Kaliber 44 “Księga Tajemnicza. Prolog”

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Released: 1996
Recommended tracks: “+ i -“, “Nasze mózgi”, “Psychoza”
For fans of: KRS-One, Raekwon, Cypress Hill

There’s no other hip-hop group in Poland that impacted so many people. They were one of the first, they are one of the best and – what is most important – there are one of the most original squads I’ve ever hears. And I did heard Death Grips. Thanks to them polish hip-hop have it’s own face, some even say it’s a separate genre called “psycho rap”. Why is that? You’ll know only after listening to the track at the bottom of this post. And don’t worry – it’s in Polish, but it’s rapped in a way that even a lot of natives can’t understand.

It can sound like a voice of the mental hospital escapee and I can bet You felt disturbed. To add more – this track is about fear of HIV contamination. “Plus” and “minus” from the title symbolize test results for the presence of the virus. Who would choose such a song to promote the album? Well, they did and it was a massive hit. I was 10 years old back than and there was no day I wouldn’t hear it. Beautiful times of independent media or at least less dependent than now.

Kaliber 44’s story is similar to many rock bands bios with drugs, death and lot of tough times included. I won’t write about that, but a little You can check at Wikipedia HERE. I’ve asked guys from Young Fathers, which whom I’ve made an interview for mu other blog, about their opinion on “+ i -” track and that’s what they said: “Kaliber 44 – He’s an operatic Ole Dirty Bastard!! Lovin’ it, hope he’s saying something good. His voice would fit well with our shit, maybe bring the beats up to date though?”. Pretty cool to hear that!

The Shipyard “We Will Sea”

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Released: 2012
Recommended tracks: “Music is the Only Chance”, “The Shipyard”, “Free Fall”
For fans of: Joy Division, Foals, My Bloody Valentine

What have to be noted is that The Shipyard is one of the best contemporary live acts in Poland. Although “We Will Sea” is a great album, I’d say it’s like Super Saiyan Level 1, while on the gigs they are like Super Saiyan Level 3 (If You don’t know what am I writing about, check THIS video). Maybe I got that feeling because in a first place I saw couple of their gigs and later on heard the album, but still “Music is the Only Chance” (my personal favorite from this release) is a killer song while listened on home-speakers and mass murderer song while listened live.

For a new listener first minutes of “We Will Sea” can create an image of a heavy rocking band, I’d say something around grunge with shoegaze ending, but next track (“Oyster card”) shows completely different band. Pulsing bass line goes to the fore, guitar is less angry and the vocals are definitely more romantic. From those two faces of a one band rest of the album is made. Next two tracks (“Free Fall” and “Music is the Only Chance”) are the best examples of that – fury interleaved with sensitivity. Oh, did I wrote about catchy refrains? Yup, they have that a lot. If MTV and most radio stations wouldn’t be so fucked up these days, they would love to make The Shipyard much more popular band.

“We Will Sea” is a debut album, but is not made by a beginners. Founder of The Shipyard is Piotr Pawłowski, known from a coldwave band called Made in Poland, active since 1984. There’s also Michał Miegoń, who have dozens of other projects (most known are Kiev Office, Marla Cinger and KSAS), Michał Młyniec – known also from Vulgar and Rafał Jurewicz, singer of Sound of Pixies – Pixies cover band. Right now The Shipyard are using PolakPotrafi.pl, polish crowdfunding platform, to gather funds for a second album. I’ll help them for sure and for sure You’ll read about their new material at Asskick From Poland.

Bruno the Questionable “Black Horse”

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Released: 1993
Recommended tracks: “Nie wiem”, “Czarny koń”, “Siostra nocy”
For fans of: Inkubus Sukkubus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Xmal Deutschland

You need to have proper attitude starting with this one. It is 20 years old and was recorded in home conditions, it sounds very raw and can give You an earache. You know what I mean if You’ve listened to early The Stooges or Bauhaus stuff. Why is that asskicking than? For the same reason Iggy was – raw power is about the energy, not the production. In addition Bruno the Questionable was a very important band in the history of independent music in Poland.

Band started as Bruno Wątpliwy, what is translation for Bruno the Questionable (later they’ve changed the name for English version), and what is inspired by a character from Monty Python’s “Jabberwocky”. First it was punk rock band, they even had some big time thanks to one of the most famous rock fests in Poland – Jarocin, but later on their sound became more gothic rock thanks to the voice of a new vocalist – Katarzyna Ziemek (known as De Coy). Her later husband, Leszek Rakowski – also Bruno’s musician, is now known mostly as organizer of one of the biggest goth culture festivals in Europe – Castle Party in Bolków. Anyway, name “Bruno the Questionable” was way to hard for polish audience, so after only one release band became Fading Colours and incorporated some electronic elements. They’re considered as ancestors of polish dark independent music.

What we have on “Black Horse” album is a goth rock, nearly punk (or rather post-punk) music. There are some great ideas (like “Nie wiem” – “I don’t know” song), but studio couldn’t handle it well enough. You will need to have a specific kind of imagination and sensitivity to pull out of this album what’s the best. And what could that be? In gothic music it’s pretty obvi – atmosphere. Doesn’t matter if You’re listening to The Sisters of Mercy, Clan of Xymox or Suicide Commando, gloomy atmosphere is what they must create to satisfy their audience.

Funny thing is that band name, album name and all the lyrics are in English language, but the titles of the songs are in Polish. Or maybe there’s something wrong with my copy.

Pedal Distorsionador “Pedal Distorsionador”

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Released: 2012
Recommended tracks: “Pedal Distorsionador”, “The Hip Blues”, “Youth Got It”
For fans of: The Stooges, David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age

This is one of my favorites, not only from Poland, but favorite at all. If You have some love for papa Iggy and papa David, You would feel the same. Right now Pedal Distorsionador is a four piece rock band, but what You can hear on their debut album is a material performed by 2 people. And You know what? Drum machine didn’t stole a bit from their thunderous sound. Maybe it’s because garage rock doesn’t need complicated beats, maybe guitar technique is dirty enough to catch all the attention. Whatever it is they are best rock duo since The White Stripes. Not Joking!

What is special about this band? I know some of You always want to hear something brand new, original, progressive and post-blah blah blah. Pedal Distorsionador is not one of those bands. They could be, but in the 60s and in the US. What is important, although You can hear The Stooges spirit in their music, it’s not a copy in any way. They have their own idea for a good ol’ rock’n’roll. Wanna check it? Whole album is available for free at their website, just click the link above. I highly recommend to do so.

This one is their latest single, recorded with a full band.

Job Karma “Strike”

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Released: 2005
Recommended Tracks: “Empire’s Collapse”, “Red Sky”
For fans of: Nox Arcana, Lustmord, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio

Ah, some easy stuff to introduce ’cause it’s completely instrumental. Actually Job Karma is quiet known among fans of dark ambient music outside the Poland, but the genre as a whole is very underground so lots of You probably didn’t heard this project before.

Wrocław’s duo (well, trio, but one of the guys is taking care only for visual side of Job Karma) released 6 albums and “Stike” is the one in the middle of their career. Why I choose this one? It’s simply the best (stop singing: “Better than all the rest” You Tina Turner psychofan), but that’s not enough – it is one of the best ambient albums I’ve ever heard. The atmosphere is so intensive that after few seconds of the first track (“Empire’s Collapse”) I’m turning into some wacko mystical sorcerer that can disconnect his soul from the body. Don’t worry, I’m all on the side of Jim Morrison in his famous dialogue about astrology with a random groupie, which ended in the words: “I think it’s a bunch of bullshit”. Yet, I feel very deeply moved each time I’m turning “Strike” on.

When You already push the play button, You’ll find obvi that this music is not precisely ambient. You can feel some industrial beats, some neofolk harmony or even martial industrial drumming. If You need to call it somehow, better use universal tag like “dark independent”. But hey, let’s fuck all those genre restrictions. It is simply remarkable electronic music, which would take You to a place You’ve never been before.

Such a shame there’s no “Empire’s Collapse” on the YouTube.

Illusion – “4 Bolilol Tour”

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Released: 1996
Recommended Tracks: “Nóż” (with intro), “Fame”, “Kły”
For fans of: Biohazard, Pantera, Alice in Chains

Why is this review important? Because it shows that I will write not only about latests albums, but also recall some old stuff. Also it will hit You with a shouted lyrics in Polish language. Oh, do not even try to skip this one. Come on, Dir en Grey is singing in Japanese and have dozens of fans, Sigur Rós have only Icelandic lyrics, Brujeria only Spanish, not to mention on of the most famous bands on Earth – Rammstein. Just give it a try.

I don’t like when a band is called “legendary” or “cult”, but what the hell… Illusion is a true legendary cult and I won’t regret words of respect for them. As a youngster I imbibed all of their anti-racist and respect others songs, got to say it changed my life in a way. You see, when they started it was just 3 years after the communism in Poland and although we had great underground scene on 80’s, it was mostly composed by punk rock, hardcore and reggae/punk bands. First two Illusion CDs were mostly heavier sound of grunge, like Alice in Chains (it was 1993 and 1994, so what could You expected). Later they tried some heavier stuff and albums I’m reviewing here is in my opinion their finest.

You’ve probably noticed word “tour” in the title and You’re right – it’s a live album. It consist of 16 tracks from previous 3 CDs (actually cassettes), but in a bit changed (much more asskicking) arrangement. Sure the production is not that good as nowadays stuff, but there’s so much power on stage and in front of the stage, that each time I’m listening to “4” I can smell the sweat of a crowd getting insane. Which is not the best smell in the world, but it’s a smell of a good ol’ days.

There are lot of flavors between the songs, that You won’t get unless You know polish language. There’s an announcement about stolen car in front of the club, there’s an word fight between the band and the security that thrown out someone from the public, there are jokes and serious matters. I believe it won’t destroy Your reception of whole material and hope You’ll love our beautiful language.

One more thing – band was inactive for 10 years, they get along for a single show in 2008 and since 2011 they are performing regularly. Right now they’re working on a new studio material since 1998. As soon as I’ll get my hands on it, I’ll let ya know.

Trupa Trupa “++”

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Released: 2013
Recommended tracks: “I Hate”, “Sunny Day”, “Dei”
For fans of: Slowdive, The Velvet Underground, Arcade Fire

There are certain rules about posting first review. It can’t be some extreme sulfuric satanish blasphemy, speedcore rapping in local language or lowercase basscrushing electronics. I’ve choose Trupa Trupa as their seem to be a band that lot of people can get into.

Do not be fooled by those pluses in the album title (or the cover), it’s not witch house. Trupa Trupa (what can be translated as Troupe of the Cadaver. “Troupe” and “cadaver” sounds the same in polish language, but we have separate words for a dream when You really want to meet Iggy Pop and for a dream when You’re sleeping and seeing Iggy eating some raw power veggie breakfast with Your mom) is a rock band, what sounds like “ocher is a color”. You wanna know what is the color of this Cadaver and his troupe? I’ll tell You that, they are red hot as their boiling track “See You Again”, they are depressive gray as “Here and Then”, they are deadly black as “I Hate” and they are amalgam of each color in best acid trip You could imagine (mostly thanks to a organs turning time into 60’s and shoegazing guitar).

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski (I dare You to read his name loudly!) – leader, vocalist and guitarist of the band – is a pretty good poet and I mean poetry that is actually printed by a publisher, not thrown in some wacky forum for a sad philology graduates. His poems are all in polish, but believe me He knows how to put verbs around nouns. Oh wait, You don’t have to believe me, just listen to it below. It was one of the best polish albums of 2013 and You got to check it.