[MTN 21 - Summer 1999 - 1000 copies]
LYRICS/BOOK LINKED BELOW
Countdown to Putsch are members of the Judas Iscariot, That's All she Wrote, and Your Adversary. This, their first release, includes a self-published, 100 page socio-political text as well as a 72 minute audio CD with 50 minutes of scathing hardcorepunk music and an interview with activist Jafar S. Hamzah about human rights issues in Indonesia.
REVIEWS/DESCRIPTIONS:"This is an insane project... it is an assault upon the senses. The thick book (not a booklet!) has opinions and ideas on every subject - and they don't shy away from the controversial! It' s almost too much to read in one sitting, as it jumps from heavy subject to heavy subject in short little bite sized snippets - which deceivingly makes you think you could digest a lot at one time!... I would say that this band fits into the emo/hardcore style of a band like Three Studies, but with much more diversity. This is all over the place! From hardcore to screamed vocals over saxophone - this is a full scale assault! I'm impressed by a band that's not afraid to mix their politics with their music. Recommended!" - Lumberjack Distribution
"Countdown to Putsch: handbook for planetary progress - Wow. That is all I can say. Possibly the finest and most thought-provoking Mountain Recs. release to date. Really varied hardcore with horns and randomness and fun and screams and all that you could want. 50 minutes of music from this great band (w/members of Judas Iscariot, All She Wrote, and Your Adversary) as well as a 22 minute interview with activist Jafar Hamzah. PLUS a great political dictionary/handbook covering all sorts of topics in an interesting and very readable fashion. Just buy this already. You won't be sorry you did." - Old Glory
"I don't know what it is with Countdown To Putsch, but just like their demo it is near impossible to get the fucker out of the bag that it comes in. It is almost as if they are deliberately fucking with me from the get go! {mental note: Let it go, let it go...} This is a pretty amazing piece of work no matter what you think of the contents. The book is one hundred pages long and it isn't really set up like a book, but rather like a dictionary. There are entries for each letter of the alphabet. The entries range in length from a few words to several pages and they cover every topic that you could possibly think of (well it is only 100 pages so not literally, but you know what I mean). This is a good format for the MTV generation raised on 30 second commercials and fast paced images. You can read a few entries and put it down and move on. If something seems dull, well don't worry it will end very shortly. I have only started to look through the entries, but it is quite easy to find something of interest every time I manage to get the book out of the bag (ugh!!!). As for the music, I was impressed. I didn't really think the demo was that good and I am not sure what seems different this time around, but I was certainly won over by Countdown To Putsch's eclectic assault of sound and message. The vocals are impassioned and semi-understandable, while the music really is an eclectic combination of styles with a touch of what I guess would be called a jazz influence. It all comes together with a very tangible passion to create and amazing piece of activism-art when combined wit the contents of their book and also the radio interview with Jafar Hamzah about the problems between Indonesia and the people of Aceh. Inspiring. " - Kent McClard - Ebullition
"Countdown to Putsch's first compact disc is a unique take on both the medium and the message of punk. The instrument-swapping power trio builds around the basic guitar, drums, bass formula augmented with various horns and even a homemade dijerido. Musically all over the place from thrashy blasts to minimalist, Dischord-ian rhythms - the three screaming/talking voices hold this together as a solid record. Their lyrics alternate between direct essay-like statements and more abstract, poetic bits. Don't worry, it's not that pretentious, empty poetry passing for "emo" these days - Putsch has more to do with early punk bands like the Minutemen or even Gang of Four who knew how to mix thoughtful, even academic ideas with passionate music. There are moments (especially the opening free jazz bit) that many listeners will find alienating, but that only makes sense for a band that demands its audience play an active, critical role. The accompanying book, an artistic feat in itself, reads like a whole lot of good conversations about everything from aesthetics to education to the wonders of the ostrich. As if all this wasn't enough, there is also a recorded dialogue with Jafar Hamzah, the late leader of the Free Aceh Movement. He talks about the struggle for Indonesian human rights for which he fought and was murdered. This is as urgent as it gets." - JEFF, MTNCIA