Wow, this is quite unusual: There is no score rating for this CD at all. That's right, my dear woodlice, ticks, and those who like to drink their beer from a rotten boot. There is no rating for this review! But there is a good reason for that: This record is likely to drive people apart more than the Berlin Wall.
But what is so special about this album? And why should I, a permanently drunk, unemployed Hartz4 recipient, drinking punk (at least that's what society says…) listen to this disc, which hasn’t even received a rating in the form of funny numbers? The answer is clear: Because this record is just right for you! It fully supports your unemployed Hartz4 recipient drinking punk existence. Because – it may sound cliché – this album is only about two topics: 1) Beer or drinking and 2) Shit or what annoys me. Nothing more. Even the title of this compact disc refers to drinking. As proof, I’ll simply show the tracks that you can enjoy:
1 - Alcohol
2 – Boredom
3 – Love is…
4 – Canned Beer
5 – Techno
6 – Karlsquell
7 – Without Beer
8 – Shit
9 – Drinking
“That sounds boring,” some might think. And that’s exactly where the band comes in: Either you find the CD just shit or you think it’s great because of its banality, cliché, and simple anti-social nature!
The lyrics are simple and quickly sung. At 2:40 minutes, “Shit” is probably the longest song on the album. It is one of the few songs that exceeds the 2-minute mark. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the album comes to an end after about 15 minutes. The songs thunder and roll over the speakers, bringing up one thought: “Pretty… uncomplicated.”
Uncomplicated definitely applies to the lyrics. One should not expect lyrical masterpieces or even political thoughts. A few examples? “Today I’m drunk again and behaving like a pig,” “Love is shit! Love is shit!”, “I’m fed up with this music, smash the techno hippies! We don’t want techno here, that’s why we sing!”, “Drinking every day, drinking what I like!”. These and similar lines accompany you throughout the entire album. The lyrics are therefore alcoholic-friendly and encourage even the last bum to sing along.
Musically, the band also sticks to simple structures. This is bitterly necessary given the brevity of these songs; after all, there’s no time for grand musical experiments. Everything clangs, everything bangs, and everything scrapes, while in the background a seemingly drunk Hartz4 recipient drinking punk bellows the lyrics into the microphone. The lyrics can only be understood with difficulty, as the quality is not only not the best but is also due to the singer’s background. The band comes from Holland, and they have made it their mission to create German punk. There are no lyrics available online (at least I haven’t found any), but if you make a bit of effort, you can catch small snippets of lyrics and piece them together bit by bit. Well, with songs like “Without Beer,” even my patient nature gets frustrated, as this song is probably the epicenter of speed. It’s not the shortest song (1:09 minutes), but it’s still damn close. That should be a sufficient excuse for not understanding more than the chorus. But who wants to overexert themselves to shout more than really necessary? “Without beer, without beer, without beer it’s shit here!” is more than enough!
I can vividly imagine how the reader of this article incredulously reads these lines and wonders what to do. Should he give this band a chance or not? I would advise: First, visit the Myspace page of the four gentlemen! There are songs listed (including some rehearsal tracks that are not on the album!) that should be more than enough to get an idea of “Hate and Violence.”
For me personally, this CD was just an absolute hit! I’m not really into cliché music or lack of variety. But when I heard the first songs of this band, I couldn’t help but laugh at the banality and simplicity of the songs. I just found the music great! Whether you want to drink or just want to pollute your surroundings with your presence: This silver disc is a loyal and, above all, well-suited companion. However, if you listen to the music in the company of some “finer” or more demanding gentlemen, don’t be surprised if you might be ruthlessly rejected. But that’s somehow irrelevant… you just grab a bum barrel, light a bit of paper in it, and then dance around the burning thing while enjoying the sounds. THAT is probably the profound philosophy that the four guys from the Netherlands want to convey. “Do your thing!”.
The CD was once available for purchase at Impact Records but has since been removed. If you’re lucky, you can ask the successor band “DE Kaaskoppen” (with the same singer) if they still have a copy or two. For €3.50, the freshly burned DIY disc in a worn cardboard packaging - with a bearded guy with beer and women on the cover - will come to your home. For me personally, these €3.50 have more than paid off, considering how often I’ve listened to it and how much fun I’ve had (and will continue to have).
So if you’re into uncomplicated and truly brainless – without me meaning that derogatorily – drinking music, you certainly can’t go wrong with this album. Before we approach the end, a small side note: Since I started writing this review, the disc has already been played three times. Those who haven’t heard it with their own ears and perhaps even learned to love it will probably never understand what kind of “magic” this band possesses. Maybe I’m just crazy. But at this point, that really doesn’t matter!
In that sense: CHEERS!!
