"Les Californiens des Distractions on beau afficher une réputation envieuse, ils se font salement rétamer la gueule par les Marseillais qui les font passer pour des débutants. Les Hatepinks crachent leur hit "Bored on Pills" et une reprise "International Rescue" pilonnée. Ce single mérite vraiment pour les Hatepinks, les punks les plus saignants de Marseille!" (T. Foulhoux)
"Un autre split 45 over giga cool qui réuni deux groupes de chauds lapins : The Distraction et The Hatepinks. Un groupe Californien bien bandant qui devait tourner en Europe à la rentrée mais qui a dû vite y renoncer à cause de leur chanteur qui s'est fait cé-coin par la flicaille avec de la dope dans les poches (hé mec, ton nom c'est pas Toto Dugland?). Dommage ces deux titres m'ont fait frémir le bâtonnet à moustache... Quand l'ex-chanteur des Gasolheads et les musiciens de Dollybird reforment un band ça s'appelle The Hatepinks et ça foudroie sur place... dégaine à la The Briefs et musique qui te botte le fion, punk rock rageur et nerveux, avec cette voix de dément possédé qui faisait déjà la différence avec Gasolheads... J'ai hâte de les voir dans un rade miteux, que je me mette à poil et que je danse à m'en faire calancher le pacemaker..." (Nasty Sam)
I HATE PEOPLE N° 1Novembre 2003
Pour reparler de Lollipop pour la cinquantième fois dans ce zine, bref retour sur le Split Hatepinks-Distraction. Rarement un groupe ne m’aura autant mis sur le cul que les Hatepinks. Ces mecs sont capables de vous péter une arcade, les deux pommettes et de vous éclater le nez en moins de temps qu’il n’en faut pour le dire. Inutile d’essayer de vous protéger, on ne peut pas résister à la furie d’un titre comme Bored On Pills. Mesdemoiselle, jamais vos clitos ne vibreront de la même façon après avoir écouté les Hatepinks. Et de mon côté… bref, les Hatepinks sont ce qui se fait de plus bandant niveau punk-rock en France, et dans ces conditions, je ne peux que vous dire avec le peu de dents qu’il me reste que le Californiens de The Distraction paraissent bien plus mièvre. Sur un album ça doit pas être dégeu du tout, mais quel groupe pourrait soutenir la comparaison avec les Marseillais de Hatepinks ? Je n’en verrais qu’un, The Briefs. Tiens donc.
(REVIEW BY RUTLEDGE)
The Distraction: now that is a cool fucking name for a band. And that’s important. Once you’ve got yourself a cool name, half the battle is won. And if your name sucks? You might as well pack it in. You could be talented as hell, but no one with any taste is going to listen to your music if you call your band Dying Leaves Eternal or Fargglestanker. Rock n’ roll is about being cool, and you can’t be cool without a cool name.
So now The Distraction has finally reached the point where it’s making music that’s as cool as its name. The group’s first album was pretty good and all...but it wasn’t, you know, GREAT. And if you’re gonna call yourself The Distraction, you should be, like, the best band in the world. Or at least one of the best bands in the world. That first album was solid, but it didn’t make me want to run out and get a Distraction tattoo. It didn’t inspire me to e-mail all my friends and say, “Hey! You’ve GOT to hear these guys!”. It didn’t compel me to start counting the days until the band’s next record was coming out.
But now I’ve heard some newer Distraction stuff. And I gotta say: I’m really into it. These guys are the shit! I’m talking world class punk rock. Are they as good as The Briefs and other bands of that ilk? You fucking bet, son! And that’s why I’m telling all of you to check out the band’s split with The Hatepinks. And that's not a request. It's an ORDER!
Anyone who can listen to the great “False Advertising” and still dismiss The Distraction as wannabe Stitches simply doesn’t get it. I hear the tune and think, “This is what these guys were trying to sound like on their first album.” It’s not a radical departure or anything; they’ve simply gotten better. They’re tighter musically, and their songs are way catchier. “False Advertising” recycles “classic” punk/new wave elements: a spiky buzzbomb riff worthy of the first Clash album; sharp, jagged guitar leads a la the Buzzcocks; a hard, throbbing bassline that would make Captain Sensible proud; snotty vocals channeling a young Johnny Rotten. But it does so with great skill and a fresh, spirited energy. The song possesses an immediately likable melodic quality that’s often missing from today’s punk music. It’s a “hit” in the truest sense of the word. “Too Late for the Trend #1” is terrific as well. It’s a short burst of nervous, art-damaged punk rock that kicks ass on the trendy, borderline pretentious “new new wave” sissypants bullshit that usually passes for post-punk music these days. Both songs are from the sessions recorded during Mikey Mnoxide’s short reign as the band’s singer (after which, he, like the previous seventeen Distraction vocalists, spontaneously combusted).
And guess what! This is one of those rare splits that’s good on BOTH sides! Like most French punk bands, The Hatepinks look cool as hell. They’ve got the shades, the skinny ties, the tight pants...you get the picture. And then you hear the music, and BOOM! Your jaw just might drop. “Bored on Pills”, I’m here to say, is the best punk rock song of 2003! Oh, baby! It’s the epitome of pure fucking awesome. 100 % electrifying rock n’ roll...insanely catchy...screaming bad-ass vocals....a HUGE guitar sound...unbelievable energy that will get your heart racing and your fists pumping...basic, no-frills production that captures this red-hot group in all its dirty, nasty, snotslinging glory. It’s a veritable ANTHEM. Punk rock fans, you must hear this tune! It's like The Pagans meet The Rip Offs! And then behold a killer cover of The Swell Maps’ “International Rescue”!
You’ll pogo all night.
This is a great, great, great, great, great, great, great fucking record. Buy it, punk!
I cannot wait to hear more from both of these bands.
Actually, I already have heard more from The Distraction. More on that coming soon.
---Lord Rutledge, opinionated asshole
Okay, you have all records of the STITCHES, know the BRIEFS songs from a to zed, got FM KNIFES and THE SPITS and are still not sick of NO Wave Punk? Here is the perfect record for you! THE HATEPINKS are fucking awesome, I have never ever heard of them, and here they are, cranking out a song like “Bored on Pills” that just electrifies me and keeps me bouncing around in my room. DAMNIT!!! I want more of this fucking frenchies! THE DISTRACTION from Huntington Beach are often been called “the false Stitches” but after to ok first album, this two songs here make you believe that they got something special, it’s a punk / new wave bombshell!
DEEP FRY BONANZA February 2004
Since the almighty Briefs have a new, all-covers EP out on France's Lollipop Records I just had to place an order lest I miss out like I did on the "This Age" single and end up with another shitty two-song CD. While browsing Lollipop's catalog I noticed they also put out this release, and since I really liked the Distraction's Calling All Radios album on Dirtnap I figured I'd throw in a couple of extra bucks for this 'lil number.
I actually got a little excited when I saw the back cover of this split, because the Distraction's press photo and band lineup both feature Hot Rod Todd, the band's new vocalist who formerly sang for Neon King Kong and Le Shok. I was really curious how the new guy would blend in with the group since all of his old bands have been so abrasive, so imagine my surprise when I heard a Stitches-esque flinty wail come out of nowhere. At first I thought that Todd had completely changed his style to fit in with the Distraction, but consultation with the Distraction's web site reveals that these are, in fact, the last recordings made with the band's old singer. I guess they're also the first appearance of Hot Rod Todd in a publicity photo, though, so of course you'll easily be able to trade this single for a mobile home when you're 60.
As for the songs themselves, they make me even more excited about hearing what this band has coming up. Both "False Advertising" and "Too Late for the Trend" have a very Jam-esque 60s edge that serves as a marked contrast to the straightforward beach punk of the Distraction's LP. The songs are melodic, bouncy and fun, adding a new dimension to the band's sound without losing any of the things that we loved about them in the first place.
France's Hatepinks, however, are the clear winners of this split record battle. Their two tracks are just totally out of control, sounding like the Briefs trying to cover old Rezillos songs at double the tempo. While I think the Hatepinks' songs could have benefitted from a slightly thinner, more retro guitar sound, you just can't argue with the energy that explodes from their side of the vinyl. If what you've always secretly wished for is some band to combine the '77-esque songwriting prowess of Pelado and Dead Beat Records' bands with the manic energy of the Rip Offs then you need to hear this immediately.
"Distraction : jangly guitar, keyboards and tone-deaf vocals. Hatepinks : a former Gasolheads, distorted guitars and a Swell Maps cover. Hatepinks win by a landslide." (Jimmy Avorado)
Die Split-7“ von DISTRACTION un den HATEPINKS (Lollipop) hätte sich auf Tour sicher gut verkauft, aber der Sänger des US-Band hatte ja gewisse Problem bei de Ausreise und so war’s nix mit der tour. Zwei neue Songs gibt’s hier zu hören, wer das Album auf Dirtnap/Radio Blast mag, sollte auch hier zugreifen. Mindestens genauso gut sind die mir bislang unbekannten HATEPINKS aus Frankreich, der neuen Band um den Gasolheads-Sänger, die ihrer Vorliebe für RIP-OFFS, PAGANS und Co, hier freien Lauf lässt. Die perfekte Ergänzung zu DISTRACTION, und mit ihrem SWELL MAPS-Cover „International Recue“ beweisen sie auch Geschmack. Sehr schöne Layout! (Joachim Hiller)
Die Hatepinks führen der Liste von französischen Garagenbands einen weiteren bemerkenswerten Eintrag hinzu und machen ihre Sache sehr gut. The Distraction bringen 2 weitere Songs in ihrem bewährten Stil, wobei "Too late for the trend" etwas ruhiger daherkommt. Mittlerweile habe ich mich auch gut an das Cartoon-Organ des Sängers gewöhnt, so dass ich diese 4-Track-7" bedingungslos empfehlen kann. (tb)
