Chuzpe

Reviews

Chuzpe Women in Prison / Stealing Russians in Watchia 7″

Bachelor digs up two unreleased 1979 recordings from these Austrian oddballs. CHUZPE, arguably Austria’s first punk band, formed in 1977, initially playing pretty straightforward punk. Over time they would gradually morph into a full-on synth-pop band, but these tracks find them a bit closer to the punk end of that spectrum. “Women in Prison” is a punky new wave number where the synth is wielded like a frat rock organ, giving the song a bit of a B-52’S vibe. “Stealing Russians in Watchia” is more frenetic and post-punky with a circusy synth running throughout, sounding not unlike early WALL OF VOODOO. Probably inessential, but a cool enough record.

Chuzpe Terror in Klein Babylon LP

A compilation of demos and unreleased recordings from early Austrian punk group CHUZPE, this LP is a lasting document of old school punk in Europe. For being made up of mostly demos, the record is surprisingly high-quality. The tracks sound full and developed, but still rough enough to sound reminiscent of other late ’70s punk. If you’re looking for something to be nostalgic for then look no further. This is about as good as it gets when we’re talking about found recordings compilations.