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 Songs
(click the  -icons
for audio-extracts)
1. Barfly
2. German Hangover
3. Mildew
4. Chinaski
5. Germany mixed
Musicians :
- Stijn Lambert
- Jörgen Masschelein
- Paul Lamont
- Bob Everaert
Bio (band not responsible for the "approximative
English", my translation)
The coming of Mildew is quite a story … in the making.
In 1992 the band Nahende Vernichtung was founded in Beernem (Belgium).
The goal was to play death & trash, but because of a number of changes in
the line-up, the group ended up as treio playing Brutal Punk Core. The line-up
consisted of Vandenbruwaene - Maes - Lamont. After a first cd called 'Overture'
Paul Lamont, then bassplayer and singer of the band, left.
By coïncidence, a neighbouring group making lo-fi noise called Gonzo Baby,
had ended up without a singer. Voiceless group and groupless voice met somewhere
in Aalter and decided to form a new band that they named Mildew, at the
time consisting of Stijn Lambert, Bart Devreeze, Bob " Backslash
Bobby " Everaert en Paul Lamont.
They didn't start playing gigs until February of 1999, but they did it right
right-away: after 8 months they have already done 15 shows. In the meantime, they
had lost their original drummer. For a while Sven Devriese, guitarplayer
of Spaceman Spiff did the drums, but as his group got to the finals of
Humo's Rock Rally, he got really busy and made way for one of his friends, Jörgen
Maschelein from Wervik.
It's impossible to see it as a local band anymore : Stijn remained in Aalter,
but Bob moved to Hasselt, Jörgen lives in Wervik and Paul went to Ghent.
Nonetheless they rehearse each week with much enthusiasm.
Between the drummerswap Devrieze/Maschelein Mildew wasn't sitting still, but they
recorded theiir first demo. And apparently they did this well, because both a
newspaper and Studio Brussel gave the band a fair but positive review. Stubru
also made it demo of the week and played a song in "de Bom". Local radio-stations
such as Katanga and Kamikaze also reacted positively and spin the demo regularly.
There can be a lot of discussion about the influences of the band : references
to Jane's Addiction, Placebo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, dEUS and My Bloody Valentine
were heard quite often. Sonic Youth is another name that always comes up. Stubru
thought Mildew sounded metal. Wim Verhulst of Katanga heard a new punkwave in
it. All these are nice compliments, but no-one of the band has sought deliberately
to make the band sound like these. Probably the entire band is a fan of Sonic
Youth, and all of them like André Williams and Jon Spencer, but those are
the only thing that bind them muscally speaking and not what comes up in their
music. Other things they listen to ranges from Penthouse, Bootsy Collins, Wumpscut,
Smashing Pumpkins, Trumans Water, New Bomb Turks, Shostakovitsch … and it
hardly can be said that these were influences on their music. Strange that no-one
has mentioned Jesus & Mary Chain yet.
At the end of August 2000, they will head into a real studio for the first
time to record a new song, and after that they'll be playing as much as they can
in September & October. Their goal is to play at least 15 more gigs.
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My Opinion
First up : the sound. The drums take quite some getting used to, as
they seem to have been recorded from behind a cardboard wall, in a house three
blocks away. However, the guitars, bass & vocals are tight and full of energy.
Secondly : the songs. "Barfly" is OK, "German hangover"
(and the remix) disgusting, "Mildew" a Sonic Youth copy (and thus the
best song), and "Chinaski" quite addictive and the song that tips the
balance of this demo to positive for me.
Third : the lyrics. Can't understand a word. In Chinaski, i hear "Don't
wast your life, on JPEG-girls", but it could just as well be "don't
waste your life on sheep and pills" or my imagination running away with
me. The inspiration was clearly Bukowski (Barfly, hangover, chinaski), but somehow
the sound of the band doesn't fit the image I have of that writer.
Finally : the conclusion. I hate the metal side of Mildew, love the alternative
edge they also possess. Choosing a direction could be usefull.
Other reactions :
- Puls (studio Brussel) : " ... The different background of the
bandmembers make up for a double sound : in some songs Mildew sounds very Metal,
almost 70's, and in other their sound is contemporary rock. THey have a good guitarist
and a good voice in their ranks and know how to build up a song ..."
- Het Brugsch Handelsblad : "the promo-cd-demo Chinaski is a disc
like a well-aimed hit in your face. It is a bit too obvious where Mildew is getting
their inspiration from (Porno for Pyros, Chili Peppers and Sonic Youth), but the
rhythm is good and the adrenalin is flowing, that's already something"
- hz in Rif-Raf : "At first "Chinaski" sounds quite firm.
Nice riffs, nice build-up, good vocals ... a second spin doesn't leave that balloon
in one piece though. Mildew are stealing like a raven. Not that that's in se a
bad thing, but they really should try to do something with those influences and
have a sound which is their own..."
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