Freaks ... Out!

Hubble Bubble was an awesome 70’s punk band from Brussels, Belgium who still retain a cult status, in large part I think, because information on them is scarce and their records haven’t gotten the reissue treatment of many of their contemporaries like The Kids. Luckily, Japan’s Nat Records recently re-issued their two excellent records, with extensive liner notes by producer, Alfie Falckenbach. The first, self-titled record from 1978 is simple and catchy with goofy instrumentation, gruff vocals and a completely psycho, over the top wierdo vibe. My buddy Tony at Celebrated Summer Records (who deserves the credit for bringing these CDs back from his recent trip to Japan) describes the drums on the first track as sounding like a gorilla banging on trashcans. Take a look at the LP cover above and its hard to imagine that being far from the truth.

Here’s where the Hubble Bubble story gets weird. In the midst of widespread success throughout Belgium, bassist Dee Massart suddenly died in car accident, leaving the remaining two members wondering where to go next. Around that same time, drummer Roger "Junior" Jouret scored a huge international hit, "Ca Plane Pour Moi" (you'll recognize the song once you hear it) as Plastic Bertrand. See video below for that one - its intense. (Interestingly, this tune is essentially a rip-off of a song called "Jet Boys/Jet Girls" by Elton Motello, whose rhythm section played on Plastic Bertrand's version). This left only guitarist Alain Von Bur who decided to continue the band with his new songwriting partner, Danny Joan, and take the band in a newer, more glam direction. The new incarnation spawned HB’s second LP, "Faking," which is probably best described as a cross between the weirdo punk of the first LP and theatrical glam rock of Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie. While its definitely not for punk purists, it totally works and there's still some ragers that could easily have been at home on the first LP.

A Spy in the House of Love

I'm still pretty new to a lot of rock/pop, having spent most of my post-teenage years shunning it in favor of punk. Since embracing it a few years ago, I've stumbled upon a handful of excellent bands that I now consider some of my all-time favorites. Visiting Rebel Rebel - a great record store in NYC's West Village - I recently found another gem to add to the list, the House of Love. Though largely forgotten about these days, the HOL gained a lot of attention and a few top 40 singles during their heyday in the late 80's - early 90's. Fronted by the poetic and somewhat odd-looking Guy Chadwick, this band rose from a few influential singles in the mid 80's to a powerful self-titled LP on Creation, before signing onto major label, Fontana for a second self-titled LP that is equally as good. After that, the band, as Chadwick puts it "lost the plot really badly," releasing two less-than-stellar records before calling it quits in 1993 or so. The early stuff, however, is first-class - somewhere in between Johnny Marr's beautiful guitar rock and the more atmospheric/dreamy shoegaze sound that followed. Both are available from the UK re-issue label Renascent, and while pretty pricey for US fans paying import prices, I think they're totally worth it.