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The godspunk compilation CD series is a co-operative venture, in which all contributing bands / artistes share the cost of manufacture. Each contributor pays a fraction of the total CD manufacturing cost for each six minutes of audio contributed, gets one page in the accompanying booklet and receives a number of copies of the finished CD album. For volume eight, as an example, six minutes allocation cost £70 and the contributor received 40 copies of the CD. This is an effective way of working, as each band / artiste gets their music on 500 'proper' CDs - not CD-Rs - and has their music heard by the other bands' audiences without the hassle of distribution being the responsibility of one person. If you would like to be considered for inclusion on a future CD, contact Pumf by clicking the e-mail button at the bottom of this screen for more details. |
godspunk volume eight(2009) A compilation CD featuring twenty-three tracks from eleven bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, the taurus board, UNIT, Evil Jack McDeath, D.I.M.M., The Cockfield Two, The Shi-ites, The Melodramatic Monkey, Balkan’oliks, Boxhead and Heffalump Trap.
" Stan
Batcow’s continued mapping of England’s underground lunatic fringe
reaches volume eight and brings with it the usual bunch of
anti-establishment, off their heads, jokey named,
lets-hope-they-don’t-move-in-next-door oddities. And very good it is too. "Evil Jack McDeath: The
Sunglassed Eye - Far too long and repetitive - definitely 1981 cassette
bedroom feel to this. 5/10. |
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godspunk volume seven(2009) A compilation CD featuring twenty-seven tracks from seventeen bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, the taurus board, UNIT, Maybe Alaska, John Tree, The Richwoods, Arkon Daraul, HRT, Dimm D3ciple, Richard, SAASSS, Upwey-hey, RooHmania, Chelsea from Essex, The Cheeky Buddhas, Ray Reagan and the RayGuns and Las Vegas Mermaids. "Stan Batcow
has been collating the godspunk series for quite a few years now but
with volume seven he’s finally pulled together a selection of people and
music that bears repeated listening and may go someway to providing a finger
post for people travelling in new directions here in credit crunch Britain
2009. "Blackpool’s
greatest set of avant garde music poets compile yet another brilliant CD
choc-full of punk & outré tunes to satisfy every taste. I fucking love Pumf,
they can’t fail. While the rock world blethers on and on, seemingly
forever driving at 3mph round that drearily existential musical roundabout
named underachievement, Pumf churn out committed, funny, intelligent
and affordable releases by the bucket-load. "Myself and Luc
Tran listened to this CD in the order in which these tracks are reviewed
here. Most tracks we played twice before committing ourselves to any
opinions. In general, I favour avant garde and experimental soundscapes
whereas Luc is more interested in rock and pop pieces. In this manner,
perhaps the resultant review will be more balanced and indicative of the
contents – or perhaps our views will still be a load of bollocks. You
decide. Chelsea From Essex: Deal Ear (1/10) - This hurts my ears – if Whitehouse wrote pop tunes, they’d sound like this. I don’t mind telling you this is driving me quietly bonkers. Mind you, it’s obvious a fair amount of thought and effort has gone into this. Luc says it makes him laugh – maybe it’s driven him psychotic? He gives it 2/10. RooHmania: Thoughtless A (4/10) - Vangelis meets Tangerine Dream, God help us. Luc gives this 2/10 – well, really! RooHmania: Thoughtless B (6/10) - Vangelis meets The Tomorrow People – this is a definite improvement – an apparently gentle new age electronic wallpaper piece but there’s an unhealthy threat of violence in the background. Luc gives this 2/10 as well – there’s no pleasing some people. RooHmania: Thoughtless C (7/10) - Vangelis meets Tangerine Dream in the Tomorrow People laboratory – probably the best of the three – but these are at their most effective when the trio are joined together to make a continuous work. Luc gives this 6/10. The Richwoods: Snow On The Sea, Uke Crazy Mother, Chinned (6/10) - All 3 of these otherwise delightful ukelele pieces are seriously spoiled by the O.T.T. reverb that has been plastered over them – the final piece works best, perhaps because the effects actually become part of the music – but it sounds unfinished – still, it makes a change from the electric guitars and cheesy keyboards favoured by most other groups. Luc gives this 4/10 which is bit cruel, surely? Howl in the Typewriter: Planet Head (8/10) - It hovered between 7/10 and 8/10 – then the bagpipes kicked in – that did it! Luc only gives this 6/10 because he’s a sap. Howl in the Typewriter: Dandelion (3/10) - Sorry, Stan, but this falls way below your normal standard – we wait for something to happen but it never does. Even Luc, who normally enjoys HITT, can only go as far as 4/10. Howl in the Typewriter: Garden Of Eden (7/10) - Nice use of choir sample and drum track in related rhythm – closely recorded spoken vocal is oddly disturbing – on second hearing this is really rather good – especially the sentiment spoken clearly at the end with which we both agree totally. For that reason alone it deserves the 8/10 Luc awards it. the taurus board: Starfish (8/10) - The best aspect of godspunk CDs is that there is always a taurus board track. This is the one outfit that both Luc and I agree on, i.e. we reckon they’re bloody brilliant and that anyone who disagrees with us is simply wrong. I was a raver in the 1990s so I have an excuse – Luc missed it all (he was born in 1989) so with him there’s no possible accusation of nostalgia kicking in. However, this (like all their contributions so far) is not retro – it’s rave music for the 21st century. Once again, Luc starts jiving and dancing and I have to stand up and join in. That’s the effect this outfit has on cool, groovy people. As a piece of music to hear through speakers in my home, it loses some of its effectiveness, being rather repetitive: in a club with the right vibe this would be a kicking tune! Luc awards it 9/10. Finally, it’s over to Luc for our own group. UNIT: Scoop Six Place Pot (6/10) - I wrote this to give UJ a hard time on bass guitar. I find punk rock really funny – it’s silly but enjoyable. The drum sound is crap, mainly because I can’t really play drums, I just fake it. The title is by Birmingham poet Andy Nunn and is something to do with betting on horse racing. I enjoyed this at the time but hearing it now, it’s a bit moronic. Andy gives it 3/10. UNIT: Better Dead Than Red (7/10) - The music to ‘F*** Off Gordon Brown’ is used for a new lyric by Andy which I think is a bit worrying because it veers too close to the BNP manifesto for my liking. This music is brilliant, one of his best pop tunes, but those words make me cringe. Andy gives it 9/10 because he’s a right wing nutter. UNIT: Michael’s Brothel (6/10) - The title is by UJ – we’ve been trying to persuade Michael to join UNIT for nearly 2 years – he’s a better keyboard player than I’ll ever be – and he rattled this off in one take then asked me to add electronic keyboards and a bass guitar part. UJ does okay on bass but I’m not sure this actually needs the vibes – the time keeping is a bit suspect in places too. Andy gives it 7/10. UNIT: Eagle (10/10) - This is easily one of the very best pop songs Andy has ever written – it’s bare hard – excellent words and strange, haunting music – I like the interesting harmonies, the Wire guitar and the vocals by UJ – a version of this without the guitar and with Andy singing instead of UJ is on our latest album ‘Class War' but both Andy and I prefer this version. UJ insisted what he considered the ‘better’ version (with Andy singing) be included on the album – well, he was wrong – this is the definitive one! Andy only gives it 8/10 because he reckons the central saxophone section spoils it. In conclusion: far more purely instrumental works on this compilation than previously – which makes a pleasant change – but this needs a couple more out and out pop or rock pieces for variety. On the whole this is still one of the best godspunks yet." - Andy Martin (in a personal letter to pStan Batcow) |
godspunk volume six(2008) A compilation CD featuring twenty-four tracks from thirteen bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, the taurus board, UNIT, The Haddenham One, Jaw-D, Bartles, John Tree, The Shi-ites, Evil Jack McDeath, Turn Leathers, The Style Pigs, DimM D3ciPLe and Elwyn Temple Meads.
"Stan Batcow’s steady
trickle of lunacy continues with Pumf’s sixth volume of godspunkyness.
After four attempts and varying degrees of success [in my opinion anyway]
Stan finally hit pay-dirt with a cracking volume five. Juxtaposing a single
noise track around the usual bunch of non-conformist popsters like the Las
Vegas Mermaids, Needle Park, Stan’s own Howl in the
Typewriter and the implausibly named Satan The Jesus Infekt’d
Needles and Blood [amongst a host of others] he managed to harness all
that ribald lunacy into a single cohesive unit that was both listenable and
for once, repeatable. If dotty pop songs coupled with the fringes of mental
health are your bag you missed out. "Ye
Gods! How good is this compilation? Pumf’s collation of all that is
weird, wonderful and uncompromising continues with godspunk volume six.
As usual there is a plethora of sounds and attitudes ranging from the
thumpingly assertive to the downright mad. Howl in the Typewriter’s
Weigh How is a fabulous indicator of things to come. The weird synths
couple with an oddly charming melody and increasingly demented vocals.
It’s poppy, amateurish and lots of fun but it’s not normal lad, I can
tell you. "A compilation CD full of real
Alternative & Underground music, they dont come finer than this! Pumf
Records put a whole new meaning to the word 'Art'. Their musicians being
given the freedom to produce interesting, amusing and avant-garde
music, at a level you'll be pushed to find elsewhere. The CD includes Howl
In The Typewriter, Elwyn Temple Meads & Evil Jack McDeath
but to name a few." "Howl in the Typewriter: Weigh
How - It is due to tracks like this that I much prefer Howl in the
Typewriter to the Ceramic Hobs. There is a slightly 1980s synthipop
aspect to this is highly effective, not unlike Exhibit A or Twelve Cubic
Feet. Luc says it oozes with suggestions of menace but I reckon he’s just
quoting a review by someone else of a different piece entirely. 8/10. |
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Why Aren’t You Listening?
– The Godspunk compilations |
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godspunk volume five (2007) A compilation CD featuring twenty-five tracks from fourteen bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, the taurus board, UNIT, The Haddenham One, Jaw-D, Bartles, John Tree, Needle Park, Big Ron Turner, Mrs Edna Watley, Evil Jack McDeath, The Charles Napiers, Satan The Jesus Infekt'd Needles And Blood and Las Vegas Mermaids. "At the fifth attempt Pumf
finally manage to put together a godspunk comp that is not only
eminently listenable but worth returning to not just once but several
times over your lifetime. "godspunk is a
series of compilation CDs my friend & longtime Hob Stan Batcow's Pumf
label puts out. Released by pooling money from the contributors, its an
easy & relatively cheap way to make available stuff you've done to
lots of people who just might like it, on shiny little discs & with
the luxury of a nice package. Natty. "This is just about
the best godspunk yet. |
godspunk volume four (2006) A compilation CD featuring twenty-one tracks from ten bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, the taurus board, UNIT, Litterbug, Pilzin Sox, Yximalloo, RooHmania, Stream Angel, The Haddenham One and Lenin's Virulent Muscle. . "A
collection of 21 tracks from a variety of sources, combining electronica,
experimental and some poetry and talking. Samples abound on a number of
the tracks and the vast majority have strong bass and rhythm. A few are
discordant and quite disturbing and, to me anyway, grate after a while.
There are several quite dreamy tracks, and Alice Floats Away by
Pilzin Sox stands out of the crowd. In a Nutshell combines the
simple sweet tinkles of ‘The Hills are Alive with the sound of music’
with samples and industrial clanging. Litterbug has a couple of great
tracks, reminding me of the alternative noises that came out of the early
80s. Nine and a half minutes has a fantastic guitar hook and strong
bass, combined with ecstatic moanings and breathing throughout and yes it
does last 9.5 minutes and does come to a conclusion! A finer collection of
group names you’ll not find – how about Lenin’s Virulent
Muscle or Howl in the Typewriter. For sheer variety from one
track to the next, UNIT can’t be matched – spoken words, vocal
juggling, ethereal sounds and ear-ripping noises over 5 tracks. As usual I
could go on and on here when I’m writing about godspunk stuff, but
naturally everyone is going to have their own favourite style and sound.
Again just excellent". |
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godspunk volume three (2005) A compilation CD featuring twenty-one tracks from twelve bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, LDB, Litterbug, the taurus board, Pissed Off, Norman, Razor Dog, The Time Flies!, The Reverends, The 3 Ages of Elvis, Kate Fear & Nigel Joseph and UNIT. "(Note: Dave has
already listened to the CD but was not that interested in much of the
contributors. I've relayed his comments, however. I have already listened
to the disc through once but since I'm sat here with Achoi, who also wants
to give his review, I have the benefit of a second listen before I allow
my opinionated, biased comments to insult 75% of the bands and artists
involved). |
godspunk volume two (2004) A compilation CD featuring thirty-four (or possibly twenty-seven) tracks from ten bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, LDB, the taurus board, UNIT, pinkeye, Higgins++, Pissed Off, RooHmania, Gays in the Military and Las Vegas Mermaids. "That old post-punk
'cassette culture' is still going strong, you just have to look for it . .
. godspunk vol. 1 was one of my favourites of last year, so I was
well chuffed to be sent the latest instalment by the man like LDB.
It's a bit of a gargantuan effort this time round, with a whopping 34*
tracks by 10 bands. "Gays In The
Military: The Aids Team - You fuckin' what, John? Atonal faggot
road rock - this I do not like. The lyrics do not sense make and the
music, while unusual and nicely recorded (especially the bass guitar) is
not really my cup of tea .. . all this handkerchief stuff and nonsense . .
. my God, this is why I have being queer! Bizarre structure - horrible
vocals. (4/10) |
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godspunk volume one (2003) A compilation CD featuring seventeen tracks from seven bands / artistes: Howl in the Typewriter, LDB, Hebetation, Litterbug, the taurus board, Stream Angel and UNIT.
"Seventeen
track compilation from Pumf featuring artists such as LDB, Howl
in the Typewriter, Stream Angel, UNIT, and Litterbug.
Now, Howl in the Typewriter took my breath away earlier this year,
so I was eager to hear what else Pumf were prepared to put their
name to. LDB, whilst inherently sounding uniquely home made, is,
ultimately, honest. A few years ago, several poets began to put their
words to music, be it simple beat box or cut ups, or whatever. LDB
reminds me of this, where the words become meatier. They're not songs, as
such, but poems with musical backing, if you know what I mean. the
taurus board's Ripple Effect is simply brilliant, nuff said. Litterbug
sound like early demos of The Cure! Not overly keen on UNIT, the
reason, I think, is because they're just not experimental enough. In and
amongst the likes of Stream Angel, Hebetation, LDB, Howl
and taurus, they sound relatively 'normal'! A cracking introduction
to Pumf, and to the individual acts on the label. Love to hear more
taurus, though, Ripple Effect really stands out." "A collection of
tracks that all defy categorisation and are united by - if anything - an
obsession with sounding as original as possible. To say there are 17
tracks spread over 71 generous minutes, there are just 7 artists involved
with Howl in the Typewriter's tracks being launched by Jesus!
and its crazy dance beat bludgeoning raving good vibes; imagine the Polyphonic
Spree on sanity-bending drugs and you'll still be nowhere near . . . [Howl}
also contributes Mirrorshades, which is a much briefer, synth-based
affair of atmospherics. Most of the tracks are anchored by strong dance
beats. LDB and Deathwish come forth as sinister,
cooly dark R&B with a distinctly original twist . . . the taurus
board are the only outfit to contribute just the one track to this
compilation; entitled Ripple Effect, its hip and uppity beat is one
of the album's highlights, as is Litterbug's wicked
beat-&-guitar fusion on Delmario. Serving as a benchmark for
largely unknown underground talent, if only money-hoarders The National
Lottery would generously fund more and more small labels and help them
release more and more compilations of this inspirational nature . . . woe
to supporting so much sport, because music is far more important when it
comes to helping to further humanitarian causes, and literally changing
people's lives and attitudes. UNIT realise that 'the media sends us
all to sleep' through God Of Nothing, following straight on from
their God of Grumblers. Just like you should realise that some of
the music here is genuinely some of the most original music you will have
most likely heard in a very long time indeed. 5/5". "Howl in the
Typewriter: Jesus! (9/10) - The 5'40" extended disco remix
inna big up The Man anthem . . . it's worth being a God Botherer jus so
you can singalongatypewriter to this marvellous piece. I would give it
10/10 if it ended at about 5'00" when the instruments fade out
leaving the voices - that was the ideal place to leave it. |