To
commemorate the 10th anniversary of specialist Berlin electronica
label, Shitkatapult, (home to the likes of Fenin, Apparat and
T. Raumschmiere), the label have decided to release a tongue-in-cheek,
almost comic album dedicated to the art of getting sloshed. Featuring
11 tracks from their talented stable of artists, each contributes
a unique track for the celebration and the results range from
the cool to the ridiculous and straight through to the ultra-weird.
Lyrics across the album tend to be German so non-German speakers
(like me) will not know if the lyrics are a piss-take or serious.
The
compilation opens with the stomping happy-hardcore hip-hop styling’s
of Deichkind which sound like a throbbing soundtrack to a male
striptease in a garish German nightclub. The follow up, ‘Red
Red Wine’ by Fenin featuring Gorbi is hands down the best
track on the album. An ultra-chilled slice of atmospheric dub-tech
by Fenin who creates a psychedelic vibe by carving a progressive
soundscape dripping with squelchy synths and micro-dub. Gorbi’s
soft and emotive reggae vocals are composed and highly effective
adding immense value to this track. Forget alcohol, this is exclusively
ganja-smokers territory. The track ‘Steifheit’ by
Das Bierbeben is another unusual but successful track. The group
create an energetic slice of 80’s progressive metal with
a razor-sharp post-punk aesthetic. The shouted female vocals remind
me of the excellent US post-punk band, ‘Your Enemies Friends’
and the whole track will have you downing and slamming tequila
shots all the way through.
There
are a number of vintage sounding German pub-tracks such as Helge
Schneider’s ‘Allein In Der Bar’ and Dirty Dishes
catchy ‘Trink Ein Cola’. T. Raumschmiere brings a
sense of seriousness back to proceedings with a short but focused
slice of deep-house which spits and spurts all manner of gaseous
sounds as a backdrop to the sexy and husky English female vocals.
Elsewhere, Anaphie vs Phlex’s track ‘Caramba Caracho
Ein Whisky’ starts off as a serious slice of crunchy US
psyche-folk but then deteriorates into a drunken mashup in a country
pub. 80’s vampire vocals join the switch-heavy track which
proceeds to descend into drunken psychedelic mayhem.
Overall,
if you are drunk and you play this at a party with your German
mates, ‘Smash Shits’ will make a whole load of sense
and will prove to be the life of your party. If you don’t
drink then you will only be able to extract about 3 tracks from
this 11 track release. I personally would have preferred an album
dedicated to Marijuana, but then I do have Fenin’s recently
released ‘Grounded’ LP. Bottom’s up! (AM)
For fans of: Altbier, Weizen, Leipziger Gose, Roggenbier,
Helees, Scharzbier, Eisbock, Paulaner, Dunkel
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