I Refuse - Oeffnen/Atmen - LP (2014)

Labels: Double Bind Recs. – Pruegelprinz Records
Review by: MH

This is a band I stumbled across via a flyer for a show with Manku Kapak. I stuck it on and could barely get past the first track as I felt the need to listen to it again and again and was instantly hooked. That sometimes suggest it will get old quickly – not so here though. This band plays frenetic, punked-up emo and once I got past that first track it was a similar situation with rest of the tracks. I’m a total sucker for this kind of music especially when the vocals are yelled and while desperate they don’t go over into screamo territory. In fact, the vocals for me are bang on. There’s a bit of chug to the riffs too and there are times I’m reminded of Ksilema and even pre-LP Plaids. The guitars careen around and it’s all verging on the edge of collapse amidst the chaos. There are times where they all yell together too a la Bonehouse. The coupling of “Das Imperium Schlaegt Zurueck” (a Star Wars reference, I presume) and “Allein” towards the end is staggering. The other thing to note is that most of these songs are short but there is a lot going on in each one. I am so impressed with the music that has come out of Germany this year. You can add this one to the Bail record and the Manku Kapak 7inch. Excellent band.