Strychnine
“Oakland Stadtmusikanten: Live in Bremen, Germany”
(TKO Records)
First of all, what the hell is that word after Oakland? A shiny new donkey to whoever can pronounce it. Second of all, how the hell does trashy, gutter punk bank from Oakland end up playing in Bremen at some venue that nobody can pronounce? Well, anyway, Strychnine is captured here doing their standard live show, blitzkrieging their way through a set consisting of such classic cuts as “Strychnine”, “Sounds of Seduction”, and “Idiot for You”.
The blue-collar ethos and “music by brute-strength” tumult reign supreme amongst the beer drenched Germans, as Strychnine’s twenty tracks punk and roll their way through hits and misses with no regard for harmony or even good taste. The recording quality is surprisingly good (Germans aren’t totally inept) and the banter between the hooligans onstage is almost worth the price of admission alone. Almost.
It’s screamed, it’s raw, it sounds like hell. It’s punk. In Germany. By a band from the East Bay. You figure it out.
