Compared with early Nirvana and the Black Keys, and I’ll throw in White Stripes, Hole pre-Butch Vig and Billy Corgan polish and Portland WA’s Ricaine; ’68 “could almost fall apart at any moment, yet never do, devilishly dancing between life and death.”
‘68 is Josh Scogin and Nikko Yamada who have been slamming it all together and pumping it out since 2013. “Love Is Ain’t Dead” is the third release by this Atlanta GA noise-duo following 2014’s In Humor and Sadness and Two Parts Viper (continuing with the muscle-car-motif) from 2018. They rely on distortion and lo-fi as much as they rely on Josh’s creativity and Nikko’s beats. Raw and impassioned, how Josh backs up after each performance is anyone’s guess!
“Love Is Ain’t Dead” came about because Scogin had written three new songs and just had to get them recorded. Grammy-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz was available, and the boys worked on the songs over the course of a week.
The video for the single / lead track for the EP, Bad Bad Lambo has the guys dressed as The Blues Brothers, The Knack, and/or 1960s / 1970s Sharpies blended with some some quite creative, colourful, trippy imagery over what seems to be a song of pain and friendship that may have been.
The Lesser Of Two Upheavals is a prog-esque number with changes in styles and timing, but the emphasis is definitely on thrash/punk.
Rock On (a cover of the David Essex hit) is almost unrecognisable- I would probably have picked it up eventually but had the help of a press hint. Essex released and re-released this multiple times through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but would never have imagined a tribute like this!
For ’68, this is as straight-ahead as they get! Or is it? Because Nervous Passenger wraps up the outing with a slightly slower tempo and tamer, dare I say, more radio-friendly track with Richard Ashcroftesque vocals.
“Love Is Ain’t Dead”, and‘68 in general, isn’t easy listening. But that’s never been what Scogin and Yamada are about, from the video for the single, they clearly enjoy what they do! It’s frustrated, it’s raw, and it’s wanting to get into as many ears as possible. Get them into yours.