Les Georges Leningrad

Sangue Puro

(Tomlab)

Record Review by Marcel Feldmar

This hip trio from Toronto (Canadaland) gives us a veritable digital slab of Petrochemical Rock. I’m not quite sure what this term implies, or if there are other bands who are working in the Petrochemical arena, I just know that when I slip this disc into the player it moves through about a minute long fairly harmless intro before it starts to set my brain on fire. We got Poney singing and playing the synth, Mingo playing guitar and synth, and Bobo doing drums and synth. That’s a whole lotta synth for one band. Synthrock dance madness. I had, without really thinking about it, thrown them into the same general area as the Gossip, MSTRKRFT, DFA79, but in reality they are more than that. If you can dance to those bands you can definitely dig this one, but Les Georges Leningrad seem to take on more eclectic and deeper influences that range from Nina Hagen, Lydia Lunch, Sonic Youth, and the No Wave school instead of just slightly updating a post punk vibe with disco sensibilities. Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Dna, and Mars have placed a voice upon this band, even if they don’t know about it. Stuttering and jarring vocals that still hold a certain sensuality break across the crush of electronic noise and staccato rhythms, and the dark dance floor melodics shake with non-stop nervous energy. From screaming breakdowns that remind me of old nightmares to tribal based sing-song chants, this CD is non-stop movement, and I break a sweat just from listening to it.