Hailing from Japan, Ultra Bidé have been around since 1978, but DNA Vs DNA-c is their first label release in 10 years. A noise punk outfit made up of two bassists and a drummer, their approach to music is socially conscious and raucous in the best way possible. With their sixth studio album, they prove once again that people on the other side of the world can be pissed off too, and probably have even more right to be.
The “c” in the album title stands for “conservative,” and as it’s pretty clearly explained in the opening title-track, the premise is the battle between the new “liberal” DNA and the old “conservative” DNA. Like so many other political punk releases, the album covers topics like radical protest (“Civil Action”), nuclear energy (“21st Century Nuclear”), and war (“Front Line”), all put on blast over the band’s basses and additional guitar riffs, all distorted enough to put an amplifier into meltdown.
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those that will look at this album as some kind of joke, and those that will view it as modern punk genius. One could easily hear vocalist Hide’s heavy accent or read the lyric sheet and think of the band as a stereotype within itself, but they would be missing the true idea behind what Ultra Bidé bring to the table. On a recording this raw and energetic, what’s being played or said matters very little; “Sonic Crash x6” looks perfectly at home on a sheet full of tirades. This is rebellion as only Alternative Tentacles can provide.
In A Word: Scalding
