Say hello to Mad Decent's newest punk rock signees, Popo.Continuing in a string of solid lineups at Sonar as of late, last Friday, dirty south garage rockers the Black Lips, perennial hometown favorite Spank Rock, backed by punk hop sensations Ninjasonik, and the giant brothers Malik of Popo, the new punk darlings on the Mad Decent imprint rocked a less than capacity, but full of youthful vigor crowd in the larger main room of the venue.
Popo played first, and the most telling thing about the act to a non-informed observer is that there are three gigantic (they're all well over 6'1"), gangly Middle Eastern brothers from Philly playing loud garage punk with pop melodies. The effect is visually arresting, and clearly part of the allure, as with ironic titles like the downtempo "Feel Good Song of the Year" (arguably their best and most polished song) and "Kill Tonight," you're immediately bobbing your head and thrashing along, reciting choruses word for word as they're ever so slightly witty and absurd, but the craftsmanship apparent in the music not allowing you to toss them aside as a throwaway act. And that's important as well. The attention to craftsmanship is high, as Popo may easily be one of the most well honed and practiced bands on the label, as they take great pride in nailing melodies and in sounding like a band you really want to have every intention to appreciate. Having seen the band three times now live, their improvement is marked, as they are gaining confidence in their live performances, and while still not as cohesive and interactive as they could be, do have a live performance set of music that portents future success. During the set, the drummer announced that the ink has indeed dried on their deal, and that he had "Three thousand dollars, and who wants a drink." World conquering words, indeed! Mad Decent has released a vinyl 7" of the two tracks mentioned in this review presently for sale, and the band, while not on tour, does play regularly, with gigs throughout the Northeast. For more information, visit myspace.com/popobros.
Following Popo's thrashing, Spank Rock and Ninjasonik took to the stage for what was more house party than true live performance. Naeem "Spank Rock" Juwan, Baltimore native and presently residing in Philadelphia, is a charismatic hip hop frontman whose productions, in this reviewer's mind, was at the front end of our present electro rap movement, but hardly gets the full respect he deserves from those who have cloned, aped or outright stolen aspects of his persona. And frankly, it's everywhere. From Common's sudden turn from conscious rapper to couture wearing pussy maven to countless Myspace hipsters inbetween, if it wasn't for the work of Naeem Juwan and his Hollertronix honed act with Devlin, Darko, Amanda Blank and XXXChange, music would certainly be a very different place. On this particular Friday night, Spank played background to giving the stage to Ninjasonik, an act he did as well for the band at December's Baltimore Bass Connection Christmas Party, Juwan complementing the act and creating a perfect storm of sex raps and ribald humor, replete with girls jumping onstage, African drumming (yes, you read right), DJ Teenwolf on the backup, and ridiculous fun had by all. let it be said in this space that whenever Spank Rock or Ninjasonik are in town, get your hands on a ticket. If you miss the late 80s, early 90s party rap vibe of the 2 Live Crew (sans naked women), it still exists, and is just as raw, just as interactive and just as entertaining as ever before.
Atlanta, Georgia's hillbilly soul revue Black Lips have changed. Well, not so much changed as matured. Going into the show expecting the vaguely homoerotic acts that got them kicked out of India, or the public urination, vomiting or disgusting perversity, I, at age 31, was happy to see these four young men signed to Vice Records stay onstage, clothed, focused, and playing a phenomenal set of melodic, throwback Southern garage rock that sounded like what is the soundtrack for a keg party at a University of Mississippi frathouse in 1966 when the race line wasn't crossed and Red Tops and the Hot Nuts were playing. Given that they lived as a band for some time on the Georgia Tech campus, this isn't surprising. Their unique take on music, called "flower punk" by the band, combines syrupy sweet doo wop and girl group elements with powerful, loud guitar licks to create something that inspires really bad dancing by comically arythmic people, meaning that their music is inclusive of people who genuinely want to have a fun time listening to music, and are not concerned about getting sweaty and looking good. Being on a label that is part of a conglomenrate that contains a near comically scatalogical magazine actually aids the band as it allows for the music to be more reflective of sheer ridiculous fun to the more attuned observer, as on a mainstream label their sound would be far more neutered and would sound something far more akin to Chester French than Lynyrd Skynyrd 2.0. The Black Lips have been causing crowds to combust since 2000, and have a new album out on Vice, 200 Million Thousand, and clearly are at the forefront of the garage movement for good reason. More info available at www.black-lips.com
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