Two French bands join forces on this EP. Both bands deliver us one new song and one cover. Both play post-punk, although both bands take a different approach to the genre. The first band is Litovsk. I am happy to see them return, as I had not heard from them in a while. They have a couple of excellent releases under their belt and now are back with a new EP and this split. They open this split with “There Ain’t No Answer”. A catchy tune with their typical upbeat but serious and somehow kind of introspective sound. This tune is followed by “Baston” a cover from Bérurier Noir. For this cover they went almost archeological as the original is from 1984. Unfortunately I can not tell you how it holds up to the original. It is a kick ass tune, so I guess I will check out the original soon(ish).
Next up is Hinin, a band new to me, but who also have a couple of releases under their belt. After spinning this release a couple of times I decided to check out previous releases and I can tell you that especially their debut full-length album Hors Jeu is a real gem of an album. The band plays Joy Division like post-punk but with OI!-styled vocals over it. An odd combination that works wonders. The singer sings better on each release and this EP is again an advancement over previous releases. Their cover is “Réve Adolescent”, a song you might know under the original name “Teenage Kicks” by The Undertones. This song sounds the same, but very different if that makes sense.
I enjoyed this split a lot and have spun it very often the last couple of days. I figure it is a brilliant introduction to two hard working good sounding post-punk bands and an encouragement to dig deep in your music collection (or steaming service of choice) to enjoy the originals of the two excellent covers.
