First press - black print on white cover; 200 issued **SOLD OUT**
Second press - white print on black cover; **I think there are two left at
Missing Link**
TERMINAL BOREDOM
Chinese Burns "Can Dig" 7"
I've probably listened to this record a good fifty times and have tried to come up with some way to describe how great it is and sometimes you just can't come up with anything to say other than this thing is pretty fucking awesome. A young Melbourne three piece I know nothing about, except Mikey from ECSR recorded their single and they list Big Balls and the Great White Idiot as their only influence. I kinda think they out-dumb the UV Race on this thing, beating the young masters at their own game. Four tracks, all of them are impeccable. "Can Dig" is absolutely raw and unhinged garage-punk bluster with a bass part that defies reason. Totally sounds like it's going to fall to pieces at any second. Wow. "Steal Magnolias" is a slowed up down-tempo turn that reminds me of Pheromoans a bit, but with a rugged Aussie edge replacing their Brit wit. The monotone vocals really dig it home and it's actually massively hooky too. I had this one in my head for days. "Get Out" is a snotty DIY-ish punk anthem, up-tempo, blunt and guess what, hooky as shit too. "Everyday Is The Same" closes with a masterstroke, it sort of slows down the same rhythm from "Can Dig", which in turn makes it sound like a beefed up "Jack the Ripper" riff, but they totally blast it to hell. Still sounds like it might fall apart at any minute, a real downward spiralling pounder rife with piercing leads and wildman howls. Reminiscent of the pure-n-simple punk rock of ECSR, except played by some far younger, drunker and meaner blokes. Not only is this probably the best Aussie 7" I've heard all year, but just one of the best singles of the year overall. Not sure how limited, but I'm sure it's scarce at this point, and it's hell trying to get Aussie records, I know. Shit, I'm trying to stockpile multiple copies at this point, it's that good.(RK)
PATRICK EMERY REVIEW for MESSANDNOISE
Once a lunchtime perennial, the humble Chinese burn – the twisting of skin on the arm in opposite directions to cause a simulated burning sensation – has probably been condemned to the same bin of antiquated schoolyard events as the dead leg and the oft-mythologised (but never witnessed) royal flush. At the risk of drawing a self-indulgently long bow for the sake of a cheap metaphor, the modern technological age – replete with fancy digital production facilities and on-line distribution methods – must surely have given the integrity and livelihood of the garage 7” a serious battering.
Not that you’d ever realise it. Case in point: Melbourne via Brisbane trio Chinese Burns’ four-song 7”. Recorded by the increasingly prolific Mikey Young (Eddy Current, Ooga Boogas, Brain Children), and released just in time to preface the band’s break-up, this is garage rock in all its primitive glory. ‘Can Dig’ opens festivities, a white-hot maelstrom of guitar, drums and indecipherable lyrics that operates as an ode to the primeval attraction of three-chord garage rock. ‘Steal Magnolias’ takes its initial cues from the hoodlum-era MC5, before being sideswiped by ’80s LA slacker punk, while ‘Get Out’ is a classic Kinks-inspired rocker, with the lyrics rendered unintelligible save for the emphatic instruction that gives the song its name. Finally there’s ‘Everyday Is the Same’, a blaring, youthfully obnoxious soundtrack for the domestic and professional monotony that can be found anywhere from Detroit to Brisbane.
Someone once remarked that the attraction of garage rock lies in its simplicity; it sounds so easy, anyone can do it. But there’s more to it than that. It’s about expression, catharsis and rebellion: “Fuck this shit, let’s start a band and make some noise.” Add Chinese Burns to the ever-increasing list of bands who’ve made an ephemeral, albeit valuable contribution to garage rock. RIP.
SINGLES BAR @ I-94
Every now and again you stumble on a treat like this, something that is just so demented and absolutely fucken great that you have no other option than to repeatedly drag the needle back and back and back again. What's captured on it is just kicking your arse so hard that you're grinning like a retarded motherfucker, drooling and totally in thrall with this three-piece/three-chord thug punk gunk that's pummelling your brain into a Kreuzberg syndrome mush.Yeah, I'm hemorrhaging here, but it's that bloody good. Comparisons? Guess some Teengenarate, some Onyas, some Supercharger - and loads of some (probably) totally unobtainable and illegal glue, that's (barely) holding it all together. The Chinese Burns, will kick and destroy, and you my friend, will have no option other than to pick your dirty cock back up off the floor and put it back in your pants. Pretty much as damn near perfect as this shit gets. - Tom G
