Subhumans: C/D

I don't think I ever liked them quite as much as I wanted to like them, but "Religious Wars" was pretty awesome. Plus they had a killer logo....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VUlJSwm0w0

i saw them once and they were okay i remember the singer wore a headband like the loverboy dude

Even the members of the Canadian Subhumans prefer the British SubHumAns.

they made great singles, great EPs, great albums, and were great live. and they are one of my favorite bands. i've listened to them too much over the years to actually judge them properly though. i just love them. and i love it ALL too. though i don't follow reunion stuff at all and have no desire to hear any of it.

i feel like they were a great rock band that doesn't get enough credit for being a great rock band. mostly cuz punk fans are the only ones who hear them. they were bigger than punk. even if they didn't want to be.

All the original eighties releases are getting a remastered rerelease on Southern -- having just found this out by opening my mail.

I feel like I would've liked the Subhumans a lot more if their albums had some low end. The recording's I've heard sound so flat and tinny like a lot of other UK stuff from that era. I guess that's just the anarcho aesthetic.

I'm curious to hear how these remasters sound.

do you listen to the old stuff on vinyl? i dunno, i always thought the production complimented the band. but i'm an unabashed john loder worshipper. i like that cavernous echo-y sound he got for subhumans. and it was a totally different sound from the rest of the bands that recorded at southern. i mean, they don't sound anything like crass or peni records. crass, with loder, creating some of the greatest bass sounds i've ever heard on record, by the way. crass records, in general, being some sort of peak in rock production for me. albini wishes.

"I guess that's just the anarcho aesthetic."

that's why this is so funny to me. cuz southern studios is, like, holy ground for me. and it all has to do with the sounds that were created there.

More about them reissues etc:

SUBHUMANS were at the forefront of the UK anarcho-punk scene in the early 80s, alongside such bands as Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Rudimentary Peni and Conflict. From the start SUBHUMANS were praised for their ability to stretch the boundaries of punk rock with their unique blend of structured dynamic tunes and incisive sociopolitical lyrics.

SUBHUMANS were, between 1980-85, one of the most prolific and original bands of the evolving UK punk scene; they were based in Warminster, Wiltshire, SW England, and the lineup was Dick on vocals, Bruce played guitar, Phil on bass, and Trotsky on the drums. Dick had previously sung for The Mental, who released one EP and embodied the "can't-play-will-play" early punk "anyone-can-do-it" attitude. Bruce had been in The Stupid Humans, also based in Warminster; these two met at an Angelic Upstarts gig in 1980, and when their bands split they got together to form SUBHUMANS.

Musical influences were a mix of Sex Pistols, The Damned and similar punk originators, and pre-punk bands like King Crimson and Frank Zappa, which led to a style of punk more intricate in its structure than their contemporaries, without losing the base energy and dynamics of punk. Dick’s lyrics, at once socially aware and heavily critical of social norms, placed them in the anarcho-punk area of the ever-expanding UK punk scene of the early 80s, alongside Crass, Antisect, Conflict and Flux Of Pink Indians, who released the band’s first 3 EPs (Demolition War, Reason For Existence, and Religious Wars) and their first LP The Day The Country Died, which became an instant classic that went on to sell 100,000 copies (largely at the cover price of ‘pay no more than £3.25’, which was as cheap as possible in order to make the music more accessible).

In ‘83 they formed their own label, Bluurg Records, and over the next two years released the From The Cradle To The Grave LP (which included a 16 minute track of the same name that had the music press calling for a redefinition of ‘punk’!) Evolution EP, Time Flies 12" EP, Rats EP, Worlds Apart LP, and 29:29 Split Vision LP, which was released after splitting up in ‘85. By then the band had played 262 gigs including several European tours and two in the USA, (which was in the 80’s a rare achievement for a non-commercially minded band).

Bluurg records are proud to announce the forthcoming reissues of the SUBHUMANS back-catalog. Remastered and presented in deluxe digipacks with all original artwork, these re-releases give you another chance to hear one of the original UK punk bands at their very best.

I got 'em in the mail the other day. Digipaks with a booklet including lyrics, album art, and a poster of each one's cover. I'm not feeling very punk rock lately, though, so actually playing them is a dim possibility at best.

I think Jack Rabid in the Big Takeover zine always liked the Vancouver, Canada Subhumans better. It's been ages since I listened to either.

They've definitely grown on me.

Vancouver Subhumans' Death Was Too Late was reissued last year on Alternative Tentacles, fwiw. I liked it okay, but "Slave To My Dick" is still their obvious standout.

Death Was Too Kind, I mean.

I'm a big fan of No Wishes, No Prayers myself. Would be great to see a reissue of that one (if SST or whoever still have the master tapes).

I saw Brian "Wimpy Roy" Goble of the Subhumans (the canuck version) playing onstage with Andrew WK and the Evaporators a couple of weeks ago. Andrew WK does a Subhumans song on hisnew single. They did Oh Canaduh and another Subhumans song which I've now forgotten thanks to beer. This was quite an amazing night.

"Behind the Smile" on the Vancouver Independence comp is my favorite (Canadian) Subhumans song. Huge and catchy. Miles better than "Slave." Better even than "Sickoids."

this is what a sad man i am. i REALLY want to write about the reissues so i e-mail the press dude to get them and he sends them and decibel doesn't want a review so what do i do? do you know what i did? i e-mailed dusted magazine. DUSTED. the beardo site! cuz they are the only music site i know and like on the web. and i ask them if they want a review of new subhumans reissues. they promptly never get back to me. who can blame them really. what was i thinking? i'm so limited. i just don't get out much on the internet. i would write about them on my blog but i forgot my password years ago. and i just keep putting off the whole get a new blogspot password thing. so now i actually feel bad for getting the guy to send me all these CDs and i have nowhere to write about them. i guess i could write about them here. maybe i will.

told you i was sad.

Boo to Decibel.

Be interested to see if there's any noticeable difference in sound between these and the original CD issues. I only have EPLP and The Day The Country Died on CD but I don't think they sound bad. I can't remember noticing any big difference between EPLP and my orig Demolition War 7".

EPLP is definitely louder. but not annoyingly so. louder in a good way for once. day the country died doesn't sound that different from the original lp.

Dick Lucas is a treasure we should all listen to all his bands more

agreed

Can we forgive Culture Shock and Citizen Fish for the crimes of ska punk? I say yes, they weren't to know the damage they would wreak.

I did buy some of the aforementioned reissues at a Subhumans gig several years ago. Actually I think Conflict headlined, but anyway. They were selling them for £7 each, the spirit of pay no more than was alive, I don't have originals to compare them to, I have original pressing of From The Cradle To The Grave and Demolition War and I can't tell any difference tbh but I'm not an audiophile.