Melbourne’s U-Bahn, named after the German Underground rail system that serves as the metro or subway, is far from a Kraftwerk parody as seen with the fictional band Autobahn in the cult classic film The Big Lebowski.
No, this band that conjures kind art of experimental art-punk extraordinaire championed by luminaries such as The Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo, The Residents, and most of all DEVO.
Through their uncanny sonic resemblance to the old-school heroes of Arkron Ohio, helmed by the Mothersbaughs’ and the Casale’s, U-Bahn unfurl their groovy new-wave onomatopoeia in a quirky avant-garde manner that is both oddity and anachronism and altogether thoroughly engaging, aptly described their music as thus:
“nostalgia for futures that never came to pass; suburban boredom and sexual dystopias”.
In U-Bahn’s “Beta Boyz”, the 5-piece ensemble take a satirical jab the Jocko in “Jocko Homo” by lampooning toxic masculine culture and proves that anyone who adheres to this way of thinking is indeed a Mongoloid.
Listen below:
U-Bahn finds it’s genesis from singer Lachlan Kenny’s bedroom recordings, a chance meeting between him and Zoe Monk over the purchase of a vintage drum machine, followed by the recruitment of Leland Buckle, Jordan Oakley, and Mitch Campleman.
Once a cohesive unit, the band quickly honed their live show before taking their ideas to the stages of the Melbourne DIY circuit.
Kenny was eager to set down these ideas on vinyl; crafting a suite of self-recorded and mixed songs whose charm lies in their lo-fi production values, as Kenny relates:
“I think that that naive, ill-informed recording process ultimately aided in giving the record its character.”
As for the overarching sound of the music Kenny explains:
“The intention has always been to make music with no categories or creative barriers, drawing from the concept of ‘Organised Sound’ rather than any Rock & Roll ethos.”
U-Bahn’s self-titled debut album is set for release on the 13th December 2019 via Melodic Records.
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