SmartShanghai | MP3 Monday: These Are Powers

MP3 Monday: These Are Powers

By Morgan Short, Jun 29th, 2009 | In Nightlife

MP3 Monday is a weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China (or coming to China, or thinking about coming to China, or whatever). Right click on the links and choose "Save Link As..." to download 'em. Click play to rock 'em.

The music of the not too distant future, according to all the best post apocalypse movies, is supposed be Industrial Metal. The soundtrack to the end of humanity was always INDUSTRIAL METAL -- Ministry, KMFDM, Godflesh, something like that. There was usually a scene where the hero enters a post apocalypse dance club and there'd be a chick in a gas mask and a PVC bikini dancing in a cage, and some dudes with half their heads shaved and the other half in dread-locks would be roasting a guy alive on a spit. Everyone is decked out in spray painted football gear, spikes, piercing, they were cannibals, and they liked listening to the Revolting Cocks. When the world is engulfed in flames, nothing speaks to you like the Revolting Cocks.

Industrial music is all about fighting highway wars in souped-up dune buggies with flame throwers and harpoons and shit. It was commonly believed in the 80's that no music would ever be more extreme than Industrial, and therefore Industrial would be what people would be listening to in the year 2219.

Everyone knew that this was what was in store for the future and it was going to be good. Jesus built my hot rod. It's a love affair. It's a tribal thing. But what ever happened to Industrial? It got way uncool. And already industrial was a pretty uncool thing to be into. But who made it really, really uncool? Stabbing Westward? White Zombie? Blade III? Goth kids? Who knows.

Anyways, here's this band called These Are Powers that is coming to Shanghai. They're kind of a big deal because one of the dudes in this band was in that other band Liars. They're sharing bills with people like Wavves and Vivian Girls back in Crooklyn. Arty punk stuff. Critically, they get called no wave, post punk, art rock, but I would like to humbly call attention to the plodding, tribal industrial feel of these songs. Pretty neat. Circus-ey. Mutant circus-ey. It's about time someone reclaimed apoco-rock.

These Are Powers �C Adam's Turtle

These Are Powers �C Little Sisters of Beijing

And here's some Ministry. Come Armageddon. Come, come Armageddon.

Ministry �C Die in a Crash

Split Works pres. These Are Powers w/ PK14 and Carsick Cars at the Zhijiang Dream Factory July 18. Tickets are 100rmb.

Here's a link to some PK14 and you might also like White as well.

Tagged: MP3 Monday