Stare Tasmy 'Kryzyys Czytelnictwa' CD (Fourth Dimension Records)

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Debut from this Polish group, whose name means Old Tapes and whose members have an impressive background in punk, improv, experimental and even classical music. They have come together here to let out a loud shriek of angry disbelief triggered by the general shape of contemporary Polish society and the concomitant public discourse. The album, whose title approximately translates to Literacy Crisis, consists of six punk, jazz and religious chants, all worked together to form a powerful and specific kind of music the group themselves term 'dark prog reality stand-up'. Hysterically serious compositions are filled with sampled voices of politicians, decades-old speeches found on abandoned anonymous cassettes and articles from current newspapers read out loud without changes to the original text. Added to this is a great blend of progressive jazz-punk where the musicianship is both taut and fluid yet permanently poised to explode. If No Wave had started out in Poland and absorbed much of the country's own musical past at the same time, it might have sounded like this. Co-released by the group's own Soros imprint, this is the first Polish release Fourth Dimension Records has helped nudge into existence since 2014's debut by Poznan's KakofoNIKT. Released November 11th 2020, to coincide with Poland's Independence Day. Available now.