Belgrado... yet more post-Punk from Barcelona, Spain. My first musical obsession for 2020...

Okay, okay, don't get your 'Cronos-from-Venom' leather thong in a twist! I know that in the previous post I had promised to start discussing a little bit more Metal and Rock to break the monotonous Punk bent that I've been on here lately but this is some fire from my mother country (supposedly) that I need to document. Belgrado is my first musical obsession for the year 2020. I have a throbbing, bulbous, veiny ear-ection with their band logo printed all over it (well, most of it, as much as I can fit), one that won't die down until their entire discography to date is delivered to my doorstep where it will be guarded for posterity. That's right, my resistance to vinyl records is now over and Belgrado's work should be arriving shortly at my new residence (don't make me say it, please.) Shout out to Discogs!

I discovered Belgrado while researching their fellow Barcelona band SECT for the last review that I posted. SECT features Belgrado's lead singer, Polish born Patrycja Proniewska on the drums, as in way in the back... as in, where she can't be seen. Fuck that! Belgrado puts Proniewska right where she needs to be, at the forefront! This broad has got it, man, she's a fucking star... absolutely spectacular!

That's not to take away from the rest of the band who play super tight, but Proniewska is a triple threat- she possesses a great spectral voice, she has got an understated but strong stage presence and she has a look that seems as if it were sculpted specifically for this band's sound. I mean just look at her face- she is a dead ringer for Siouxsie Sioux. She's like an odd doll that's equal parts pretty and creepy all at the same time. I haven't been this excited about a frontwoman since Alia O'Brien from Blood Ceremony (another ginormous talent, and smoking hot to boot!)

I won't bother trying to review this crew, rather I'll let their video clip do the talking for them. After all, that's how they hooked me in! However, I will reiterate what I've stated previously in the SECT review; which is that Belgrado are sort of like a female-fronted Bauhaus who carry switchblade knives. The video clip that I've inserted below was my first exposure to them. I was hooked instantly to this infectious song, regardless of the fact that the lyrics are in Polish. I couldn't get the song out of my head (nor Proniewska's powerful glaring eyes) and would find myself revisiting this video repeatedly for days. Their total available output is out there for taste-testing thanks to their Bandcamp page and Youtube, and if this song tickles your fancy then believe me it's only the tip of the iceberg with these cats. The deep cuts are even better than this video single is. 

Now viddy well, little brothers and sisters, viddy well... 

Come on, that was fantastic! The song itself is great, so moody and full of that type of character that makes this genre so appealing to me. The drummer stands out in this track with some cool hi-hat trickery that lends much rhythm to the verse parts. Music aside, the visual presentation of this video is classic, bearing all the quintessential aesthetic trappings that lends this genre part of its 'artsy' air. Their music accompanied by those angular, monochrome camera shots of architectural structures and Roman style columns, interspersed with shots of the band all form a motif -a total package of art with a foreboding yet infectious tone.     

I've also included a link below to another Youtube video, this one from a live performance at the Sao Paolo Cultural Center in Brazil. They played a great set having been able to have gotten a reasonably good sound at that joint, and a stoic Proniewska gave a solid performance even while sustaining herself on a cane to comfort what looked like a sprain or fracture of the right foot. She stood there and delivered the goods like a fucking boss! She's a badass bitch! Anyways, I have bitten the bait and hopefully you will too. See for yourself by hitting the link, you smelly pink... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goVYtB89cB4

Belgrado's work, as well as releases by their Greek post-Punk labelmates Chain Cult can be copped from La Vida Es Un Mus Records. Check out the label's page, it seems as if the imprint is pretty prolific... 

SECT : Post-Punk from Barcelona, Spain

note: misanthropaganda is so much more fun when you view it on your desktop or laptop. Your tablet is fine I guess, as is your phone, but for full enjoyment and understanding of the artist's (ha ha) vision, take my suggestion. It gives the posts a look that's a bit more reminiscent of an old 90's fanzine layout, which is the whole point of this bullshit blog...

I was eight years behind the eightball on this LP. This self-titled debut by the Spanish band Sect was originally released in 2012. It was only last year that I discovered this on Youtube, once again thanks to my trusty recommendations that every now and then do me justice. Should I be afraid of that algorithm shit yet?!

Sect is from the city of Barcelona, but they don't sing in Castilian. rather in English. This crew features members of Dromdead (cited as hailing from Venezuela) and another group of Sect's paisanos who call themselves Belgrado who's absolutely phenomenal in their own right (if comparable at all then I'd say a female fronted Bauhaus who carry switchblades and know how to use them. Review coming soon.)

I have not gotten a hold of any lyrics for the jams herein, however from the few words here and there within choruses that I was able to make out, which were cheerful phrases like "Police Repression" and "Death From Above", I surmise a socio-political bent lyrically. Most of the reviews I've read for this release seem to have coincided in labeling this crew as 'anarcho-Punk' (anarchist Punk Rock to the laymen.) That remains to be seen until I get to viddy well that lyric sheet. Still I wouldn't doubt that politically speaking Sect wave the black flag! Barcelona is a huge epicenter for anarcho-communism, at last count having over 200 squatted buildings and at least 40 centers in the city where squatters perform all types of social services for fellow freeloaders. Isn't it ironic that these same anarcho-communists running social centers that subscribe to an anti-work philosophy are in fact going to work everyday at the social center?  

All politics aside, there is a clear tone present, one of protest and indignation that always adds legitimacy to any outfit expressing themselves through the medium of Punk or it's derivatives. I'm drawn to Sect for all the very same reasons that I loved Chain Cult from Greece, down to a tee. I mentioned when I reviewed Chain Cult that I love esoteric imagery; and to me the front cover of this Sect LP is fantastic. It's minimal but evocative, and seems to be steeped in symbolism whether intentional or not. I love the single white line drawing on black, with that "sighted leading the blind" motif. There's a lot more going on in the logo as well. Little elements of it such as the inverted eye incorporated into the letter c, or the letter t which appears similar to the papal cross. (The cross of Salem, also known as 'the eastern cross', is a ritual relic carried by big-baller freemasons.) The band exude an air of mysticism through their subtle use of arcane imagery and I am a sucker for that shit.

Seems like with most contemporary Post-Punk outfits, the main sonic similarity is Joy Division, though I find Sect more energetic and driven as far as tempo is concerned. Just think of the up-tempo Punk vitriol of Joy Division's "Ice Age" but with a female front. The female vocals remind me a bit of Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex. or maybe even Eve Libertine when she was at the helm of Crass, before becoming a filthy old soomka.

I haven't made the attempt to reach out to these long distant cousins (one thousand times removed) from the mother country. Actually, I don't think we're related at all! Barcelona is in the north eastern coast of Spain, and according to the glob of jizz that I sent over to 23&Me.com, I'm 85% Iberian, 13% Morrocan/North African and the last 2% is a delightful potpourri blend of jew, wop, and limey. Iberia is on the Atlantic peninsula well away from where my DNA could have pooled with these crazy kids. So I guess I won't be invited to Sect's next family reunion...

Just hit the link to their bandcamp page if I've sparked your interest...