Lucrate Milk

A name you don't hear thrown around that much in postpunk fan circles, Lucrate Milk became somewhat of an obsession for me when I first heard 'em back in 2003. I've long been a fan of such late 70's/early 80's spastics as Essential Logic, Kleenex, etc., and while this French band shared a lot in common with them (punk/pop structure combined with the liberal dose of avant-splatter amidst honking sax, enigmatic vocalist Nina Childress could easily have fit in with the Rough Trade chanteuses, etc.), there was a slightly darker, screwed up element to Lucrate Milk. Something definitely was polluting their punch bowl, and the indie rock cognoscienti of the 90's seems to have ignored 'em for one reason or another, who knows, perhaps due to the low visibility of their records. They existed from 1979-1983, had a few releases on the Bondage and V.I.S.A. labels, were on a compilation of pre-Sugarcubes K.U.K.L., and put out a live tape in 1986; but info to be had was extremely scarce to say the least. Type their name into that crazy Music Map site and it generates the connection that they are appealing to fans of Chumbawamba and the Walkabouts (!?), which of course doesn't help matters much. But these days, of course, there's a My Space page, which reveals the great news that a 2CD retrospective as well as DVD will be out in March, and offers up a pile of MP3s. I'm also psyched because (thanks to Bill Zurat) I finally got a quick visual glimpse of this amazing band on a French new wave video comp he loaned me, and said clip is one sick and demented little slice of artpunk. Enjoy it on You Tube in all it's rat-sporting, syringe-wielding, teeth-painting, armpit-spraying glory. There's also an 8 minute look back and interview with members today on French TV (though damned if I know what anyone's saying except "I love you, fuck off"), and a growling dog, apparently "translated" into French subtitles talking about Lucrate Milk (and listen for the first time the name appears, it actually SOUNDS like the pooch is saying the band's name!). Finally, Ceci over at East Village Radio did a whole special in 2005 on the band, played some unreleased material and interviewed Nina, if you can find that archived somewhere (I couldn't, feel free to paste below in comments, Ceci or someone). Real Audio: "Dritte Blind Meuse", "Bocops".

Comments

[jean philippe chabot]

oh yeah!what a band!i arrived in paris in 1984 but their influence was still there! one lp, 2 singles, a tape and some tracks on some compilations but they left a mark on the whole punk/alternative french scene.except they were the only ones REALLY enjoying themselves(some bands were good though!)the cd/dvd is already out and available on various sites(amazon for example).
thanks for caring about the french rock scene.
try:dogs, les thugs, metal urbain, 84, asphalt jungle, vietnam veterans, heldon, ......

[jtm]

No mp3s?

[Brian Turner]

Jean Phillipe, is it on Amazon.fr? I didn't see anything on the 2CD/DVD on Amazon US or UK, and I can't really tell if that's the release being discussed (my French is poor, well non-existant!) Whatever is for sale is about 40 US bucks though, ouch. Feel free to fwd any links you might have to this - though oddly their My Space page insists it's out in March...

[Brian Turner]

MP3s are mentioned on the My Space page - see above

[jean philippe chabot]

hi again!
brian, it says march 2006 on their site!so it's already available and you can find it on amazon.fr:
http://www.amazon.fr/Lucrate-Milk/dp/B000FBFW5M/sr=11-1/qid=1166174404/ref=sr_11_1/403-7121727-4351626
curiously, caiman has it available....
the cd is a real must have for those who like punk with a je ne sais quoi, as you say in the US!

[jtm]

Oh well... The MP3s on their myspace page dont work and cant be downloaded even if they did. Myspace bites. thanks for the article anyway, love the band.

Jim

[Brian Turner]

Jim, I just put in a couple links to hear Real Audio clips from assorted shows here.

[Jacqueline]

Yes, I bought a copy of the three disc set through eBay a few months ago and it is *packed*. The first disc compiles all of their original recorded output, with the exception of "Cancer L'Amour" from the V.I.S.A. compilation, along with a whole slew of live tracks. The second disc compiles remixes, including one by Bérurier Noir (mem. of Lucrate Milk), and the DVD has MP3s for "Les Remilks" which is a collection of covers, including one by 10lec6, who are very much in the same spirit and aesthetic as Lucrate Milk, and by far do the best cover on the collection. You can get the MP3 of their cover "She Told Me I Love You Fuck Off" at this address:

http://croutifix.free.fr/-NEWS-/News--.html.

It's a combination of two Lucrate Milk tracks ("She Told Me..." and "I Love You Fuck Off"), as one cover. (Quick side note regarding 10lec6, their first ep 7" "Join Us!" was reissued by Troubleman Unlimited as a limited edition 12" and cd release, and the band put out an additional full length called "Counseling Orientation" now out in Europe, check these guys out!) The Lucrate Milk dvd is immense and packed with live material, music videos, photo albums with commentary, loads of hidden easter eggs, and a super gross pimple menu that squirts puss whenever you select any menu item! Really well done, packed to the brim, and highly recommended!!!

[Brian Turner]

I now have the CD/DVD and it does indeed kill. Reading the line-up, anyone know if Henri Flesh is the same fellow who was in Angel Face?

[flesh]

yes,it's the same fellow,it's me in fact

[Orlando]

There are also other bands of this calliber that deserve special recognition
bands like Debile menthol (Switzerland)
also Wondeur Brass ( quebec) you should peep them if you like Lucrate Milk