“Pandemia. Falsehoods. The lesser of two evils. The human race eating itself. Ever get a headache? Gunter Grove was the chosen hovel of many in 1978. A hub away from the grim reality of ’70s Britain. Find your own Gunter and stay there. It’s the only way.”
British recording artist Mark Hex releases his new EP, Everything I Touch Turns to Shit. This record is much more gold than the scatological title implies, however.
The album opens with the snarling Gunter Grove, rife with menacing whispers from around the shady corners of recent history. Hex‘s hypnotic chants and shouts harken back to the call-and-response patterns of Sham 69, and the class war passions of The Fall, The Clash, Billy Bragg, and early PiL. Hex also cites Pornography-era Cure, Big Black and Ministry as heavy influences. His muses are clearly channeled here, but his sensibilities are thoroughly modern.
The following tracks, Despised and Down and Out In A Pre-Woke Age are also rollicking good times with passionate sociological commentary. Hex weaves good old-fashioned British storytelling traditions into a complex tapestry: bitching about class warfare, reminding others of the karmic wheel and backing it all with jangling guitar. A refreshing take on pressing matters.
Mark Hex has been releasing music and “making a racket” in London and festivals across the UK. He also plays other people’s records at his DJ gig at the London dark club, Slimelight.
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