WET DREAM WAR MACHINE, 0-Six Female
Wet Dream War Machine:
"Now this record is something of an unidentified aural assault, and even after the second listen, I am struggling a little to describe what Berlin’s WET DREAM WAR MACHINE is on about, but then I am a simple punk used to simple music so I could be too thick to get it. A lot of different things coexist in their music, from direct, snotty hardcore punk to more dissonant post-punk moments, beefy noise rock, and an overall strange atmosphere of dementia and alienation. The band’s name comes from a song from the LOCUST, which makes sense. The record has an agitprop feel (even visually), and there are moments that reminded me of political bands that strove to break down boundaries and used sarcasm and wits to get the point across, like the EX or CCCP, for instance. Maybe an insane and mean version of a noisier STRAW MAN ARMY? While undeniably interesting, I cannot say I really enjoyed the clearly thought-out and articulate experience. The tone of the vocals reminds me of black metal somehow, and it tends to be irritating with the erratic and nervous, versatile songwriting. I recognize the quality and value of I.M.A.G.I.N.E. but I am unable to relate to it. The hooks don’t hook me. I am convinced this lot must be brilliant live, though."
- Reviewer Romain Basset
0-Six Female:
0-Six Female is the latest offering from artist and punk scene veteran Gina Favano, whose earlier projects include Come Holy Spirit and John Denver's Airplane. Favano plays bass and sings, and is joined by drummer Karl DeBeest.
A finger injury on her fretting hand in the last year forced her to simplify her playing, boiling it further down to angry, tight mantras.
The common thread that's run throughout all of Favano's bands has been the full boar commitment she brings to
performance, the conviction underlying each word. Her voice alternately upsets and soothes.
"Not OK" is the first album by the noisy duo, the title a response to the call taken from the final words of Alex Pretti, one of the citizen observers murdered by ICE in Minneapolis, a town that her and DeBeest both have ties to. Deceivingly simple music to make you move.
