Sihir "Ular Akan Patuk" LP

"Sihir’s unrelenting debut is fifteen minutes of pounding hardcore refusal that sounds really very much like a burning police headquarters. Razor sharp threads of feedback weave themselves together tightly around our necks as echoes of clanging sheet metal create a euphoric industrial warp over traditional music. The band is the combined sonic force of punks from Colombia, Nusantara , Spain and Sweden, converging like avenging angel upon the cursed imperial core of Berlin to answer back in full. They blend sideways raw punk incantations with crasher instincts, stirred well and shaken up through phased percussive rumbles that forcibly pin you to the wall about your weak bullshit. Javanese artist Enka Komariah comes through with a spellbinding artwork telling the story of a person with a tiger demon spirit who steals corpses from graves on the night of Kliwon to reach supernatural powers. From the right to our bodies as women to the idiocy of imperialism (“Illogical! From East to West!”) the righteous lyrics howled in Bahasa Melayu demonstrate a band with their bloodshot eyes open to our burning world. Despite or because of this, this is somehow a euphoric record, the furious sound of joyful militants smiling in the dark, certain of a victory not far off."

Bryony Beynon