Tenzenmen Rack Up The Heavy Comps

Here are a couple more releases from Shaun at Tenzenmen Records - and believe me, there is a lot to take in here.


Firstly we have this internationally flavoured four-way split LP between US band 97-Shiki, Australia's Bare Arms, Italy's Milvains and Malaysia's Inquiry Last Scenery. It's a pretty rad punk record, melding screamo tendencies with myriad different influences (trumpets! melodicism! languid segues!). It links together pretty well, which is quite surprising really - a serendipitous tapestry of tearing vocal cords.

97-Shiki - Massive Yachts
Bare Arms - Omar Comin'!
Inquiry Last Scenery - Behind The Mask
Malvains - #1


Stay Together Volume 5 is another compilation beast entirely. In early December 2011 64 music fans at a punk charity concert in Banda Aceh’s Tamen Budaya Park in Indonesia were violently arrested by the Shari’ah police. They were not (and cannot) be charged with any crime but were forced to undergo religious education which included their heads being shaven and forced into the lake to bathe. The religious police have threatened a continuation of arrests and re-education against the punks “until they are better”. When questioned about the targeting of punks due to their cleanliness the Police Chief justified the actions by drawing a distinction between them and “the clean punks that exist in different classes”. Asked why the police aren’t then targeting the homeless he stated “there are no homeless in Aceh, there are only punks.”

Fucking arseholes.

Therefore, the Stay Together compilation series exemplify the support the punks show for each other, in Indonesia (where the bands are from), in Australasia (where all the record labels involved in the release are from) and in the world (where the punk community has come together to help). As part of this community, Tenzenmen offers this release with 50% of physical and 100% of digital sales going to help the punks in Aceh. Available via mailorder and digital download here. It's a fucked up world we live in sometimes - so try to make it a better place!

Tetap Berbahaya - Delirium
Mutant Troopers - Reanimator
Strong To Hold - I Will Never Give Up

Tenzenmen Tsunami

Shaun Tenzenmen is awesome. I seriously love this guy. He has brought to my ears the amazing self-titled debut by Auckland noise rockers God Bows To Math, and the subsequent Sonic Masala-run show at The Waiting Room killed (plus they are super nice guys). He is also a very busy man, bringing us music from all over the world, all of it excellent. But he has been uber busy lately, releasing a whole bunch of seven-inches and albums, so I have some serious work to do to ensure the word is out! So, here are some of the Tenzenmen releases floating in the ether (and at your local record store - I picked up a couple 7"s at Rockinghorse last weekend...)


First up we have Yes I'm Leaving, a Sydney noise act that is far too underrated for any sane man to comprehend. This three piece are crafting some beautifully dissonant rock that does everything you want from the genre and more, and on new release Nothing they truly nail it.

Yes I'm Leaving - Untitled
Yes I'm Leaving - Nothing

Now, who's up for some Asian hardcore? Yeah, me too! Why not throw some Spanish screamos in the mix too! This split 7" features a few tracks from Malaysian brutalisers Inquiry Last Scenery, as well as the last recordings of Spain's abrasive brethren El Eje Del Mal (translates as Axis Of Evil). It's fast, furious and fun - pretty essential then. (Plus the crudely drawn Star Wars riffing cover is pretty ace!)

El Eje Del Mal - El VHS Contenta
Inquiry Last Scenery - I.L.S


Remember Bikini Eyebolt? Not really? Shame. They existed (if you could call it that) in Melbourne around 2007-2008, and featured DEAD's Jace on guitars and vocals. This release showcased what most of the world missed - a band willing to follow in the footsteps of the post-punk giants such as Gang Of Four and Wire, without succumbing to malaise, pretension or disco. This is authentic, serrated, and above all none of it is throwaway. It sure is a shame that these guys aren't still killing it - but then again, Dead might not exist as it does now, so swings and roundabouts I suppose...

Bikini Eyebolt - Rats Love Me
Bikini Eyebolt - Walking Asleep


Heading back to Asia - Shanghai in China, to be exact - we'll finish off with Duck Fight Goose, an experimental math rock hybrid who are causing ripples all over the world since forming back in 2009. History is a 7" preceding their upcoming 2nd LP Sports, and is a worth precursor. There are only 50 copies in Australia (well, 49, because I am now a proud owner!) in white vinyl, and is well worth the purchase.

Duck Fight Goose - History

There are more to come this week, so keep the goodness flowing! You can get these releases and shedloads more here