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For all the rousing chants of equality and support, the punk scene apparently doesn’t have much ideological impact upon its fans. Myriad reasons relegate deserving bands, notably female-fronted groups that are afforded undeserved stigmas of inauthenticity and inferiority, to the abyss of the unknown.
Bambix, a band with international playing experience and success, is likely unknown to (or ignored by) American audiences. Not only does the Netherlands-based band rock from all the way across the Atlantic, it also features a female vocalist.
Please check your prejudices at the period. She’s spectacular.
Playing under the pseudonym Wick Bambix, Bambix’s fronting femme establishes the band’s unmistakable identity. And smartly featuring its best asset, Club Matuchek is a Wick Bambix showcase. With a distinctly European accent accentuating her full and throaty voice, Wick moves from identifiably female to straddling the unisex divide; but she excels in both roles, remaining captivating and powerful whether spitting venom through a pissed punk snarl or unleashing soothing if rough singing that soars above the music.
To say Wick, who also shines as the three-piece’s guitarist, accounts fully for the band’s identity is to overshadow the praiseworthy contributions of her male mates. Bassist Patrick Turner’s fluid rhythms slither from the speakers while Peter Dragt drums with enviable rapid-fire precision. With a sound that’s equal parts Screeching Weasel, Bad Religion and Black Sails-era A.F.I., metal-tinged punk with an irrepressible poppiness, Bambix possesses a stunningly ferocious yet melodious attack. This is the darker side of hardcore punk rock, where catchiness is draped in a bit of gloom, where there’s an edge to infectious.
Bambix’s Club Matuchek is an opportunity to experience relevant punk rock -- music from outsiders, in every sense of the word. The vocal exploits of Wick Bambix are absolutely the main attraction, so much it doesn’t even matter what the hell she’s singing about -- revolution, relationships, politics, and drinking, by the way -- but the backing of a top-notch band makes Bambix’s Club Matuchek an album not to miss.
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