Today is a very special day for me, so I decided to share a very special record to me - the debut LP from long-running and inspiring Finnish political punk band JUGGLING JUGULARS!! This record has been in consistent rotation for me for nearly my entire adult life, and I'd have to declare it a 'desert island' record. After a few decent EPs under their belt at the time, I feel that they really made their mark with this LP. Upbeat, energetic, melodic, catchy, charming punk with a dash of hardcore. It's the perfect length and it has everything necessary to make a perfect punk record: great fast songs, catchy mid tempo songs, catchy melodic guitar leads, great slightly off-key singing in English with a Finnish accent, and a chorus that goes "United we stand/Divided we fall!" x 4.
JUGGLING JUGULARS released so many more excellent records from 1990 til now, but this one always makes its way back onto my turntable, headphones, car stereo, etc. Nearly every mix tape I've ever made for anyone has included a song from this LP, and though I probably picked songs like "Disturbance," "My Lonely Day," and "Selling Privacy" the most, I'd have to say that I've picked almost every song at least once. I still feel touched by certain lighter moments, and get goosebumps on some of the more raging parts. Did I mention that the bass player Jantsa (RIP) played in the phenomenal late 80's hardcore band TREBLINKA? Talk about a criminally underrated band! Oh, and if you've heard their most recent stuff then yes, they have had a rad female vocalist in the mix for the past 13 years. Put this LP on a tape with UPRIGHT CITIZENS, POST REGIMENT, and HDQ and you've got the perfect Euro melodic-hc matchup.
Ok I'll quit blabbing about this masterpiece now and enjoy my birthday. If anyone wants to give me presents, I need the JUG JUGULARS "Positively Fed Up" and "New Toys" albums that I believe were only released on CD in the mid 90s - I've never even heard them! Fuck!
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