The Anals were Benoit and Nafi. Hailing from Metz, France, home to a ridiculous number of genre-bending bands, most of which they play in (like A.H Kraken, Electric Guitars, The Dreams, Plastobeton, Scorpion Violente, Funk Police, and more), this is their first (and only ?) 7" and it’s an ass reamer. Taking the sheer repetitive brutality of a band like the Brainbombs and meshing it with the trance-like drone of a band like Suicide, these two songs have the guitars, drums, and synths all set to attack, and are not for the faint of heart. Sadly, in late 2007 Benoit passed away and now The Anals are done.
Jeff - sweet rot records

Debut, and quite possibly only, release from this two-piece digital-punk band from the wild streets of Metz, France. The tragic story is that one-half of this band (Benoit) passed away in late 2007, leaving this batch of recordings out of which Sweet Rot cherry-picked this single, although I’ve heard much of their output via CDR and this seems to be just the tip of the old iceberg. With links to AH Kraken and Electric Guitars and part of Le Grande Triple Alliance Internationalle de L’Est , whose triple pronged cross logo you’ve probably noticed on records by Feeling of Love, Normals (Seb Normal handled the recording on this) and other French genre-benders. "Commando of Love" is a synth-droner that tells a story of love in WWII. "Wake Up You’re Dead" fills the flipside with a digital take on relentless Brainbombs-like beat-hammering awash with freeform guitar damage and desperate vocals. For fans of the more evil side of French gluewave. Scum stats : first 100 on white, the other 400 on black. Sweet Rot scores major points with this last batch of sleeves as well, wonderful glued pockets on textured paper with stark b&w art.
(RK - Terminal Boredom)

review :

"This record is dedicated to the 1990s". Fuck yeah it is. More of the Feeling of Love inspired take on the one-man-band formula, equal parts blues-junk juking and weird-punk fucking. "Hand Clap Girl" = built around a digital clap, a little guitar, then a drum-thump and noise bleat are progressively added and then it’s over. Stomper. "I’m Nothing But A Drunk Pussy" = what can I say about the best song-title in years ? Literally the wails of a drunk French pussy accompanied by a mean blues. Slopper. "Jordan’s Rules" = lyrics by MJ himself, spat in French accompanied only by an ominous synth-throb. WEIRD. Crazy concept platter from Metz’s greatest. Whiteny Houston says masturbate.
Scum stats : 300 copies on red vinyl.
(RK - terminal boredom)
(Rococo Records // www.rococorecords.com)

Kicking it off "Hand Clap Girl", which sounds a little something like Deja Voodoo with a penchant for keeping the needle always bouncing in the red (and pinning it there for an entire duration of when the sick overdriven monster distorto-fuzz is in effect) and their mental wiring fouled up and tangled more than anyone could ever imagine probably isn’t gonna help France’s Feeling Of Love refurbish the ghetto that the whole "Blues-Punk" thing has created for itself since a billion dolts decided they it was their job to fill the void the Oblivians created when they decided to call it a day BUT I’m sure I’ll be knocking on the door of their shack first when looking for that kinda fix these days. Following that tune up is "I’m Nothing But A Drunk Pussy" which conducts itself like a Pussy Galore track from "Dial M..." but without the scrap metal percussion and some of the ten-fold hate vibes replaced a weird desperation. The flip is a "cover" of a song that the local college radio station used to actually play as part of their public service announcement fulfillment. I never understood how a recorded piece of basketball player Michael Jordan extolling his rules on life and the game that made him a trillionare qualified as a public service announcement nor do I understand most of the French translation here. It’s not because I don’t have a grasp of the language more than it’s rapid fire delivery and being distracted by the twisted arpeggiation of the disco synth bass loop. That’s right-A SYNTH ! The Feeling Of Love ain’t no purists when it comes to the ways they can kick over a trashcan but they sure know how to make a mess that is all their own.
(smashin’ transistors)

The latest release from the weird French one-man-act known only as The Feeling of Love came out recently on Rococo Records. Serving as an ode to the wonderful 90s, the 7" sleeve artwork features two of the biggest icons of the era, Michael Jordan and Curt Cobain. The music Feeling of Love plays oddly lends to traditional blues at its core with jangling guitar, but his clever way of wrapping it in a murky and mechanized cellophane offers more of a Glue Wave sound. With pulsing cadence, synthesized hand claps, and his hammering, voluble vocal style, Feeling of Love pulls past any question of predictability and offers up music that slides past categorization. The standout on this single is on the b-side in a song called "Jordan’s Rules," which was apparently penned by the man himself. Sung in The Feeling of Love’s rapid harangue style of singing, over a dizzying, synthetic drum beat, and guitar that will have you instantly dancing like a retarded robot.
(Victime of time)

Very nice stuff from two very nice Frenchmen. Dont like Girls is a subterranian crawl though the world of Them and the way these guys break down and fracture the Cheater Slicks is really fucking cool.
Scott Soriano

As great as the Tete De Bebe compilation was, it, and the deluge of bands/releases we became aware of post-release (that were there all along, but it just seemed to bring things to light a bit more...), kind of burned me out on French weird punk. I mean, there’s just so much of it. You could spend days just listening to this stuff on MySpace, not to mention all of the CD-R releases and shit that you have little chance of getting in the US unless you invest serious time and bucks. Not to say that there isn’t great stuff to be found ; a good lot of it is. But the whole morass of bands, side projects, solo stuff, etc. is daunting enough to be a bit off-putting. Meaning, we, the people, only have so much time to devote to this, which is why it was nice to have a user-friendly interface like Tete De Bebe to do the work for us. Left to our own devices, it’s like being lost in the forest. Anyway, this release, from Cheb Samir (Normals, Le Sport, Crack und ultra eczema, and more...) and the Black Souls of Leviathan (which is just Seb Normal it seems) is all over the place. Heavy on the bombast but little of it sticks to your ribs, know what I mean ? On the flip side they disembowel the Cheater Slicks’ "Just Do It". It’s a real horror show. My opinion, pass on this one and spend some time/money looking up these lesser-known French outfits : A.H. Kraken, The Feeling of Love, and Electric Guitars. There’s a ton of this stuff out there worth listening to, but this single really isn’t it. Scum stats : 500, amazing Bongout art, one of the best looking Yaki sleeves ever.
Rich Kroneiss / terminal Boredom

More French stuff from the normal family of bands. This time they draft their pal Jeff Clark and it seems to subdue the guys but in a way that makes them seem more meaty in their garageness.
Scott Soriano

The Normals, if you haven’t been keeping up on your French Glue-Wave band rosters, are sort of the Cheeraks minus MeeLoo and plus Cheb Samir, with a lineage that goes back to the Crash Normal (and still does), Thundercrack, and even the awesome and under-rated Squares (and more). They are joined on this two-song seven-inch by Jeff Clark from the Demon’s Claws in some sort of Franco-Canadian guitarist exchange program. The title cut is one side-long-sprawler of garage-blues downer that literally crawls off the vinyl. Druggily visceral and stoned-out. The B-Side is a little looser, weirder, with some wild oscillating guitar sounds. The B-Side is just average, but the A-Side is a must for your next peyote session in the sweat lodge. I’ll let you decide whether you want to pay import $ for one killer (and fairly long) tune. Scum stats : 500, screened Bongout sleeve.
Rich Kroneiss / Terminal Boredom

You can choose between two kinds of pattern :
  ERIC or JOHANNA

3 sizes for each :
  (S) for girls (small)
  (S) for guys (quite small)
  (M) for guys (quite large)

BATARANG (BE)
Fantastic new female-fonted band sprung from the super exciting and extremely fertile Strasbourg scene that seems to revolve around a mysterious French producer/con man and record peddler who goes by the name of Phil Scrotum. If that doesnt ring any of your bells, maybe names like Crash Normal or The Normals will, or Cheb Samir, whos in both the Normals (whom I hope you already know) and Crack Und Ultra Eczema, who sound somewhere inbetween Karate Party and The Numbers, or as the Softenon damaged offspring of Sick Things and Gang of Four. The esoteric, bizarro slant to their music is more pronounced than I expected on this CD, with some demented guitar noodling here and there thats reminiscent of the artier Electric Eels stuff, and the occasional nod to old Sonic Youth and the likes. More than just cook up a cool, original sound, they also know how to write some great tunes, and this record has plenty of those. In case you were still wondering : this is a band to cherish, and this albums a blast. Its a CD only release, but youre going to buy it anway because a) you believe anything you read on the Internet, and b) you dont want to miss out on one of the hottest French rocknroll records released so far in 2006. Recommended ! (Vinyl junks and collector nerds can satisfy their vile lusts by hunting down the Crack split ep with Le Sport on Bibimbap Records, and theres a track on S-S Records Tête de Bébé compilation as well.)
Tom
http://www.batarang.be/home.htm

TRAKMARX (UK)
Strasbourgeois NO WAVE collective Crack Und Ultra Eczema peddle most excellent post-rock-art-house blues for the 21st century. Mates of Single Of The Issue heroes, Cheveu, Crackund could teach the UKs insipid art faction a thing or two about being obstructive & constructive at the same time - without needing to melt your parents record collection down in the process : i.e. - The Young Marble Giants revival does NOT start here ! (...)
Wayne Cocaine tMx 25 06/06
www.trakmarx.com

VANITY PROJECT (UK)
Fear and isolation is captured in the opening underwater plink of Youre Really Under The Sea before the guitar, bass and what-not clang and clatter like terrified arms flapping to stay afloat. Buddys A Good Boy clips and rumbles with a Velvet Underground undertone beneath Devo-ish chirp. May They Want You responds to a call to spacey ultra-surf by falling down the stairs. Jah For A String balances on a shrill-slide high wire, while Away To Enjoy dips a toe into psychedelic waters, getting snared by a fierce rip-tide of squalling guitar. A vibrant, itchy record that annoys as much as it beguiles.
Skif
http://www.vanityproject.co.uk

SCOTT SORIANO (USA)
"If you bought Tete de Bebe than the first thing you heard was these Strausborg freaks’ bludgeoning Testicle. Liked that one ? Well, here’s a CD of more twisted post-punk chaos. Not same songs but same strangulated brain stem, ear ripping sounds. Loud & aggressive & good."
http://www.s-srecords.com/

Label Chef RONAN unterstützt seine Landsmänner und veröffentlicht auf dieser Split 10" gleich 2 französiche Bands. Die bekannten Krachmacher CHEERAKS um den Künstler MEELOO/BONGOUT eröffnen mit einem ruhigen Instrumental bevor es mit "World’s Gonna Be A Better Place" eine überdrehte Garage-Trash Nummer mit dickem Orgeleinsatz gibt, gefolgt von "Ring Of Fire" in einer super trashigen LoFi-Version. "Hunny Bunny" stampft dann regelrecht wild aus den Boxen mit kaputtem Gesang und dem typischen GORIES Schlagzeug-Beat, bevor sie ihre Seite mit einer weiteren Orgel-Trash Nummer "Lord’s Becoming Wild Again" beenden. Wie üblich präsentieren sich die CHEERAKS fernab von jeglichen musikalischen Schubladen und sind somit schwer in Worte zu fassen. Die NORMALS auf der anderen Seite, treten ebenfalls in 3er Besetzung an, bringen 6 ebenfalls trashige Garage-Punk Nummern mit wildem Gesang und Orgel an den Stadt. Wie üblich für das Label auf 500 Stück limitiert und mit schickem Artwork versehen.
www.incognitorecords.de

Straight from Strasburg, France come the Cheeraks & the Normals and what do we get ? One fuckign corker of a 10". The Cheeraks sound a bit calmer than previous outings but better than ever. They mix up the full on garage assault with Seb Normal weirdness and it is damn fun. The Normals (Seb & Nick from the Cheeraks with the always entertaining Cheb Samir) do away with the art and plow through some yummy Oblivions ispired murk. I only have a few of these and who knows when/if I am getting more.
Scott Soriano

Fucking great follow up to this french band debut. I liked that one but this one is miles ahead of it... they stole the "...are n°1" from Jon Spencer but that was 10 years ago and it still sounds pretty damn cool so why the heck not. "No Mercy" is a damn cool Blues Explosion/Blacks-sounding punker and "Honey" is more of a mid-tempo blues-grinder. And even tho’ it says four songs on the sleeve there’s only two ’real’ songs, the others are more like intro and outro.
(Thomas) Savage magazine web-site

The second single by a band that is quickly taking their place as the best French group in existence right now. The A-side begins with a JSBX-mocking tape loop intro and devolves quickly into harsh and bloody little skirmish between punk and blues that souns almost Persuaders-like with its overly harsh vocal sound. The B-side contains a great Lynchian/Lost Highway creeping groove of a song with great disembodied vocals that are almost indiscernible through the haunting echo. The perfect soundtrack for driving through the desert at night with a body in the trunk and a gun in the glovebox. My only problem with this record : it’s over way too quick. But, I’ll take what I can get from these guys, and so should you.
(RK) Terminal Boredom

Primo French garage strangeness from members of Crash Normal, The Squares, and Thundercrack, plus the guy responsible for the artwork on yakisakana’s releases. Far from your average band, these guys take the standard garage-rock formula and pepper it with weird noises, odd starts and stops, some vicious guitar fuzz, and what sounds like a loop of monkey noises. "Guinea Pig Killer" is a great and noisy twisted static party, but the real treat here is the B-side. The insanely titled "I love hair dryer noise" is some great grimy blues-punk that stumbles into a groove and then breaks it down to death. Then you get "Ah Ah Ah" a ferocious blast that will tear your fucking face off, I swear to God. They crib the lyrics from The Pogues "This old town" and turn them into a song that’s as mean as Shane MacGowan is ugly. Listen to the B-side first, and you’ll understand what these guys are going for. Totally unexpected, weird but not arty, and definitely one of the best singles I’ve heard this year.
(RK) Blank Generation

France with a new band from the Nancy-area, including members of the Squares and if I’m correct Crash Normal aswell. A band who picked a pretty fitting name, The Cheeraks, though written and spelled rather awkwardly. The tracks are all messed up, torn and dismembered like if they re-assembled or created by a bunch of noisy, but sloppy mechanics who drink battery acid at lunch break and keep going on a diet of pills. All tracks even the hardly recognizable cover of the Pogues’" Dirty old town" are heavily damaged. Even at their most fucked up moments the Oblivians never crossed the boundaries which are stepped over massively here by the Cheeraks. No wonder this is yet another release by the French Yakisakana records as it comes pretty close to what Superhelicopter Ltd and The Evolutions already done on this label.
(Up yours !, Belgium)

I dunno dick about the CHEERAKS or what they’re supposed to sound like (either lobotomized rhythm & blues, spooky haunted-house rock n’ roll, or GG ALLIN pervo porno). I do know that they’re out for a bad time at your expense, and that they produce a big ugly noise that can’t be dismissed politely. "Ah Ah Ah (Dirty Old Town)" is fun trash...as is "I love hair-dryer noise". I picture the band as half-evolved Neanderthalers in silver lamé space suits-it’s that cave-meets-rocketship appeal you get when worlds collide. Boss.
(JH, Maximum Rock n’ Roll)