Reviews

Shoom

Contusion Haine et Souffrance 12″

Band name in Old English-style font? Inexplicable medieval woodcut imagery as cover art? Vocals that can only sound like that as the result of smoking two packs of Gitanes a day? That’s French Oi! baby, and this is very much that. CONTUSION emerges from the same Parisian scene that birthed FACTION S and OUTREAU, and indeed they share many of the same members, as well as a penchant for rough-as-yer-like Oi!—gang vocals, thundering bass, good-time mid-tempo skinhead rock’n’roll all present and accounted for, just how you like it. Nothing earth-shattering here, but we’ll leave that for the longhairs and prog fans.

Squelette Fin de Partie LP

I’m not going to beat around the bush, I love this album. SQUELETTE’s Fin de Partie has so much nuance and substance; it’s dripping with style and replay value. The pleasantly soft and jangly instrumental “Nouveau Depart” kicks things off, and while the comparison was hard to pin down at first, I realized it reminded me of the SMITHS, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. SQUELETTE masterfully weaves acoustic shimmering into their traditional French Oi! style, shown beautifully on tracks “Dans L’Instant“ and “Ronde De Nuit.” Peppered throughout, you’ll also find bits of saxophone and cold synths, both in line with the sort of thing you’d find on ’80s Chaos en France comps. It’s no surprise that it was mixed by Maxime of Chateau Vergogne Studio, who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to modern Oi! albums. Anyways, bravo SQUELETTE, this shit is magical. For fans of SYNDROME 81 and CAMERA SILENS.

Béton Armé / Ultra Razzia Demo 2018 / Demo 2017 split LP

Two of the hardest contemporary Québécois Oi! bands join forces for this split LP. Bringing together on wax both of their respective demo tapes and sprinkling them with a bit of studio remastering magique to give them a bit of brawn. BÉTON ARMÉ’s side of the split is in keeping with the fine tradition of francophone Oi! (sans saxophone), replete with buzzsaw guitars that if you told me had been transported directly from 1985, I’d believe you. ULTRA RAZZIA takes a slightly rougher, more punk-tinged approach, in keeping with more modern offerings like COUPE GORGE or TRAITRE. It also includes a joyous French-language cover of BLITZ’s “Razors in the Night,” which is almost worth the cost alone.