СМОГ / Electric Masochist - Split

The cover of Smog / Electric Masochist split

I was going to say this is the debut album of Electric Masochist and СМОГ (pronounced "smog" and means just that, smog, which in turn is a combination of smoke and fog used to describe the air pollution in big cities – well, I'm sure you know this so let's move on) respectively since I've never heard of neither of them before, but while it's true that they're relatively new bands they've both released something before. Electric Masochist released a demo cassette in 2022 and Smog did a split 10” with Ergophobia in 2023. This means it's at least the first album for both bands, even though I don't know if a split could qualify as a full album per se.

So, raw d-beat punk. You sort of know what to expect, right? Well, yes and no. As with anything the more time you spend with it the more nuances are shining through. For example, if you were to say ”I bet there's blistering d-beat, heavy distortion and a lot of noise” you'd be correct. It's all there, and it's good. But there's more to talk about than the fact that they know how to play this kind of music.

СМОГ

Since both Alex (guitar) and Marce (drums) from Disease are playing in Smog it's a very tight ship when it comes to relentless d-beat. It blends together seamlessly at the same time as being distinguishable enough for me to recognize who played what before even looking at the list of members. Apart from Alex and Marce from Macedonia we have Jos and Pascale from Belgium. Readers of this fanzine might remember their names from the interview with Bipolar. Jos plays the bass in a way that makes me doubt this is his first band, not that it's particularly advanced (it mostly just follows the guitar) but it's every bit as tight. Pascale handles the mic, and in a pretty interesting way I must say.

Initially I had problems with the vocals. They're pretty tinny and start to tire the ears after a while. But they've been growing on me through each listen, the almost metallic sound adds an extra texture to the harshness of the recording and make the overall sound stand out from the crowd. If it's in a good or bad way depends on what mood I'm in. If I want some noisy as all hell punk that's in my face demanding my attention then it's really good. If I want something to listen to while doing other things, sort of like background music or perhaps when at a party with non-punks then I don't think it works.

The first track of five is an intro so Smog have four songs, really, on offer here. The lyrics on them deal with different things: the manipulative times we live in, the feeling of despair when looking at the state of the world, the questioning of religion and one about giving up on trying to please others and start being yourself. Nothing extraordinary in other words, but they fit the style.

The limited version of the vinyl in orange

ELECTRIC MASOCHIST

I'm not familiar with any of the members of Electric Masochist so in this case I go in completely blank when it comes to expectations. Their side is every bit as intense but keep a generally slower pace. Short repeating riffs that vaguely reminds me of Skitslickers and early Meanwhile. If I were to take a guess I'd say they've at least been somewhat inspired by the swedish d-beat bands of the late 80s and early 90s. But I also see similarities with for example Electric Funeral, particularly regarding the heavily distorted sound of the guitars that somehow manages to distinctly cut through the wall of noise.

All songs except for one focuses on how fucked our world is (war, pollution, and again manipulation). The one that strays from the main topic is ”Out Of My Way!” which talks about intoxicated nights on shady streets of Berlin. The vocals are more traditional on these tracks compared to Smog, but have this sort of delayed reverb effect going on where you hear the last few words again after they've been sung which tripped me up big time. Yeah, again with the vocals. This record really had me re-evaluating my expectations on the vocal delivery. At first, all I could focus on was ”and now let's hear the last few words again but in the wrong place…”, but I came around in this case as well. At times it's almost as if there's multiple singers doing their thing and I mean what's the point in any of this if we can't do as we want and change things around?

So, to sum things up I'd say it's an interesting split. Some required taste developing on my part, but easily a solid recommendation for anyone who likes noisy d-beat. If I were to choose between these bands, at this point in time I'd go with Electric Masochist, but that doesn't mean I'm writing off Smog. I'll definitely keep my eyes on both of these bands going forward.

СМОГ
Electric Masochist