vendredi 19 novembre 2021

The MONSTERS: You're Class, I'm Trash

 

I know I know everybody knows The Monsters and there isn't much interest in writing anything about these guys. Well yes and no, I mean yes for sure they've been around since 1986, spreading dirty-garage-trash-blues-whatever insanity in all the most filthy and disreputable bars of the known world with a certain amount of success. Everybody also knows the Reverend Beat Man, The Monsters' charismatic leader whose as enigmatic as sparse haircut keeps fascinating me years after years, a man guilty of having released countless obscene records under different deviant names over the years... a man also responsible for one of the most successful European record label in terms of dirty garage punk blues (or whatever you wanna call that trash sound), the almighty Voodoo Rhythm Records from Berne, Switzerland, which has seen countless glorious bands (King Automatic, The Come'n Go, The Dead Brothers etc...) pass through its sticky fingers since the early 90s... But also no because I really enjoy their new album a lot more than what I was expecting (it surprised me to be honest) and I feel like writing a few words about it.

But let's cut the crap, you and I already know all there is to know about the four crazy Swiss men so let's have a look at the well-named You're Class I'm Trash, The Monsters' new album (would that be the 8th one?). 
 

 
 
You're Class I'm Trash is not the type to bother with courtesies, an introductory speech, an introduction track or anything of the sort, fuck that! You're Class I'm Trash hits you in the face with no warning, starting straight with a bang or several machine-gun-fast bangs to be precise... yes Gimme Germs' fastness surprised me, sounding a lot faster (and bloody more punk) than what I remembered of The Monsters' previous releases. Damn that's a lot of energy to take right in the jaw for the first song of a "hardcore rock'n'roll trash" record", and I love it!
And it's only the beginning, the Reverend and his sidekicks keep hammering a super straight forward kind of crazy filthy rock'n roll punk! No time for lame solos, bridges or whatever kind of shit you wanna put in a song, The Monsters aim straight for the throat!
 
 
  Of course the pace comes back to the band's usual tempo at some point, the perfect excuse for the four alpines lunatics to make their instruments roar and get lost in a maze of dissonant and noisy noises from which they (miraculously) always fall back on their muddy boots (even after venturing into a parody of high-pitched, childish lullaby at the end of Carpool Lane). But, as we get into the vocals topic, the reverend spends most of his time actually yelling, screaming way too loud in all directions, barking in your eardrums and bellowing insanities at the top of his lungs at a world too clean and serious for the religion he preaches with such devotion (amen).
 
The Monsters are used to fill up their albums with different kind of trash (no selective sorting here gentlemen), and there's always a couple of dirty ballads here and there to take a nice and enjoyable breaks between two shots loaded to death with dirty rock'n roll. Dead, the deranged post-mortem ballad and its angry follow-up, Stranger to me, are a great example of this admittedly worn-out but still devilishly effective trick. Same same for Yellow Snow Drink (sounds yummy) which is followed by the furious Electro Bike Asshole, reminding yuppies to go cycle for real or die (bastards).
 
His name is Beat, Beat-Man
  
  The Monsters are not only the perfect guests for your young nephew Bar Mitzvah, they're not cheap fuckers either, with 13 tracks in total (+2 bonus songs with the digital album) of durations varying between a minute or so and more than four and a half minutes, you get what you pay for little lady (not like all the grindcore scammers!), and in these times of scarcity where the average patron has to tighten his belt to be able to pay his monthly dose of black ethinyl, it's highly appreciated. 
After a couple of more great (but insane) touching love declarations (including the weird Devil Baby which quickly turns into some kind of wicked church choir), it's finally time to conclude (until next time) and what's best to end such a beautiful moment of worship than a proper Requiem hum? Yes yes yes and that's exactly what we get thanks to the help of Mario Batkovic (who usually plays nicely the accordion rather than the harpsichord with crazy bands in red suits)... a good excuse for the band to let loose its delirious imagination in the pleasant clip below.
 
 
  So yes You're Class I'm Trash is a good album (another one you'll say) and there is no point in sulking about it. Finally an album that will satisfy all the spiritual needs of your damned souls yes...
 
Fun fact the album is also available in Swiss-German (I mean all the vocals were also recorded in that language, one of the four official languages of the mighty country of Switzerland) and will be out on Slovenly Recordings in February 2022.
The album is then named Du Hesch Cläss, Ig Bi Träsch, which makes sense I guess. 
 
 Anyway, you've got it now I hope, monsters do exist and they're not done terrorizing your nights.
  Consider yourself warned.
 
 
 
picture by Patrick Principe


 
  You can listen to The Monsters on Rien à Faire #28.
 
 
 
 

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