This page is sponsored by Hiljaiset Levyt Records. Check out also their stuff! This page is sponsored by Hiljaiset Levyt Records. Check out also their stuff!
And here is the whole Twang! story in part 1, part 2 and part 3!
ULTRA BIMBOOS - We Can Stop Whenever We Want! (TCD 5908, CD only)
This is a collection of great garage rock'n'roll performed by four nice young ladies from Finnland's capital Helsinki. Thee Ultra Bimboos seemed to come out of nowhere in the autumn of 1995! They took the stages from Tampere to Turku, from Lahti to Helsinki by storm! Within a few months they were allmost established in their home country with two 7"Eps and a compilation-track on CD under their belt! This CD now gathers all the songs from those (partly sold out) releases plus three tracks not available elsewhere. Thee Ultra Bimboos played a tour of Germany in November 1996 with great success! Meanwhile a limited live tape from one of these gigs is available, too! Maria, Milla, Salla & Suffeli - whose music is inspired and influenced by the Sonics, Cramps, Rolling Stones, and Dead Moon (with whom they shared a couple of gigs last year) - they are now preparing for their next proper album, to be released on TWANG! in vinyl and CD format after the summer holidays!JALLA JALLA - Hospital Waltz b/w Jukebox Jive (TS 250 283, 7")
From Rovaniemmi the capital of Finnish Lapland hail these five young gentlemen. Their music is best described as powerpop with some punkrock undertones and a bit of rockabilly here and Sixties beat there thrown in for good measure! The A-side of their 7" is taken from the album Snowman's Land, released on Hiljaiset Levyt earlier. The German Rolling Stone wrote about it: "The intro to Hospital Waltz evokes Friday On My Mind before it bursts into a harsh rhythm... panorama chords could be from Australia... a really good hookline... ***1/2". What can I say more? If I only knew what this funny sound is, that I hear in the middle part after the refrains. On the flipside you'll hear Jalla Jalla's rendition of the Rubettes' Jukebox Jive, a powerful steamer indeed! A new album by Jalla Jalla is coming soon, check out Hiljaiset Levyt's news section!
THE GRIP WEEDS - We're Not Getting Through b/w I Can Hear The Grass Grow (TS 171 067, 7")
The latest release by this wonderful band from New Jersey, USA. We're Not Getting Through literally explodes with harmonic pop hooks driven by ringing guitars, ferocious drumming and melodic bass playing. The flip side is the Grip Weeds' notorious version of the Move classic I Can Hear The Grass Grow, which will not be released anywhere else. Both songs were recorded during sessions for the next full-length Grip Weeds release. This is a limited-edition pressing and will soon be collectible. Full color cover!
THE GRIP WEEDS - House Of Vibes (TLP/TCD 5901, available in LP or CD format)
Still recommended is the debut album by this band from New Jersey. Powerpop, alternative rock and elements of folk and psychedelia mingle here to an excellent result. Beautiful melodies, a relaxed atmosphere, and a powerful sound make this record a secret tip for all friends of fine and timeless rock and popmusic. Quite unusual: the lead vocals are sung by the drummer Kurt Reil, while the lead guitar is played by Kristin Pinell. The songs are mostly written by Kurt and his brother Rick Reil (git, voc). Bass player Mick Hargrave contributes two songs in his very own style. The LP is a limited pressing in blue vinyl. Meanwhile the Gripweeds have rebuild their own House Of Vibes studio in new premises. Mick Hargrave has left the band recently, but they are now working on new songs in the studio with a new bass player. What we heard so far makes up for the long delay, really! Kurt - their drummer - just informed me, that he and his brother Rick as well as Kristin have written a lot of great new stuff! Some is true powerpop, some other tracks turn out to be very psychedelic! The band's gonna ad a mellotron to their usual electric and acoustic 12- and 6-string guitars, drums and bass. We hope it won't be another two years until the next album is ready for release!
THE EARLY HOURS - Greatest Hits Vol 1 (TLP 5906, only vinyl available)
From Down Under - South West Australia, the city of Perth - come the Early Hours. They're young, wild, and wonderful! These guys know how to rock! They play sharp garage pop in the vein of their highly acclaimed predecessors the Stems or the Lime Spiders. In 1995 "Ten Top Hits", the first Early Hours album was released by Spinning Top Records in Australia on compact disc only and in a limited edition of 500 copies. Now the songs from that album plus two extra tracks have been remastered for a vinyl release in Europe! To promote their music, the Early Hours were touring in Europe between March and June 1996. They also played the prestigious Beat-O-Mania Festival in Munich on the 4th of May; the following two weeks they toured around Germany to good response by audiences from Berlin to Hamburg to Nuremberg!
THE CYBERMEN - Needle's Eye (TLP 5907, only vinyl available)
Friends of the genre know this band from Finland for long. The Cybermen released several 7" records and a vinyl album so far. They developed their music from trashy garage beat to a more sophisticated organ dominated groove oriented style. You can hear themes for imaginary sci-fi serials as well as dub sounds or moody love ballads. The Cybermen were often compared to the Prisoners by people who witnessed their live shows. Now I'd even compare them to the Fun Boy Three or Style Council. This new LP is truly the Cybermen's masterpiece! Get it on vinyl! A CD version is available on the band's own Destination Uranus label. The Cybermen toured Italy and Germany in September 1996.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Tomorrow's Pebbles Today (TCD 5902/3, TS 050 367, ltd ed box incl T-shirt)
This is a round up of twelve years of TWANG!'s history (and future). 44 bands play 44 songs, most of them not available elsewhere! The 7" single in clear wax is something even more special, as it contains two of my all-time favourite songs played by a sort of Twang All Star Band. The songs in question are my favourite single track of all time "Psychedelic Situation" (originally performed by one Jimmy Curtiss in 1967, released on 7"45 by Laurie Records in the USA) and for the flipside "Njet, Njet" (originally a hit in 1979 in Finland for the notorious Eppu Normaali), performed here with original Finnish lyrics! Included in the limited package is a t-shirt in black with the TWANG! logo and cat printed in white! This boxed set is the ideal entrance into the TWANG! universe! Grab your copy while stocks last! I have now (March 1997) only 65 copies left!
THE MIND KIOSK - Same (TCD 4993, only CD format available)
Out for almost two years already is a 6-track mini album by a bunch of five Germans from the little town of Hildesheim. Mind Kiosk were on tour with the wonderful Lemonbabies here in Germany. And they were well received by audiences everywhere. Four guys and a girl are in the band. They play a brand of harmony loaden, hooks filled, Sixties oriented, Britpop style rock music. You might think they emerged out of this latest hype. No, they do this for years now, their idols being the Small Faces, Kinks, Beatles, et al. Mind Kiosk's own music is a perfect mixtures of all these influences. There are three excellent songwriters in the band, a guarantee for diversity in songs and sound. Sparkling guitars, groovy organ, thumping bass, solid drums, and a soulful singer! It's all there! Mind Kiosk are actually better than most of their British competitors! There's a new mini album coming (only on CD again, sorry) at the end of May 1997! Maybe we're gonna put the two together on one vinyl album one day in the future (when we can afford it, that is...)
THE LEMONBABIES - Pussy!Pop (TLP 5904, only vinyl LP available)
In Germany the Lemonbabies are - well, not pop stars, but - well-known for their charming and fresh live shows. The album Pussy!Pop is well received in print and airplay. Local video channel VIVA did a 30 minute special with the Lemonbabies. Diane, Julia, Kaja and Katy are the living proof that girls can write and play excellent pop music. They are not very sophisticated, and they don't play any particular roles. The Lemonbabies are neither girlies nor riot girrls. Their average age is just 21, but they look back on a seven years band history, already. Lemonbabies music is anything between Blondie and the Bangles, between the Go-Go's and the Voice of The Beehive, and probably more than that. Meanwhile some very early tracks by the Lemons' first line-up appeared on compilations in Spain and Japan. If you want to know more or even buy one or another of these goodies get in touch with TWANG! headquarters!
GROOVY CELLAR - Summer Of Falling Stars /bw You Make Me Feel Younger (TS 190 587, 7")
The name was taken from a popular meeting place of London's mid-Eighties Britpop scene around Dan Treacy , Ed Ball, etc. Musicwise Groovy Cellar is a link between British guitar pop of the Sixties and today. With great knowledge and the love for tiny details their music is written and performed. Olaf Schumacher is probably one of the best songwriters in Germany. He's writing one potential hit after another! His songs a very private and personal but always with a general evidence. If this band came from London, they were number one everywhere! But alas, they're only from cheesy Germany. A CD album by Groovy Cellar was released by Marsh Marigold Records in Hamburg (Germany) last September. If you can't find it elsewhere, ask me!
KING HERE AFTER - Whore /bw Dark Soon (TS 030 194, 7")
This band from Sweden cannot simply be categorized. Five guys from Uppsala play powerful guitar rock. In the US people would probably call it alternative rock. A great talent in songwriting and the guts to try out and link unusual and unexpected bits and pieces, these are the trademarks of King Here After. At one time they sound like Henry Rollins and the next moment you'll hear echoes of U2. Metal power chords mix with filigree sounds and a sometimes elfish voice. No category, sorry... You want to know about their current activities? Then click on their name above.
Write for full catalogue and for mail order conditions to:
TWANG!, Mike Korbik, P.O.Box 41 03 11, D-12113 Berlin (Phone & Fax: ..49-30-771 97 32)
mike@twang-tone.de
Wholesale and retail inquiries are welcome! Journalists may ask for promo stuff by specifying their work for whatever media from fanzine to rock weekly, from local radio to national TV, from scene dj to online newsagent!
Created by JJu: June 11, 1996
Last Updated: May 29, 2001