In 1985 Chicago punk band Articles of Faith released In This Life. Produced by Husker Du’s Bob Mould, it was an album that stepped aside from the speedy hardcore of the time and focused on a more confident and melodic guitar playing and the emotive vocals of frontman Vic Bondi.The same details of In This Life can be heard in the debut LP from Cult Values, an album that meshes dark hardcore with a more melodic 80s post punk sound.Made up of musicians from New Zealand, the United States, Austria and Germany, Cult Values formed in Berlin in 2014 and after releasing a well received demo in 2015 are set to release their debut LP.Listen to the a-side below and read a short interview with the band.Noisey: Your music is often described as dark and gloomy. Is this an accurate reflection of the band or are you all a bunch of jokers?
Mike: I don't think so. I have my moments of misanthropy but I think this is normal for a lot of people. Moody would be a more accurate description, at least for myself and our guitarist Marian.D: I know that the world is no pink bubble and can often be quite dark. But that doesn't mean I am dark or gloomy personally. Also we didn't set the goal to sound like that. Except for an approximate idea there was no greater plan at the beginning; we just knew what we didn't want to do. It was clear that Mike would not necessarily bring the merriest lyrics.But it's good to know that our music created images and some kind of emotions to the listener. And I can live with dark and gloomy. We are streaming the a-side to your new album. What is the best track?
Mike: I guess that's up to listeners to decide. The text for the song, “Fire and Flood’” is about Australia so maybe that's interesting for some people. D: Each song is unique in its own way. “Prepare for Cold” is one of the first songs we wrote and showed us what is possible and how we can sound as a band. This alone makes it special for me. Also I think it was our first small “hit” and is still a hell of fun to play. “Rat Music” was the first song we wrote together with Martin on drums. This song turned out a little bit more aggressive, faster and pissed off compared to older ones. I think we did a good job there. Who was responsible for the amazing "Nothing Here But Ghosts" video?
Mike: Anthony Christopher. He lives in Chicago. He and a friend visited Berlin back in March and he's a really good guy who's willing to trade doodles for beer and a place to crash. Recently he's done time-lapse drawing videos for FCKR and La Vase from Leipzig, Pretty Hurts from Berlin and Modern Delusion from Croatia. All great bands who are worth checking out.D: He did the artwork for the new Catholic Guilt 7”, Marian`s other band.The video for “Nothing Here But Ghosts” is already the second one Anthony did for Cult Values. If he comes across a band he likes, he just asks if he can do a video. He brings together what somehow belongs together and helps spread music and art. I think the combination is a great idea.
June 4 - Neubrandenburg @ Punx Picnic
June 10 - Hamburg w/ Hammerhead // Gulag Beach // Krank
June 11- Erfurt w/ Gulag Beach
July 10 - Berlin w/ Litovsk // On On On
July 14 - Bielfeld w/ Die Tunnel
July 15 - Paris w/ Die Tunnel
July 16 - Köln w/ Die Tunnel
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Mike: I don't think so. I have my moments of misanthropy but I think this is normal for a lot of people. Moody would be a more accurate description, at least for myself and our guitarist Marian.D: I know that the world is no pink bubble and can often be quite dark. But that doesn't mean I am dark or gloomy personally. Also we didn't set the goal to sound like that. Except for an approximate idea there was no greater plan at the beginning; we just knew what we didn't want to do. It was clear that Mike would not necessarily bring the merriest lyrics.But it's good to know that our music created images and some kind of emotions to the listener. And I can live with dark and gloomy. We are streaming the a-side to your new album. What is the best track?
Mike: I guess that's up to listeners to decide. The text for the song, “Fire and Flood’” is about Australia so maybe that's interesting for some people. D: Each song is unique in its own way. “Prepare for Cold” is one of the first songs we wrote and showed us what is possible and how we can sound as a band. This alone makes it special for me. Also I think it was our first small “hit” and is still a hell of fun to play. “Rat Music” was the first song we wrote together with Martin on drums. This song turned out a little bit more aggressive, faster and pissed off compared to older ones. I think we did a good job there. Who was responsible for the amazing "Nothing Here But Ghosts" video?
Mike: Anthony Christopher. He lives in Chicago. He and a friend visited Berlin back in March and he's a really good guy who's willing to trade doodles for beer and a place to crash. Recently he's done time-lapse drawing videos for FCKR and La Vase from Leipzig, Pretty Hurts from Berlin and Modern Delusion from Croatia. All great bands who are worth checking out.D: He did the artwork for the new Catholic Guilt 7”, Marian`s other band.The video for “Nothing Here But Ghosts” is already the second one Anthony did for Cult Values. If he comes across a band he likes, he just asks if he can do a video. He brings together what somehow belongs together and helps spread music and art. I think the combination is a great idea.
Cult Values' LP will be available July 1 in Europe on Sabotage and Static Age and in North America on Deranged.Catch Cult Values at these shows:
June 4 - Neubrandenburg @ Punx Picnic
June 10 - Hamburg w/ Hammerhead // Gulag Beach // Krank
June 11- Erfurt w/ Gulag Beach
July 10 - Berlin w/ Litovsk // On On On
July 14 - Bielfeld w/ Die Tunnel
July 15 - Paris w/ Die Tunnel
July 16 - Köln w/ Die Tunnel