Shub Niggurath - s/t (1985 France). When Shub Niggurath released “Les Morts Vont Vite” in 1986 (on Musea), hardcore Zeuhl fans everywhere were frothing at the mouth, dirtying their dogeared copies of Lovecraft, while frantically chanting “Kobaia” and envisioning a world of Magma and Univers Zero dominance. Personally, while I found the album quite good (and still do), I did feel it lacked a bit in the melody, groove and soul departments. It was all manic depressive, all the time. And they were quite the noisy bunch if truth be told. Well before that, unbeknownst to but a few of the Secret Order of the Golden Fleece, there was a privately released cassette. And if you loved “Les Morts Vont Vite”, then a CD reissue of this puppy will put you in Hog Hell. Not much variation of their classic sound, doom/gloom and still a bit noisy… but, yea, that would still make you happy wouldn’t it?
Mama Bea Tekielski - La Folle (1976 France). Mama Bea’s debut album is clearly indebted to Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes’ early 1970s works, but honestly this is much more dense, and truth be told, completely unhinged. Perhaps it’s Ribeiro’s Portugese heritage verse Tekielski’s Polish background, but there’s something far more disturbing going on with “La Folle” than anything Ribeiro coughed up (literally). While Ribeiro is far from an easy listen, she still comes across as the mysterious troubled damsel in distress. Perhaps it’s her runway-fashion-model looks, but Catherine seems to be reaching out for help while still dominating all that is around her. With Mama Bea, you get the ragged 100 straight nights of booze, pills and rock and roll look and attitude. The cover of her smoking a cigarette, with a face that says that she’s had just about enough of the crap she’s been dealing with, is priceless. And so she takes it out on this recording. There are times that it would seem appropriate for the medics to come in and hustle her off to safer pastures. Meanwhile all the earmarks of a classic underground album are going on in the background, with plenty of psychedelic guitar, rumbling bass (a trademark of the French scene) and pounding percussion. It’s all a bit unsettling, but it’s also too real to ignore. A real grower if I ever heard one. Perfect justification for a much needed CD reissue.
Inserts - Out of the Box (1983 USA). A very interesting instrumental album from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Inserts are an improvisational guitar based trio, with a clear understanding of the value of a good production. The guitar is distinctly from the Fripp school, including the angry atonal fuzz tone. The bass work has an almost Zeuhl quality about it, though it doesn’t rumble along the rhythm like Paganotti or Top would do. These kind of albums didn’t exist in 1983, but other than the occassional “Starless and Bible Black” reference, I would say that the Inserts were AHEAD of their time. You could easily convince me a group such as Djam Karet may have stumbled onto this in a used bin somewhere. Album was pressed in Japan and released on the band’s own label here in America. It’s a first class job all the way. Apparently Inserts are still around, and they plan on reissuing this album soon!