AUTOR - Kommen und Gehen LP

Contergan Punk Records.

Vienna-based international quartet Autor returns with a third installment to their pretty relaxed discography (s/t, 2020; Nektar EP, 2022). For nearly half a decade, Autor has preached the evangelium of European post-punk, taking inspiration from west to east, chewing on the sound of their predecessors from Bern, Manchester, or Puławy. On their newest album “Kommen und Gehen” ("Coming and Going"), their sound is perhaps the most confrontational ever. Wrapped in a silk layer of nihilism, their lyrics are witty takes on dysfunctional relationships. “Kommen und Gehen” resembles a sweaty night at a dimly lit crust-punk squat, where bartenders working behind a pallet-built bar are handing you lukewarm beers and clouds of cigarette smoke are burning your eyes. The band on stage is playing really cool anthemic songs, but you will end up throwing up in the gutter on your way home either way. Good posture won’t help if everything else is broken. As for the post-punk cookbook, Autor of course has it all: dominant and punchy vocals, laser beam-sounding guitar, and a persistent rhythm section that won't let your neck rest for a second. All that is wrestled into eight addictive songs. The album clocks in at 21 minutes—just enough to down a coffee or two and feed the frenzy wiener dog in you. At least for a while, before there’s more to chew on the plate. Albums like this are rare these days, and it’s good to know Autor still bears the torch, which was just a temporary trend for many. Ultra gute Arbeit. Autor is connected to the prolific punk collective Urban Lurk, which functions both as a label and an underground show organizer. Members of Autor have a long and fruitful history of playing in hardcore, black metal, or avant-rock bands (Gomme, Pitva, Raw Deal, Parasite Dreams, Agit or C.A.M.O). Their new album is released by the Viennese label Contergan Punk on vinyl (and digitally) and by Urticaria Records on tape.