Babies Three – The Luzhin Defence

This EP is the last recorded works and a testament to the Babies Three, as they split shortly after this was created. A little confusingly, The Babies Three, after two albums and two 7”s, changed their name to The Luzhin Defence – the name of this EP, before disbanding shortly after. In the accompanying press release they are said to have found their ‘true sound’ during their second European tour in 2002, with (among others) Song of Zarathustra and Yaphet Kotto (heard of them? me neither…), and although they’re now all either in bands or working as promoters, the decision to split was attributed to ‘complete disillusionment with the hardcore punk scene’. This is a shame as this is a great release, and if it’s true that they only found their true sound shortly before recording these songs, the future could have heralded some fantastic output.

The production of this release isn’t fantastic, the overall sound is a bit tinny, and some parts are lost as mush, but there is loads of energy in the songs. They come across as a strange hybrid of These Arms are Snakes and Fugazi‘s use of angular rhythms and interesting and sometimes discordant guitar work, Crass’ attitude, and Twofold and early Hot Water Music‘s ‘lets all scream out our pain together’ attitude. First track ‘Guilt Free Youth’ kicks the record off in fine style. Although the reversed cymbal at the start is a slight cheesy, the first half of the song is a powerful mid-paced rock-out, with strange but honest lyrics:

“On the day my child was born I bought a newspaper to celebrate the very fact she’d been delivered from the womb to this world. I swear I’m so sick of this, there’s one truth- we’re all fucked”. Although it doesn’t sound like the most intelligent punk rant, the power and vitriol really hit you. The second half of the track slows down and sets an eerie tension, Isis style.

The second track, ‘Attack of the Clones’ is my favourite, reminding me most of Fugazi musically. Lyrically, the song deals with preachy straight-edgers, with the catchy phrase “I’d rather hang out with the living dead, than have an X tattooed in my head”. The chorus part where the whole band are screaming “My God!” together is powerful and surprisingly catchy, before like the first track, the music slows down into another ambient(-ish) rock part. ‘I Think The Answer‘s Yes’ starts like it could be a Clash song, before the discordant guitar work and the screaming kicks in. There’s a fantastic early-Metallica style riff that’s repeated in this song, daring you to bang your head in true metal fashion.

Next up, ‘The Message’ is a lyrically damning song hitting out at bands and musicians who like to speak out but don’t have the actions to follow up on their ideals. There are plenty of hidden digs and double meanings, which more than one I’m sure are aimed at Rage Against The Machine, with phrases such as “Do you know your enemy”, “Now you’re killing in the name of what?” and “Fuck you I won’t buy what you sell me”. ‘The Heresy‘ starts with more Isis style eerie ambience before going suitably mental, with vocalist Paul leading with “No more answers!” as a battle-cry to head into the carnage of the song. Although a good song, it doesn’t quite match the quality of the previous songs on this record. There is an unaccredited track that follows this; an instrumental, reminding me of what the Descendents did on ‘Everything Sucks’, though strangely this track is musically simpler than the five other songs on this release.

I’d never heard of this band before listening to this CD, and it’s a shame that they’ve now disbanded, as there’s some really good original music here. Although you’ll probably never get to hear these songs played live, I recommend picking up this CD if you like your Punk intelligent musically, provoking lyrically, but still ragged and rough around the edges.

www.geekscene.co.uk

Ben Gosling