THE KURWS

After more than 14 years together, 300 concerts and four albums, Polish trio Kurws recently decided to disband but one can only hope this is a temporary decision as their last release, 2022's 'Powięź;/Fascia' is very special indeed. The trio of Dawid Bargenda (drums), Hubert Kostkiewicz (guitar, waterphone, bells, chimes) and Jakub Majchrzak (bass) fit in perfectly with the avant-garde artists of Dur et Doux, playing music which has been influenced by the likes of post punk, krautrock, rock in opposition, funk and no wave to create something which is highly experimental and deeply compelling. There are clear arguments that music like this is at the cutting edge of what can even be considered as such and is progressive in its very truest sense as it strives to move into new directions yet also maintaining a continuity which is compelling.

The progressive scene in Poland has long been a favourite of mine, and an area I have been involved with for more than 30 years, yet this has far more in common with the French RIO scene and some of the bands in Russia than it does with much of what I expect from that country, which generally tends to be more melodic. The seven instrumental numbers total just under 42 minutes in length and need to be listened to on headphones when there is the time to give the music the attention it deserves as the guys continue to push so that at times there is a great deal of repetition to build a certain feeling while at others it is completely off the wall. It is punk, it is prog, it is refusing to conform and there are even times when lovers of Cardiacs may well find something in here as they bring some elements of pronk into what they are doing. I certainly hope their departure from the scene is somewhat temporary as music lovers need explorers such as these who continue to break new ground.

Everything is dissecting, and everything is discordant around 'em. But it's not surprising at least for their crazy musical methodology. The KURWS is one of the Polish avantgarde / post-punk / garage bands that mashed and squashed me with the brilliant eccentricity of their endemic sound productions. Some Polish bands (like Indukti, Fren, Marcin Pajak, Stara Rzeka, or something) are my favourites but to be honest, it's quite delightful The KURWS are pushing and deforming me 'out of range'. In their latest album "Powi​ę​ź / Fascia" they play incredibly distorted illshapened songs with plain and cool basic instruments like guitar, bass, and drums. The soundscape launched by each instrument is pretty simple and clear, but the melody lines and rhythmic footprints discharged through their simple clear instruments are dreadfully complicated, mysterious and especially unsophisticated. Such an unsophisticated expression technique must ring my bell loudly and stickily.

Already their powerful play is explosive in the first track "Co nas łączy / What unites us" featuring full of mad infernal melodic rhythmic dissonance. We cannot repeat back such madness nor dance to it. The only thing we can do is to concentrate our ears and brains to catch and digest their audible energy. And their energetic intention goes forward randomizedly in the following titled track "Powi​ę​ź / Fascia". We can grab only quirkiness and oddness via their machinegun play. Wackily warped melodic repetition along with elusively rhythmic alteration is also wondrous. Flavourful seasoning with a kind of psychedelic spice can be heard. "Lęk i olśnienie / Anxiety and Lucidity" is short and monotonous but the combination of anxiety and lucidity, namely a mixture of darkness and monotony, grasps and squeezes our inner mind only for a short while. "Podchody / Foot chase" is another speed guru. There is not enough flamboyance nor elaboration but much power and vigour. After a short interlude "Twierdzenie o nieskończonej liczbie małp / Infinite monkey theorem" (one of my favourite sheer-mad tracks though), another freaky 'controversial' work "Ruskie drogi / Russian roads" expresses Polish sadness, painfulness, and problematic issues. Colourful phrases can be heard through this eight-minute song - laziness, urgency, emergent crisis, or despair - and it makes sense under such a tough situation. But 'possibly' including the last "To nas dzieli / It divides us" they might mention this is only a sarcastic explanation and they and we should get more powerful and cheerful together ... my two cents.

Yeah I hope I will go on a trip to Poland and touch their timbre and confirm the common atmosphere in Polish venues ... wondering if they are all complicated and mysterious? Just kidding! :P

KURWS (also The Kurws) is a Polish progressive punk (=pronk) band from Wrocław (pronounced VRAHT-swoof), Poland that was formed in 2008 and claimed to be the unexpected result of a ping pong session. Hmmm. OK, it's true. One fateful day these busy guys decided to make time to connect and the realized they had a common interest. The rest is history. It is the case that this band is much more talented than just playing a table tennis sport and has been one of only a handful of musical groups to deftly combine the triumvirate worlds of post-punk, avant-jazz and progressive rock.

This extremely experimental band has toured Europe extensively and become a cult hit in many avant-punk circles but this is well beyond the punk paradigm although that genre does keep it centered somewhat. This is the band's debut DZIURA W GETCIE which tenderly means "Hole In The Ghetto" and with the picture of the pink pig on the cover art i can't possibly imagine what that means! This is one of those bands that has succeeded in crafting an eccentric style of genre fusion that manages to sound like no other. KURWS somehow manages to mix post-punk with Krautrock, no wave, avant-prog and jazz into a satisfying cauldron of creativity that also delves into no wave, math rock and noise. Well done!

This is a mostly instrumental album with a few lyrics appearing in the band's native Polish language. This is also a well calculated album as it doesn't banter the senses with stimulation. Rather it sensually introduces new sounds, new ideas and new musical motifs without sounding forced. Musical genre tags are a guess at best. Where does Krautrock end and post-rock begin? There are more gray areas than actual certainly and such is the reality of life in general but one thing is for sure and that is that on KURWS debut album, all is kept on simmer with punkish scaffolding finding traces of jazz, Kraut, funk and other genres deftly blending together like lipstick on a pig! Ha!

Unlike most punk inspired albums, this one has "normal" song lengths which result in 12 tracks that almost hit 39 minutes. The vocals are minimal but when present are totally in the punk vibe. So is most of the guitar work but the band carefully crafts the album to "migrate" into various other styles of music without feeling forced. Krautrock is a clear winner for these departures but the no wave aspects are ubiquitous as are the avant-prog time signature freakery. There are moments of funky bass and jittery math rock but the band also manages to incorporate a healthy dose of avant-jazz into the mix with sax squawking interpolating its presence into various nooks and crannies. This is an extremely pleasant album to sink into. It's almost like easy listening for the most extreme hardcores but so well done i am in admiration.