Bernays Propaganda – Happiness Machines
Bernays Propaganda apparently hail from Slovenia (or thereabouts; their label’s from there, anyway); are named after Edward L. Bernays, the man credited as the father of PR; and have a background in various bands whose names suggest them to be pretty solidly hardcore. In this guise, however, they are preoccupied with playing a spiky, post-punk/funk hybrid. Equal parts Joy Division, Fugazi, and Gang Of Four, their sound revolves around tight, compelling grooves and singer Kristina’s strong, striking vocals. While she sings in Slovenian (I assume, though I’m no expert!), the song titles (‘Yuppie Dream,’ ‘Everything Will Fall Apart’) suggest them to be a fairly politically-motivated bunch. Further proof of this is that the album comes with a 32-page essay in English written by the aforementioned Kristina, which, though a tad weighty, makes good solid sense and reminds me how good it is to see someone doing something a bit different with a CD release. A respectable and fairly original album—now get over here and play some shows, ferfuxakes! Eddie Thomas
From Macedonia, not Slovenia