Rising up as an anarcho punk within the mid ’80s, I assume you would say that we shared a uniform with a lot of the bands that we listened to, which was all black all the pieces. However there have been two British peace punk bands that broke with the established order, considered one of them being Rubella Ballet – as a substitute of all black, they went for day-glo all the pieces! This band was the overall package deal, and their picture was actually necessary to them, however fully DIY as a result of they made all of their very own gear.
Fashioned in 1979, their leftist bloodlines ran deep, and at one level that they had members whose dad and mom have been the founding members of the Poison Ladies. Within the early ’80s, they launched some 12 inches and albums, nevertheless it’s their 1986 IF report, launched by way of Ubiquitous (their very own label), which I’ll speak about with a lot pleasure at this time. I’ve at all times been into this band’s artistic spirit since their first journey right into a sound referred to as Ballet Bag, however on IF, the band was in a position to convey collectively post-punk, peace punk, subversive pop, and even funk to manifest an audio terror that was disguised by many various faces. This report is a playhouse of bizarre, blissed-out beats and rhythms that may have you ever shifting. I’ve mentioned it earlier than, through the period when IF got here out, we simply didn’t have divisions alongside the strains of the sub-culture you belonged to – be it loss of life rock, peace punk, post-punk, or simply plain outcast, we have been all in the identical sport.
What actually made Rubella Ballet all that and a bag of chips was how they by no means misplaced the knack for writing thought-provoking lyrics – they knew tips on how to make revolutionaries smile whereas maintaining the great combat! The singer, Zillah Minx, had one of many coolest feminine voices in anarcho punk, all it’s important to do is hear her wreck store on songs like “Cowboy Hero” – each time I blast this tune, fancy footsteps will not be too far behind. When the bass line from “Pink Alert” slaps you within the face, you’ll understand that change can come from music opening the minds of the blind. Rubella Ballet created a traditional album with IF, however don’t take my phrase for it, exit and analysis it. This band proved that punk shouldn’t be about the best way you gown, it’s a way of thinking. The craziest factor about Rubella Ballet is that on this album, the lyrics nonetheless ring true at this time.
