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The record has been in circulation for a while though the official release was only end of September. As such the record release party was set for 02.10., which meant next day would be a public holiday and thus nobody should have had an excuse for not showing up.

In the end downstairs at the Hafenklang turned out as a space too large for the party, above beauty was celebrated by less than 100 people i guess, a bit of a downturn.

First on Last Line Of Defense, who jumped in for Suck who could not make it due to their singer being ill. It was an easy and obvious choice, as they share home and people with Yard Bomb.

Last Line Of Defense (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

On average i am not a big fan of their songs, too often they sound just odd to my ears without being able to pin-point exactly what offends me. The best moment came at the end when they grabbed a 2nd singer from their circle of friends and gave us what i believe was a great cover version … check it your for yerself:

As ever don’t get offended by my mu-sick-al tastes and receptors, check them out on your own. For me not the best start into the proceedings.

Next on the Razors, who a couple of days ago had just played on the river Elbe on the MS Hedi, now back on-shore and a stone throw away from the Elbe. They had been invited specifically for this occasion by Yard Bomb and sure wanted to give cudos to their great seminal effort of a first record release.

Razors (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

For the Razors it was a bit of a 40 year comeback, their first 7″ (out in October 1979) was recorded at the old Hafenklang Studios, right here at this location. Some say it was the first DIY Punk 7″  by a German band – some doubt it. I am not sure about the statement but that does not matter – here is  “Madhouse Meeting” from their 1982 12″ on Konneckschen.

They had shorted and speeded up their set and almost matched up with the so much younger Hardcore bands. For the encore, as ever “Because you’re young” they got members of the Hamburg City Punk Rock Singers on stage and gave a nice sing-a-long finish.

Razors with Choir  (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

Next stop for the Razors will be “Burn down the Baum 13.0” on 30.12.2019 at the Knust, with Sixteen Again (finest Buzzcocks covers from Hamburg) and Knock Off (finest Oi! from London).

Then it was time for Yard Bomb and what i thought another speedy run down of their songs (they can play 14 songs in 21 minutes). But this time round it was a bit more mellow, they took more time to … twist again:

For me they are the hottest shit currently, specifically in that little genre of CA Hardcore 1980s build. Perfect speed, great and very capable guitar work, solid back line and a singer so full of energy. Relentless energy.

Yard Bomb  (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

For this occasion they even re-worked their hit “Turning up Milhouse” into a longer version with a a groovy extra minute, see yerself…

They got a good reception but given that it was only like 1/3 packed it was not bodies flying everywhere and people jumping up and down. I guess upstairs that would have been a much easier thing and, in hindsight, a better place for the party.

Yard Bomb  (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

They also played some covers as encores and got their old drummer back up for that occasion. And with that encore even the slowest brain would realize where they pull the mu-sick-al ideas from.

Great set to celebrate a great record. Let’s hope they put some touring behind it in order to sell it off quickly. They deserve to be seen so much wider than just Wedel or Hamburg, can someone please put them into a bus to support a larger US band?

But Yard Bomb did not finish off the party, late in the night we got something extra. Rolf, who has some Finland connections, was to surprise the lot with some Finish Country Death Metal Banjo or whatever mu-sick-al cupboard you would like to pass onto them.

They actually claim: “Dark Bottle is doombilly, psych-country, alt-punk and krautstoner at the same time.” There you go!

The “crowd” by now was a mere 30 people but they all enjoyed the surprise of something completely different. Sure it was late and sure the day off next day had lured some folks into booze – and on booze this was indeed a fun thing to watch. And that fun the audience provided back to the stage.

Dark Bottle  (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.10.2019)

But Dark Bottle (from sunny Tampereen kaupunki) had a wee bit more: The songs had meanings and besides the uptempo stuff it also has surprisingly good lyrics. Go and check them out, it may be worth it!

Great and late evening, though not really a record release party per se. It missed the feeling of “packed” and “everybody going nuts” but as said the Yard Bomb 12″ gets that across for a start. Go and score it! Now!