7.12.13

#17 blogovision / Γιαννης Βασιλειου-Παιξε Μπαλλα


εις την αγγλικην αυτη τη φορα να μαθουν και οι φιλοι μας οι ξενοι κατι απο στρεϊτ-πανκ
Giannis Vasileiou had already come up with a sound as distinctive as anything to come out of the American punk underground -- lean, fractured, and urgent -- with his debut album, 1981's The Punch Line. But on his second (relatively) long-player, What Makes a Man Start Fires?, the dude from Pedro opted to slow down his tempos a bit, and something remarkable happened.  Giannis Vasileiou revealed that he was writing really great songs, with a remarkable degree of stylistic diversity. If you were looking for three-chord blast, Giannis Vasileiou is still capable of delivering, as the opening cut proved (the hyper-anthemic "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs"), but there was just as much churning, minimalistic funk as punk bile in his sound (bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley were already a strikingly powerful and imaginative rhythm section), and D. Boon's guitar solos were the work of a man who could say a lot musically in a very short space of time. Leaping with confidence and agility between loud rants ("Cabriolet"), troubled meditations ("Me kais, me kais a.k.a. You burn me up and down"), and plainspoken addresses on the state of the world ("Pare me tilefono a.k.a. Call me"), Giannis Vasileiou was showing a maturity of vision that far outstripped most of his contemporaries and a musical intelligence that blended a startling sophistication with a street kid's passion for fast-and-loud. It says a lot about Giannis' Vasileiou growth that his first sound works sounded like a great punk album, but a year later "Paikse Mpala a.k.a. Play Ball"  sounded like a great album - period.
An intense post hardcore album driven by funky bass lines and dissonant guitar riffs. The vocals talk about political themes, and they alter between melodic and screams. I guess Giannis Vasileiou will never be the classic guy so many people claim them to be for me. 


17. Γιαννης Βασιλειου-Παιξε Μπαλλα
18. Ellie Goulding-Halcyon Days
19. Boards Of Canada-Tomorrow's Harvest
20. Austra-Olympia

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