Fertile Hump / Gulag Beach – Kabinet Muz Brno 22.03.19

Fertile Hump / Gulag Beach – Kabinet Muz Brno 22.03.19

I first encountered Polish trio Fertile Hump in 2018 at Kabinet Muz, one of the best small live venues in Brno. And it would be here that I would catch them again, this time with touring partners Gulag Beach. Following the headliners’ previous show in Brno, I was so impressed by their energy and charm that I snapped up the vinyl of their first album, the fantastic Dead Heart. With the second album, Kiss Kiss or Bang Bang released later in 2018, the band have gone from strength to strength.

With proposed support band the Kinkies failing to appear through illness, it’s up to Gulag Beach to warm up the stage. Hailing from Berlin, and coming to Brno with their own sharp brand of punk rock, Gulag Beach have their work cut out on a quiet Thursday night here. Opening to a decidedly calm room, the punchy drive of Gulag Beach does well to gradually whip up a decent atmosphere. They run delightfully through a quick set of songs including Potato Mash Bash and Can’t Stand K-Pop, entertaining the crowd in lively fashion. A good set all round from the support tonight.

The crowd are quiet again when Fertile Hump take to the stage. This doesn’t affect their game, however, and they are as fun and magical as previously, quickly whipping up a charged room with their simple but particular style of bluesy, garage rock. The interplay between Magda and Tomek at the front of the stage is both dynamic and amusing, with Tomek declaring that ‘being a couple in a band is a fucking nightmare’. On stage at least they are a delight. Magda’s soulful voice and Tomek’s loose guitar play is backed up superbly by Maciek’s driving drums. The band draws on music from their two albums and the 2015 EP (which I picked up this evening), and their energy is infectious.

With their real stripped-down sound, Fertile Hump once again delivers the goods with an honest and intense performance of impassioned blues rock ‘n’ roll. I’m already looking forward to the next time.

Facebook

Author: Craggy Collyde

Fertile Hump – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (self Release)

Fertile Hump – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (self Release)

 

Craggy Collyde

Fertile Hump are a Polish rock ‘n’ roll trio blending a fine mix of blues and garage into something quite special. Emerging from the ashes of previous band, the Stubs, guitarist Tomek Szkiela formed Fertile Hump in 2015 with guitarist/vocalist Magda Kramer and drummer Maciek Misiewicz and the Warsaw-based group have been prolific ever since.

Having caught them at Brno’s excellent Kabinet Muz club earlier this year and picking up a vinyl copy of their 2016 album Dead Heart, I have been eagerly awaiting new material and a return visit. Kiss Kiss or Bang Bang is their second full album and largely builds on the same sound as Dead Heart, only adding a little colour here and there.

Dead Heart was a straightforward, stripped down album of bluesy rock ‘n’ roll which was built around great song writing and the glorious harmonies of Kramer and Szkiela. Thankfully, the same can be said this time round. In both albums there is something hauntingly magical about the songs, held up by a production beautiful in its simplicity. The dual vocals and loose guitar work are backed up with Misiewicz’s punchy rhythm.

The way the vocals play off of each other is an enjoyable element of the album, used fully in songs such as Yeah Right but remaining a dominant feature throughout. While songs such as the opening title song and Old Soul capture the style that was present in Dead Heart, songs such as It Feels So Good, Lost and Lonely and Vultures add a few extra layers to the record.

Simply put, Fertile Hump are an incredibly enjoyable band, producing music which, while based on a simple formula, offers a sound which is particularly theirs. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang takes their previous work and builds on it subtly enough to produce a consistently superb record.

Facebook

Buy Fertile Hump Here

That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was

Seven days in Rock and Roll can be a long time or if you like us then it’ll fly by.  With some exclusive interviews and a whole lot of records reviewed we hope we’ve at least shone a little light into a corner of the entertainment world we think houses the best of the best and having the likes of Rich Jones give an interview with some snippets about the new Michael Monroe album revealed ‘One Man Gang’ is now out of the bag and having the likes of Nasty Suicide and Captain Sensible playing on the record 2019 is shaping up nicely or as someone here at HQ said “that’s album of the year sorted for 2019”.

We also brought you Paul Collins interview who is the self declared king of power pop although I did get a call in to HQ saying that wasn’t quite true as Rags now holds that title but I’m not getting involved in that debate but we did announce that Rich Ragany is holding an album launch in London Town in January and the line up is a very impressive set of bands that shouldn’t be missed details can be found on RPM online News section.

There were live reviews from Japanese Garage legends King Brothers as well as acoustic platinum seller Eric Martin and on Friday we brought you a review of The Feelgood Band playing in London which rounded up a pretty diverse bunch from around the globe I’m sure you’ll agree?

For our bread and butter album reviews, we had some old new um very old and one turkey so a festive collection of records were covered by a crack team of scribes.  We previewed Black Friday RSD must own – Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers ‘DTK’ as well as newcomers Estrons that went down extremely well here.  We took a trip to New York for Palmyra Delran and her doppelgangers and whilst we were there Beechwood were heading out the door to Europe for a tour but left us their new long player which is also an impressive second album this year from the three-piece.  The Turkey well we couldn’t sit Idol let Billy off without mentioning his revisited best-of collection that has been given the dance remix treatment which could have worked but cutting edge it isn’t.  90’s dated Ibiza dance off it might have been but disappointing is what it is and we can only bring you the truth here at RPM even though we love William Broad we’re excited for Generation Sex but not his new collection of remixes. There were the likes of the excellent Bitterlicks and Dave Kusworth records reviewed before they hit the shops as well as Thomas Silvers much anticipated solo album.

 

Not wanting to finish on a downer we look forward to the coming week where you have to keep it RPM online because we’re bringing you The Hip Priests and He Who Cannot Be Named live and where else are you getting that and Junkyard bookending Cowboy Junkies?  Nowhere that’s where. Also, we have albums from Honest John Plain, Australians Civic, New York Sick OF It All and Europeans like Youth Avoiders and Fertile Hump.  So remember to keep it RPM online and as Lux would say Stay Sick.