{"product_id":"les-thugs_strike-vinyl_2024_lad","title":"STRIKE (vinyl)","description":"In 1993, Les Thugs were still around; they had survived the various musical waves that were French alternative, American grunge, and the return of a certain English rock. Les Thugs were then considered the figurehead of an independent French scene and finally recognized by the media, largely due to their signing with the American label of the moment, Sub Pop, and their affiliation with Nirvana. Les Thugs themselves hadn't changed, or only their bassist, and had managed to remain true to themselves, without becoming extremists, making no concessions or complaining about their lot. There was, on their part, a true disgust for everything, a refusal to endorse the world they lived in, to keep the globalist machine running, a desire to say no to work, to distorted information, to the politics of the strong. In short, 'Strike' then took the form of civil disobedience and would contain twelve demands from an International Front Against Boredom! - - The whole thing was recorded in eight days under the guidance of Steve Albini, known for his work with Nirvana and PJ Harvey. The man arrived in the Angers countryside with his suitcases full of good old vintage microphones, normal for this American who was more a sound sorcerer than a producer. I had come to see my Thugs at work. The atmosphere was rather relaxed, the takes sounded raw, discussions flowed freely in full democracy, or more precisely, as they liked to say, in full 'Gueulocratie' (shouting democracy) with that natural defiance towards musical repetition, because Les Thugs, 13 years later, were still the same. Listening to the songs, the first remark was vocal: never had the singing been so shared between the Sourice brothers, Eric sang five, Christophe four, and Pierre-Yves one. The second was at the level of the tempos, which were more moderate than usual, allowing a wider margin for more pop song textures. 'Strike', 'Waiting', 'New Day' are perfect examples of this. 'Summer' remains in my eyes the gem of the album, the perfect song that manages to unite punk, pop, and rock'n'roll and more specifically PIL, REM, and the Stooges on the same song. As usual, there were the equally successful 'instruthugs', including 'So Heavy' with that magical whistle surfing on the wall of sound of Thierry Méanard, the rhythmic king of Les Thugs, allergic to solos, and then especially the anthem to women that is 'Allez les filles'. Just the title's finding makes it a must.","brand":"Les Thugs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55310240579928,"sku":null,"price":23980276.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0898\/4943\/0360\/files\/3521381588088_503e785c-12d2-4462-a0b0-e2ca0c3df1b0.jpg?v=1760318580","url":"https:\/\/vinyles.com\/en-us\/products\/les-thugs_strike-vinyl_2024_lad","provider":"Vinyles.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}