Fans of raunchy, raucous rock n’ roll are in for a treat because the debut EP of GNU MAD RUSSELL$ received a global release via those groovy guys at German label Get Your Genki. As anyone with an interest in Japanese culture will testify, the music scene on those islands is a multiverse and one lifetime is not nearly enough to explore all its wormholes and corners. That’s where Get Your Genki step in and have unleashed a series of compilations to whet our appetite, featuring the cream of the best undiscovered talent. One of their latest releases is from the aforementioned GNU MAD RUSSELL$, it’s a five track mini-album titled CHAOTIC SWAMP and it should bring the band to a global audience.
Formed in 2023, GNU MAD RUSSELL$ are fairly new on the music scene, but they’ve arrived with all guitars blazing and if any doubts were floating around concerning the band’s validity, then they’re blown away by the opening track BUN MAWASE. It has a sound that captures the very best of rowdy rock; if you think MC5, The Stooges and The Damned all rolled into one package, then you’ll have something approaching the majesty of BUN MAWASE. There’s very little meat on the bones here; GNU MAD RUSSELL$ adopt a kind of deconstructionist philosophy, they remove any extraneous frills and distil their music into it’s purest form until all that is left is refined, unadulterated rock n’ roll. BUN MAWASE says all it has to in 120 blistering seconds. Just like The Ramones, this crew understand that it’s a busy world out there; you’ve got to hit people with a sonic attack, and then move on.
Much of GNU MAD RUSSELL$’ power comes from operating a three-piece; there’s something about these reduced numbers that creates a sound bigger than their constituent parts. There’s no place to hide and subsequently each musician must come to the fore, and that’s precisely what happens here. The drums and bass guitar are placed prominently in the mix and conspire to dance upon the listener’s chest whilst the guitar is razor sharp and slices through the air with deft precision. With all three band members adding vocals (to varying degrees) songs such as Do It Now have a real sing-along, anthemic quality and will transfer equally well to a rowdy gig or a football terrace. Yet, there’s plenty of variety on offer here with no two songs inhabiting the same sonic space, but they’re all unified by that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it type of energy.
There you have it, five tracks in thirteen minutes ensures that GNU MAD RUSSELL$ never hang around long enough to bore us, but with songs as strong as those found on CHAOTIC SWAMP, apathy was never an option.
Tracklist:
1. BUN MAWASE
2. SIT DOWN PLEASE SHIT NIGHT
3. DO IT NOW
4. XOXOXOXO (New Mix)
5. MIYAZAWA & YOSHINO (New Mix)
