Various Artists -- Worhäts / Strohsäcke Split 7"

Worhäts / Strohsäcke

Split 7"
Attack Records, 2003

Social Napalm (U.S), 2003

Although I haven't seen either Worhäts or Strohsäcke perform live, I get the distinct impression from listening to this little EP that both bands are so tight and so frenetic that, with only the slightest effort, they could transform a crowd of shuffle-boarding pensioneers into a circle pit. The problem with bands like Worhäts and Strohsäcke, of course, is that, in trading sing-alongs and hooks for energy and ferocity, they rarely release stand-out records. Sure, after a few listens, certain tracks stand out as being better than others but, in the end, this record makes me feel as if I would rather be in the crowd at some smoke-clogged, beer-drenched dive in one of Berlin's rougher neighborhoods than at home spinning the disk on my turntable. Then again, really good hardcore rarely records well. The gloss of even the most rudimentary studio recording can dull a band's edge, and this seems to be the case with the recording in question.

Still, while there mightn't be any stand-out radio-friendly tracks on this disk, both Worhäts and Strohsäcke deliver solid, if unexceptional, performances. Fans of fuzzily distorted guitars and scratchily barked vocals should enjoy this record.

Highlights:

Track 3. "Shuldig" (Worhäts). Opening with an almost meditative guitar riff washing over the sounds of a brutal beating, "Shuldig" captures the sense of immediacy and fury at the heart of Worhäts's sound better than either of the band's remaining two tracks.

Track 5. "Nichtsnutz" (Strohsäcke). If you were to play the first thirty seconds of "Nichtsnutz" and I were to tell you that the name of the band was the Exploited, there's a pretty good chance you'd believe me. I mean, The bass line is certainly reminiscent of the sound Billy Dunn brings to the Edinburgh boys' Let's Start a War (Said Maggie One Day)-era recordings. Of course, there's also Strohsäcke's near sing-alongable chorus to enjoy, too.

Sobriquet Grade: 78 (C+).