Spucke – Zustand LP (La Pochette Surprise)

If you paid attention to our pages over the last couple of weeks, then you already learned La Pochette Surprise is about delivering outstanding music, crafted by all those finest artists, bands, and music outlets Hamburg has to offer. Spucke is definitely one of those bands you should keep your eyes peeled for. With “Zustand,” their debut full-length album released on July 30th, they create quite a buzz not only on the local but also on the European punk rock scene. The first press of the record is almost sold out, which does not come as a surprise considering the fact that these folks sound impressive from start to finish. And what’s not to love when they deliver that aggressive, unfiltered, raw, in-your-face punk rock where every drum beat arrives as a well-deserved slap in the face, every guitar riff comes as an air barrage thundering above your head, and the vocalist yells at you as you owe him some cash. Besides that sweet, fierce, aggressive punk rock sound, you may expect all the grittiness garage rock has to offer and old-school hardcore punk dynamics and groove that unquestionably elevate everything to new heights. Spucke produced their latest record in a way it sounds both retro and contemporary. Therefore, if you were unaware when “Zustand” was released, you would assume it was an eighties hardcore punk record, or maybe brought from the vinyl pressing plant yesterday. It has a timeless quality that will force you to return to it every time you crave some feral punk rock experience.

Spucke thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing this punk rock gem. Across nine incredible songs, the band demonstrates tremendous dynamics, groove, rawness, and power with fascinating precision and finesse. Yes, this is a raw, unfiltered, aggressive punk rock record and may seem loose from time to time, but that looseness has its purpose, and it has been intentionally done to mimic all those eighties punk rock and hardcore punk records. But if you take a deep dive and examine this record more thoroughly, you’ll find many vocal, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuvers and acrobatics that will force you to return to “Zustand” over and over again. First, these songs are so carefully, thoughtfully, wisely written, composed, arranged, recorded, and produced. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with clever arrangements, profoundly detailed segments, various embellishments, enhancements, accentuations, details, etc. Sharp lyricism, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship shine in every song, and this album gets even better with each upcoming song. It’s also nearly mind-blowing how Spucke does not lose any groove, power, heaviness, or aggression over time. Unlike many contemporary bands, who love to play on a card of tension and release or calmness and aggression, Spucke always aims for that raw, unfiltered, aggressive sound, keeping your listening apparatus ringing long after the last notes and beats fade away. Instead, they aim for a combination of aggression and ambiance, a crossroads between reverby instrumentation and raw riffs. This combination works quite well in this setting.

The raw shouts bring natural distortion to this record, making “Zustand” so abrasive, aggressive, and feral all the time. After all, it’s a vocal technique that channels all the rage, and it suits perfectly over all the instrumentations. Depending on the songs mood and ambiance, these shouts may seem more well-articulated or pushing the envelope into the higher registers, but they always sound impressive. The comprehensive collection, based upon all those gritty, raw, dirty, fuzzy, generously distorted chord progressions, bare chord, and riffs, brings a colossal wall of sound upfront, striking the listener directly in the face. Whether going into full-blown hardcore punk territory, roaming the punk rock waters, or leaning towards more garage rock, these guitar works always deliver maximum impact. You’ll notice how the band recorded multiple guitar layers, bringing the constant, heavy, powerful sound these songs unquestionably need. Beneath all those lush guitar works, there is a massive low-end support, providing more than necessary warmth that acts as a counterbalance to all those raw guitar works. The bass guitar brings all the warmth, depth, clarity, and melody this album certainly needs, all while acting as a binding element between the mentioned orchestrations and rhythmic patterns. The drumming is instane, hectic, groovy, and undoubtedly plays a significant role in keeping all other orchestrations in line. With an entire palette of cleverly assembled beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, the highly skilled drummer makes this album a crazy sonic rollercoaster you surely do not want to miss.

If you are looking for a raw, unfiltered, abrasive, aggressive punk rock record stacked with nothing but bangers, look no further, because “Zustand” carries everything you dearly love about punk rock, hardcore punk, and garage rock. It’s a beautiful record that will immediately become one of your favorites. You should immediately head to La Pochette Surprise and order this gem. Do not miss it!