90s UK DIY part 2

I was trying to track down my favorite Skinned Teen song when I did the initial UK post – no luck. It turns out the record was sitting a few feet away in my girlfriend's collection the whole time, hehe. I'm not sure if this was its first appearance or not, but regardless..



Skinned Teen "Nancy Drew" (from Battle Of The Bands 7" compilation, 1998)

While digging through her records I also found the Heavenly P.U.N.K. Girl 10", which is one of only a handful of records I regret getting rid of. Back in the mid-90s, nearly everyone I knew owned this and it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all their punk/hardcore/grind records. I didn't realize until now that this isn't a proper EP - just two singles combined for the US market.



Heavenly "P.U.N.K. Girl" (from P.U.N.K. Girl 10", 1993)


I also found the Slampt 4 Track, 4 Track comp, featuring four bands, all recorded on 4-track machines.



Delicate Vomit "Mr. Potatohead" (from 4 Track - 4 Track 7" compilation, 1997)

Speaking of Slampt, the label was run by Pete and Rachel from Avocado Baby, Pussycat Trash and, later, Red Monkey. What I said about Huggybear missing out on the early 00s revisiting angular, rhythmic punk can be said for Red Monkey as well, though in RM's case that sound became popular again right when they were near the end of their run.



Red Monkey "18+" (from Do What You Feel [Feel What You Do] 7", 1997)



Red Monkey "Weight Of Should" (from The Time Is Right 7", 1998)

A few years before Slampt and Red Monkey dissolved, my band at that time opened for RM on one of their US tour stops. They were really amped about the Petty Crime EP they'd released and I think everyone I was with left with a copy. Petty Crime was Layla from Skinned Teen's band, along with Peter Rojas, who recently started RCRD LBL. It's still one of my favorite EPs of the 90s.



Petty Crime "Mathematics"
Petty Crime "Closed Eyes" (both from s/t EP, 1998)

Nowadays, Layla is playing in the San Francisco band Modern Reveries, who sound pretty great and have a demo cd-r available via their myspace.

Around the time of that Red Monkey tour, Troubleman Unlimited and Slampt released a joint compilation of underground bands from the UK and USA, and I picked that one up at the show as well.

Sally Skull "Heaven" (from Taking A Chance On Chances compilation Lp, 1998)

Obviously there are a lot of bands I missed here so I'll probably do additional parts at some point. I might start doing a 70s / 80s version too, so watch for that.

90s UK DIY part 1

While the underground indie scene and, particularly relevant here, riot grrl, were jumping off in the US, similar things were brewing in the UK in the early 90s.



Inspired by Bikini Kill and locals Huggy Bear, and recalling the naive whimsy of The Shaggs (whether they knew it or not), Skinned Teen formed in London when the three members were supposedly 13-14 years old. Their first single (Karate Hairdresser) and early demo recordings were mainly impromptu and accapella, but later releases did include standard instrumentation.

Skinned Teen "Ex-Boyfriend Beat" (from Bazooka Smooth split Lp with Raooul, 1994)

Skinned Teen "Pillowcase Kisser" (from Bazooka Smooth split Lp with Raooul, 1994)

Layla from Skinned Teen later went on to form Petty Crime, who released an excellent EP on Slampt that was more or less the impetus for this post. I'll get to that one in the next part. Speaking of Slampt..



1994 saw release of the Elastic Jet Mission compilation, featuring 15 bands from the region.

Kenickie "Rebel Assault"

Golden Starlet "Baby"

Yummy Fur "Popcorn"



Unanimously ignored during their time, Yummy Fur now have the distinction of being the band that Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson of Franz Ferdinand were in during the 90s.

Yummy Fur "Cheloveck" (from Night Club Lp, 1996)



All things considered, Huggy Bear are my favorite band from that era and one of the best bands of the 90s in my opinion. They began as a fairly simple, vaguely garage-oriented indie band and morphed into a unique, tense and jagged sound that foreshadowed the rhythmic, angular rock stuff that happened in the early 00s.



Huggy Bear "Dissthentic Penetration" (from Don't Die 7", 1993)



Huggy Bear "Immature Adolescence" (from Weaponry Listens To Love Lp, 1994)

Huggy Bear "Fuck Yr Heart" (from Weaponry Listens To Love Lp, 1994)



Still somewhat mysterious, Phantom Pregnancies were supposedly made up from members of Huggy Bear and Wat Tyler, and according to legend, only played uninvited shows which they crashed. Far beyond lo-fi, their releases were all recorded on a boombox and inserts give advice for maximizing this.



Phantom Pregnancies "Generate Sparks" (from Assassination City Lp, 1995)