New releases from Meinschaft and The Simple Pleasures
Meinschaft
To the Victim Belong the Spoils
(Tymbal Tapes)
Shrouded in mystery with hidden identities, the local concern Meinschaft (German for “community”) could lay claim to the title of “Most Provocative Band” in the area, having confronted live audiences with confusing and potentially offensive Raelian symbols, oppressive post-post-industrial music, a whirlwind manic slideshow with random photos paired with groan-inducing buzzwords and aerosol cheese sprayed directly into the mouths of willing participants.
In the band’s words, it seeks to “generate a perpetual vortex of ritual energy and concentrated spectacle, hurtling humanity closer and closer towards the crushing singularity of PROGRESS.” Is it serious, or is it satire? Is it possible to be both, being serious about a vision yet also taking a piss on, well, anything?
Meinschaft’s debut album, To the Victim Belong the Spoils, released on Tymbal Tapes in the U.S. and slated for release on Skrot Up in Europe, opts for confusion over clarity in its dark worldview, matched with disquieting music that evokes sample-heavy early ‘90s industrial music or sinister strains of ‘80s new wave.
“Invocation” begins the album in an appropriately ominous manner, with blatantly artificial drum-machine snare drum beats providing a militaristic air with the sound of knives being sharpened and processed vocals. These vocals assume the tone of a lounge singer in the next track, “Reload Rebrand,” incongruous with the stuttering synth notes and confrontational samples from the film Falling Down.
The album only gets more perplexing as it proceeds, with “The Conversation” being a jumble of jarring, unsettling sounds (screams, explosions) plus Vincent Price’s laughter, a doleful saxophone solo, babies crying, imitation pig snorts and a perky, chimpy tune to end things.Meinschaft is like a clown leading a circus of pain, shoveling toxic detritus into piles then slithering away and laughing from the sidelines at a game it refuses to play.
The Simple Pleasure
VHS Mixxxes
(Leather Daddy)
We shouldn’t be surprised to realize that music pioneer Brian Eno was so prescient in many ways, including his take on recording media.
In Eno’s 1996 book A Year with Swollen Appendices, he wrote, “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature...the excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.”
This at least partially explains many things, from nostalgic Instagram photo filters to the current vinyl revival to certain flavors of tape-hiss-imbued ‘90s lo-fi indie rock to the VHS-obsessed ‘80s-influenced visual aesthetic epitomized by some Adult Swim shows on the Cartoon Network.
On this topic, the VHS aesthetic is no longer limited to the visual arts, as demonstrated by the Philadelphia band The Simple Pleasure; its latest release, VHS Mixxxes, was made by remixing and processing tracks through a VHS VCR to degrade the sound, in stark contrast with the numerous new-and-improved remastered editions that have appeared for pretty much every “classic” album ever released.
This six-song EP was released digitally earlier this year and more recently on cassette, a format that adds even more degradation to the sound quality.
But let’s go back to Eno’s quote, concerning the excitement of events “too momentous” for their media. It’s true that while The Simple Pleasure’s live performances are perhaps too outrageous and high-energy to be properly captured on tape (video or audio), their studio recordings are no slouch, showcasing their pert, tight driving pop numbers that are hard to dislike.
The songs—originally released on 2016’s The Glamour of It All—are remixed with slight differences, like more prominent new-wave keyboards on “I Can’t Talk.”
The more outwardly comedic numbers, like the satirical “MilfShake” with a soccer/yoga-mom fetish and “Sorry Dad (I’m Straight),” may get the initial attention, but other gems are equally worthy, such as “Universal Appeal,” which flaunts an irresistible electro-glam-rock vibe, featuring band founder Rad Chaines delivering the perfect rock-star lead vocals with pop-inflected backing vocals from partner Admiral Grey.
One could think of VHS Mixxxes as a killer mix your uncle/aunt or older sibling dubbed onto tape three decades ago in an alternate reality, having endured one hundred listens and ready for one hundred more.