Masshysteri: Deep-tissue Swedish punk rock

May 28, 9:33 AMLA Vinyl Records ExaminerJason Gelt

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Courtesy of Feral Ward Records

I don't know what the hell Masshysteri is singing about. All their songs are in Swedish. Two thirds of the trio started out as the sadly defunct The Vicious, which sang songs like "I'm Bored," "Walking Dead," and "I Don't Believe in Christ" in English, the de facto international language of rock 'n' roll.

When Masshysteri's debut seven-inch came out on Feral Ward Records last year it didn't hit me like a ton of bricks. The gothic-punk stylings of The Vicious had their barbs in me from the get-go, but it can be hard to latch onto songs titled "Vardel Au Stan," "Hatkarlek" and "Monotonid." But a couple of listens to the new LP have solidified the band's skills in my inner ear, much the same way many of the Bloodstain compilations of European punk rock from the '70s quickly won over hundreds of American punk and garage mavens in the '90s.

In rock 'n' roll words don't matter. What counts is the feeling: of anger, rebellion and sincerity, rare characteristics in today's music world. Masshysteri plays real punk rock with feeling and purpose. The dueling vocals of Sara and Robert are an artful mixture of plaintive and aggressive, which will engender the usual tired comparisons to X, but Masshysteri has its own thing going. At times they display a rough looseness never evident in The Vicious, as with the almost-punk-psychedelic "Begrav Mig" and the country-western-tumbling "Liv Och Dod" with its soaring vocal interplay. This is a band to watch.

Listen to some songs at Masshysteri's official MySpace page.

Watch Masshysteri perform "Liv Och Dod" live in Lawrence, Kansas below. Note the Elvis and Dead Moon t-shirts. Good taste!