It is always astonishing to see what gets categorized under "Post-Punk." Since the drawer was invented, in my opinion, a lot of things that somehow passed by punk end up there, but have nothing to do with punk itself. Why can't we just say it's noise, industrial wave, or something else.
TV CULT is one of those bands that brought this thought to my mind.
The band from Cologne delivers their debut album COLONY. This is a very remarkable debut album. It sounds incredibly mature, powerful, and hefty. It's hard to believe that this is a debut album.
TV CULT is classified as a punk or post-punk band by the label. Now, every drawer is a bit different in every head, and of course, I can hear punk influences here, even punk songs. However, it is wrong to reduce the band to punk.
The band has created a sound that, in my opinion, moves between dark and cold rock, wave, a pinch of industrial, and traces of crust and hardcore. Sure, packing that into two words is cumbersome, but the drawer of punk or post-punk is, in my opinion, too small for the band.
Especially now, with the dark and gray weather, the dark music from Cologne fits perfectly. Dark, resigned, angry — that is the sound, and that is the singing of Marco Natale. Sometimes he sounds as if he is screaming out all the world's pain, sometimes his voice scratches the microphone so much that you think Marco is a chain smoker with vocal cord problems. Then he sings again like Iggy Pop did 20-30 years ago. A diversity that is not common and makes this record very interesting just because of the vocals.
TV CULT could have existed 30 years ago. Yet, the sound is fresh and powerful and is an absolute recommendation for lovers of dark (punk) rock and fans of Iggy Pop.
TV CULT, not for everyone, but for connoisseurs.
The album is released exclusively digitally and on colored vinyl.
