Suck – “Ribbit” LP (La Pochette Surprise Records)

This is a La Pochette Surprise Records!

Green Vinyl Edition

FFO: Black Sabbath and 70s punk

A1 Rip It Up 2:18
A2 Gravedigger 2:29
A3 Mama’s Got A Backpatch 2:40
A4 Decadent Life 2:20
A5 Copkiller 1:17
A6 Gimme Your Number 2:01
B1 Rat King 3:24
B2 Lucifer 3:04
B3 Roadkill 2:42
B4 Bulletproof 2:25
B5 Gloom Terror 2:05
B6 SUK 2:23

“Do you know SUCK?” “Yup, had to see them live!” That’s about how the conversations go when you ask around in the punk-informed part of the circle of friends. At least in Berlin and the surrounding area, where for some the first musical contact took place in the Berghain Kantine in the support of Amyl and The Sniffers, for whose 2019 tour SUCK gave the support. No easy stand actually – and because they convinced there, the punk band from Kassel left a lasting impression. Which, in a text like this, inevitably leads to the question: Is it actually a curse or a blessing for the promotion of a debut album to be a fantastic live band? Instead of a far-reaching, finely chiseled, cultural journalistic answer, it is recommended at this point to simply turn up the opener “Rip It”. You can answer this question essayistically, or as SUCK do it here: With a drum intro that sounds like you’re about to kick down the next best door, and an explosion of aggression, circular saw guitars, melody, bass growl and a voice that inevitably leads you to the realization that there is no adequate translation for the wonderful British word “snarling”. The melodic, broadly crossed, but never testosterone overdriven sound of the band from Kassel levels itself here somewhere between deep Black Sabbath love and 70s punk reverence. And SUCK sound as if they had put a truckload of fans in the studio with them during the recordings. The live sound that many have fallen in love with at SUCK concerts has been captured perfectly, so to speak, packed airtight and pressed onto vinyl, CD or in MP3s, where it is discharged the moment you press “play”. – Daniel Koch (DIFFUS)