Litovsk

Reviews

Litovsk Litovsk 12″

France’s LITOVSK has released a beautifully packaged slice of life on their new self-titled 12″. Playing crisp and clean melodic post-punk with shimmering guitars and nasally vocals, LITOVSK recalls bands like MISSION OF BURMA and the REPLACEMENTS, and would fit quite nicely on a bill with contemporaries MIDDLEMAN. Lyrics range from socio-political themes like nationalism and chauvinism to themes of heartache and longing, most notably on “Riverside,” a sparkling ode to childhood in a poor town where riding mopeds and attending soccer matches distracted from the mundanity of life. Heartfelt and sincere, LITOVSK delivers a satisfyingly introspective listen.

Alarm / Barren? / Douche Froide / Litovsk split 12″

Super gritty four-banger split from some newish, downbeat French punks. ALARM has dueling guitars and a great drum and bass bridge; BARREN? sings a bleak poem entitled “Illusion” (“You can wave goodbye to your hopes and dreams”); DOUCHE FROIDE is bass-forward with angelic vocals; LITOVSK is big, glassy guitar riffs and a jangling bass. I like that all of these songs are in the four-to-five minute range, as it gives you more to chew over. Though not all on these labels, each band’s got a previous record or two worth checking out.

Litovsk I’ll Never Forget You / Dit Will Ik Nooit Vergeten 7″

I scoured MRR’s list of reviewable records and stumbled across this band I had never heard, and decided to review it based on the cover art: some youth soccer game with a kid going-one-on-one with the goalkeeper. “I’ll Never Forget You” has a tough rumble, making you think you’re dealing with some Oi!-type attack, and then the guitars come through with those big melodic strums. It all comes together like a quicker, leaner track off of Second Empire Justice. The B-side is more focused on getting goths to dance, with a drum machine and synth pushing the tune. Maybe I should break edge and do ecstasy or whatever club drug to really understand how the cover art relates to the music? I originally thought this was going to have a real running-down-the-back-streets vibe (I’m fine without it), but they use the soundbite of a football crowd much more subtlety than Cut the Crap-era CLASH. You’re gonna need this shit for your darkwave Instagram Live DJ set.