

3.2. What would need to change in current hardcore for you to feel a little more enthusiastic about it again? Or better; what would you like to see more -- what would you like to see less?

Andy: Honestly, I see things like my own discontent with punk as a matter of perspective. It’s like how everyone has their own “back in the day” stories- for me and Justin there’s the aforementioned National Guard. That’s very much our “back in the day” experience, among others. But, for older Portland folks who were around for early Poison Idea, Neo Boys, and Wipers, National Guard might not have struck them as anything. A lot of what is deemed exciting for people is reflective of the time in which they encountered it. It’s reflective of the place each person was at in their lives. So, part of the issue might be that I am not in the right place to see what I might see if I were new to the culture, or perhaps my ear just isn’t there for it right now. As far as what it would take to make me feel more enthusiastic? More originality, though again not in a Pink Floyd, Phil Collins way, just people kind of pushing the boundaries of what sounds fresh and exciting. More pushing the boundaries of what feels fresh and exciting. More heart on the sleeve. More honesty.

Justin: Hardcore needs more individual thought, and more people playing music because it’s the only way they know how to exorcise their demons, and express their passion. Give me more bands that have something interesting to say. I would also like to see less flat brim hats, and co-opting of hip hop fashion, and less kids emulating what they think is hardcore because they saw it on youtube.

4. How would you describe your music A) to somebody who is into hardcore punk in terms of style and influences and B) to somebody who has no relation to hardcore punk whatsoever

Andy: To a person with a hardcore punk background, I’d usually just say it’s a hardcore punk band, then rattle off influences- Threadbare, Undertow, Burn, Integrity, Cro-Mags. For someone who isn’t into that stuff, I just say it’s a heavy doom-and-gloom kind of band, haha. That usually gets the job done.

Justin: When speaking to someone with a background in hardcore/punk, I tend to tell them that Unrestrained is a hardcore band that is a bit of a throw back to the bands of the mid 90s, but that we also don’t stagnate ourselves by limiting our playing to any particular aspect of that sound. For people that aren’t into this sort of music, I just tell them we’re an underground punk band.

5. How important are the lyrics in Unrestrained songs for you? Can you give some examples of what you are singing about in your songs?

Andy: Being that Justin writes all of the lyrics, he’s more fit to discuss the topics he’s writing about as they directly pertain to his life. I will say though, as a member of a band and as a close friend, the lyrics in Unrestrained are kind of what make Unrestrained for me. One of my closest friends has a place where he can exorcise some heavy shit from his life and it is a place that helps him heal. That supercedes any band glory bullshit.

Justin: The lyrics are obviously very important to me. I went through a period of my life a few years ago where I was stuck in a deep depression. This went on for a few years, and sinking further, and further into that depression made me detach myself from many things. Things turned around for me about 2 years ago, and at this stage, my lyrics are a reflection upon that period of my life, and are an attempt at reconciling those thoughts that I carried within myself. Some of my lyrics also deal with and political issues. I’m easily agitated by many things in this world, and they manifest themselves into songs about my hatred of the ways that people perpetuate their idiocy.

5.1. Do you feel that hardcore punk bands should talk about their lyrics and explain during shows as nobody understands a word anyway or would you rather go with the quote: less talk more rock?

Andy: I feel it’s really particular to the band. I know that, for me, when I’ve been in a position where a song is coming up and there’s that two and a half minutes of space to fill while others are tuning, getting water, etc., if the topic of the song is something that is particularly heavy or frightening for me to talk about, especially in front of a group of people, I force myself to talk about it less for the audience and more for overcoming the fear of discussing my own stresses publicly.

As an audience member, I usually like a small bit on the subject matter, but I like a comfortable middle ground. I like to hear about the topic but not listen to a blowhard lecture. It’s also hard because I’m not a very understanding person so I forget that, at times, people’s speeches are part of them processing or developing, they’re just doing it in front of an audience. I have a tendency to immediately see the flaws in people’s logic, which doesn’t give them the space to learn on their own terms. So, I suppose less is more is a good solution, though maybe it’s better for me to hear people lecture about things that don’t line up so I can learn not to be an ass about it.

Justin: I love when bands explain their songs. Granted, some singers are far more eloquent of speakers than others, but I would love some insight into lyrical content, especially if the live show is the first time I’m hearing a band. I enjoy being able to hear the root development of song content, and get a better understanding of where the passion comes from. Perhaps being able to hear Greg Bennick explain Trial songs on a consistent basis has left me feeling a need to hear song explanations.

7. Could you briefly give your opinion on the whole MP3/digital music download issue?

Andy: What’s the issue? Downloads are killing the conventional music industry. Fine. They function in a business model that’s illogical anyway. Good riddance. Artists are figuring out how to do things without them, and I’m all for that. I can’t deny, I’d like to have a promotion team behind me, which is basically what a label has to offer, combined with distribution. But that just means I need to hone my marketing in and figure it out better on my own.

I tend to get bummed on digital-only releases only because records are really cool. Insert art, looking at and holding and looking through the record, those are things I connect with the experience of listening to music and coming to understand a band. Not having that bums me out at times, but overall I suppose I’m fine with it because the handful of digital-only releases I have I love because the songs are so damn good. Which is what matters ultimately anyway.

Justin: If record labels weren’t charging outrageous amounts of money for records that only have 2-3 good songs, this wouldn’t really be much of an issue. Of course, it can be a bit different for underground bands, because they don’t have labels that are wasting money on press junkets, A&R teams and music videos. I have a very different outlook on downloading indie music, as opposed to major label music. I definitely download a lot of music from independent artists, but I try to purchase as much as I can as well, because those artists and labels need the money to fund future projects. It also comes down to how much I love the entire package of a record. Lyrics are a big deal to me, and I want to be able to read those, and see the artwork that the overall attitude of the band has inspired. I’m far more lenient about what I purchase when it comes to major labels. If you aren’t AC/DC, the chances of me buying your record are pretty slim.

IN THE MEANWHILE... NEW SHIRTS

2008-06-25T12:33:00.000+02:00

we are currrently busy working on our first two releases. it might take until after the summer for them to see the light of day, though. in the meanwhile we are keeping today's fashion oriented hardcore punk kids entertained w/ exclusive DIY garments for quite reasonable prices. we did all the design and printing work ourselves (yes, we stole the bike rider part from r.a.m.b.o./bukowski!) and know how much everything costs. so next time you see one of these self-proclaimed punk bands selling one or two-colored shirts for 10 euro or more just tell them to please FUCK OFF and get a real job to finance their leisure time pleasures.

UNDER A BLACK FLAG WE SHALL RIDE -- shirt (yellow/light blue in S, M and L) -- 7 €
UNDER A BLACK FLAG WE SHALL RIDE -- bag (yellow/blue 38 x 42) -- 3 €
LAURA MARS -- shirt (brown in M) -- 7 € [get them from the band!]
THE REBARKER -- shirt/bags (different colors and sizes) -- 7 € [get them from the band!]

BENEFIZSHOWS GANZ GUT GELAUFEN...

2008-06-12T22:04:00.000+02:00

die magdeburger benefiz-shows für callum robbins im mai liefen recht gut, so dass wir seinen eltern insgesamt mit einigen hundert euro helfen konnten. mit etwas mehr weitblick hätte durchaus noch mehr drin sein können... vielen dank auf jeden fall an alle, die dabei waren und das möglich gemacht haben.

eine kurze danksagung kam auch von den eltern:

Dear Mr Montymore, Power Rangers of Hardcore, Laura Mars & Enrico - Thank you for your kindness in contributing to Callum's care fund. Your donation will help our family so much as we move forward in dealing with the daily and increasing difficulties of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and it will give us a chance to leave no stone unturned in exploring new options for treatment. With love and gratitude - Janet, J., and Callum

2 SHOWS IM MAI: 02.05. +++ 16.05.

2008-04-19T21:55:00.000+02:00

02.05.2008 -- MAGDEBURG, FACTORY
ENRICO, LAURA MARS und MR. MONTYMORE spielen am 02.05. in der magdeburg factory eine benefizshow für callum robbins.

benfizhintergrund: callum ist der 2-jährige sohn von j. robbins und janet morgan. der kleine leidet an einer krankheit namens spinale muskelatrophie (sma typ 1). ein kurzer blick in den entsprechenden wikipedia-artikel dürfte jedem die dramatik der sitution klarmachen.
j. robbins hat uns in unserem bisherigen punkrockerleben teilweise stark berührt, beeinflußt und inspiriert: ob als sänger/gitarrist in GOVERNMENT ISSUE, JAWBOX, CHANNELS oder als produzent von Jets to Brazil, Hey Mercedes, The Dismemberment Plan, The Promise Ring, Jawbreaker, Against Me!, Modern Life is War oder Murder By Death... der mann ist unglaublich! (vielleicht kann sich ja noch jemand an das BURNING AIRLINES konzert vor 9 jahren in magdeburg erinnern?!)
auf jeden fall braucht die familie robbins finanzielle unterstützung, um arztkosten etc. decken zu können. wir wollen mit eurer hilfe durch dieses konzert (ein anderes fand am 15.03. statt) so viel geld wie nur irgend möglich zusammen bekommen und direkt an die familie robbins schicken. es wäre super, wenn ihr uns dabei helft... verbreitet die flyer und posts, kommt zu den shows oder spendet selber etwas!!!
-- links:
http://callumrobbins.blogspot.com/
http://www.desotorecords.com/cal/index.shtml
-- hinweis: das konzert findet in einem kleinen nebenraum in der factory statt. einlass über haupteingang.
-- eintritt: 5 € (komplett spende)

16.05.2008 -- MAGDEBURG, STUDENCLUB KISTE
kein benefiz sondern eine "einfache" hardcore show mit JULITH KRISHUN, PARKER LEWIZ und SCREWED UP.-- hinweis: die kiste befindet sich auf dem campus der medizinische universität magdeburg, haus 31a (neben dem studentenwohnheim) in der leipziger strasse 44. eine karte findet ihr hier.