The RadioActivist

For years, there was a running joke propagated by those at Fat Wreck that German punks Wizo didn't even have the common courtesy to write their songs in English. Nobody seemed to have a problem with that, though, as the band enjoyed widespread success across the globe. And when they did sing in English, they were able to effectively convey messages as fluently as in their native tongue. Most non-English bands, however, would be better off sticking to the language they use on a day-to-day basis. Stuttgart, Germany’s Oxxon is one of those bands. “Doing nothing doesn't strain / Doing nothing causes no pain / Doing nothing is a wonderful thing / Doing nothing keeps me thin” are the opening lines of Radio Zero on “Doing Nothing,” a fairly standard rock/punk number saved only by a nice guitar lead. These kind of quasi-intelligible lyrics continue throughout the album, as the pointless minute-long “Stupid Song” suggests: “This is another stupid song / You've been waiting for so lo...

My initial encounter with December Peals was marked by generally poor first impressions and unfortunately not much changes with their full-length People Have Demons . With what might optimistically be labeled as energetic rock ’n’ roll, but more realistically some ebullient take on cock rock, December Peals jerk through thirteen songs in 45 minutes. While the musicianship is competent and the songs fairly lively for the most part, the band has a hard time crafting any hooks, instead relying on standard rock guitar leads like on the opener “Bad Company” and its follower “The Devil You Know.” The band goes unplugged for “Capitol Cowboys,” which pursues a slightly different styles, but doesn’t really hit a stride until about three-quarters of the way through. However, it’s clear December Peals has improved markedly over their 2008 split with Boozed. There are occasional traces of the Bronx, and the band grinds out some thick, more punk-styled jams like “Saints and Sinners” and “Hypoxi...

For over 20 years, Germany’s Mad Sin has been one of the premier psychobilly bands in the world, releasing some nine studio offerings and touring the globe multiple times over. This two-disc combo seeks to chronicle both their studio output and live abilities as demonstrated by the recording of a 2006 show at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California. Disc 1 is a collection of studio tracks from an assortment of different sources. Five are brand new recordings, two are unreleased tracks from Survival of the Sickest, and the rest are covers and rarities. Despite the obvious handicap of a German band singing in English (aside from a cover of Ideal’s “Ich Kann Nicht Schlafen”), they pull it off fairly well. The highlights of the disc occur when singer Koefte Deville pushes the potential of his melodies and pulls out some great hooks, like on the frantic psychopop of “Rusty Nails.” The excellent rock ‘n' punk of “Dirty City” neglects too many psychobilly clichés while Deville si...