Maple Death is a quality label from Bologna, Italy doing quality work. The label put out some amazing releases, especially in the past year. It's no wonder, that the His Electro Blue Voice LP and the Tropical Trash/Brutal Birthday 7" were party of my "best of 2017" list. After this post I got in contact Jonathan Clancy, the guy behind Maple Death. Soon the idea grew to review some recent Maple Death releases and this is the result...
HAVAH - CONTRAVVELONE LP (Maple Death)
Havah is the brainchild of Michele Comarani, who was a member of La Quiete and Raein. To be honest I was never crazy about his previous bands, but with Havah he explores very different musical territories. This album offers an amazing mix of post-punk, death-rock and dark-wave,
taking the best moments of Christian Death, Vex, Bauhaus and Joy Divsion. But in the end Havah create their very own unique style of
goth-punk that sounds like a fresh
breath. The songs find a perfect balance between catchy song structures and a cold gloomy atmosphere. Lyrically "Contravvelone" is based on the history of Italian anti-fascist resistance fighters during the Second Wolrd War. An outstandingly great post-punk album! (Listen to it here)
HIS CLANCYNESS - PALE FEAR/COMING UP EMPTY 7" (Maple Death)
What we have got here is a two track single from Bologna's His Clancyness. This four-piece has developed a non-conformist style, that crosses several musical boundaries. The vibe is like some arty krautrock is being channelled through classic Rough Trade postpunk/indie records. "Pale Fear" is a super diverse tune full of unexpected changes. On the flipside His Clanyness slow things done and deliver a well-done minimal pop number. The songs were recorded in Bristol in Portishead’s Invada Studios and the result is an exceptionally good production. An excellent 7". (Listen to it here)
HIS ELECTRO BLUE VOICE - MENTAL HOOP (Maple Death)
After numerous brilliant 7" releases and their Sub Pop debut album "Ruthless Sperm" Italy's His Electro Blue Voice are finally back with a brand new LP. In the past years this band has evolved and developed it's very own trademark sound. The result sounds like a early '90s UK shoegaze oufit trying to get into motorik and repetitive psych/krautrock bathwater while adding a heavy dose of noise-rock. Despite numerous different influences, each song forms a well conceived whole. One main highlight is the loud crashing guitar wall of sound with it's undercurrent of great melodies. A highly addictive spin. (Listen to it here)
TROPICAL TRASH / BRUTAL BIRTHDAY - SPLIT 7" (Maple Death)
Tropical Trash's "Ufo Rot" LP was one of my favoruite releases of 2016 and now this Kentucky based group is back with this nice split 7", that came out in support of both band's recent Euro tour. The Tropical Trash side offers a powerful mid-tempo tune, built on driving bass lines and a lot of guitar/synth noise. It all sounds pretty evil and powerful and it's just another great example of Tropical Trash's unqiue style of post-punk/ post-hardcore. Brutal Birthday is a new band from Bologna. They draw from garagepunk, add a slight dose of noise-rock to the
mix and bash things out with just the right amount of destruction. If I didn't know any better, I would think this a lost Siltbreeze group from the 1990s. A very promising first release! (Listen to it here)