S.C.U.M

Add Date: September 27 

Artist: S.C.U.M 

Album: Again Into Eyes 

Label: Mute 

Genre: Rock, post-punk 

Comments: Again Into Eyes is the debut record from the London band S.C.U.M--whose name is taken from the SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto of Valerie Solanas, Andy Warhol's attempted assassin--and this explosive LP will quickly justify why they landed on Mute Records and have shared the stage with The Kills and Erasure, among others. The music here is a well-weighted mix of post-punk, New Wave, shoegaze and experimental; in other words, it's equally reminiscent of Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, and it's all traceable back--both musically and, it would seem, culturally--to The Velvet Underground.

Though I wouldn't say there's a great deal of similarity in their sound, I'll venture that S.C.U.M's greatest musical kinship among their contemporaries might be with their Mute labelmates (and recent tourmates) Liars. Both bands apparently draw inspiration from some of the most interesting artists of the last five decades of rock, but still manage to sound distinctive and original.

Listen to the first two tracks on Again Into Eyes, "Faith Unfolds" and "Days Untrue", and you'll be hooked. Also spin "Whitechapel" and "Amber Hands".