Hello Reader,
Welcome back. Ready for another album review?
Today we’re going to delve into Verböten. If you don’t speak German, allow me to translate, Verböten is German for forbidden. I love this punk rock band’s history. They have quite the story to tell! Four kids, aged 10 to 14, in 1982 started Verböten within the city best known for being home to Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. The kids; vocalist Tracey Bradford, guitarist and songwriter Jason Narducy, bassist Chris Kean, and drummer Zack Kantor wrote short but aggressive songs in the Chicagoland suburbs. They never released music and broke up the next year in 1983, and only Narducy sought a career in music. He’s a bassist in some of my favorite groups including but not limited to the Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, his own project Split Single and he also tours with Sunny Day Real Estate.
Due to their brief but lasting impact in that one year, Verböten was featured in the 2007 documentary You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk, 1977–1984, and Dave Grohl’s 2014 HBO docuseries Sonic Highways. While watching Sonic Highways, playwright Brett Neveu recognized Narducy as his neighbor and decided he had to write a musical about the band. In 2020 at the House Theatre of Chicago, featuring music written by Narducy, the premiere of Verböten: A Story About How Punk Saves Lives occurred. It was nominated for a Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and Citations finishing as a runner up.
Via the band’s press release, Narducy said: “It never even occurred to me that they would want to reunite because they hadn’t played music in four decades.” Rather it was Bradford who is a hospice nurse and Kean who is a public school teacher who brought up the idea of a reunion. While the band’s original drummer Zack Kantor declined to perform music again (for the first time in decades), via the same press release, “he gave the band his blessing to reunite and bring on new drummer John Carroll (Chicago bands Mucca Pazza, 88 Fingers Louie, Paper Mice).” Narducy stated, “I was as surprised as anyone that this middle school band teacher is also a phenomenal punk rock drummer. The fact that he teaches at the Evanston middle school both Chris and Zack attended while they were in Verböten made it even more special.” Carroll is also the band director at the middle school.
Verböten played music together for the first time since 1983, after Bradford flew to Evanston in February 2024. Via the band’s press release, Kean, said, “It was easy and natural to play together again. It didn’t really feel like decades had passed. The new songs capture the spirit and energy of who we were then and who we are now.” And Bradford agreed. “This whole album is very personal. Jason has written songs about our childhood experiences and memories, as well as my experiences as a hospice nurse, women’s rights, global warming, and sexual identity.” While reconnecting with their mindset then, Narducy offered the following quote, “We asked ourselves, ‘What was it that inspired us in the 80s?’ “It was a lot of bands that were political, so we decided to lead this record with two highly political songs that are rip your face off, aggressive.”
The self-titled debut album 41 years later, Verböten out via Inside Outside Records on Friday, October 4th for your listening pleasure.
From the band’s press release, Narducy says, “This is the punk rock record we always wanted to make. That’s what we wanted to do as kids—we just weren’t able to do it. This is how I imagined this band would have grown if we had stayed a band.” Kean, said, “It was easy and natural to play together again. It didn’t really feel like decades had passed. The new songs capture the spirit and energy of who we were then and who we are now.” And Bradford agrees. “This whole album is very personal. Jason has written songs about our childhood experiences and memories, as well as my experiences as a hospice nurse, women’s rights, global warming, and sexual identity.” And the first lucky humans that got to hear the band live, were those in Chicago’s Riot Fest audience recently on Saturday, September 21st.
Giving credit where it’s due. Verböten album credits:
- Tracey Bradford: Vocals
- John Carroll: Drums, gang vocals
- Chris Kean: Bass, gang vocals, co-wrote “Kicking Away” and “Machine” with Jason Narducy.
- Jason Narducy: Vocals, guitars, bass (tracks 5, 10), percussion, wrote all the songs, and produced the album.
- Vijay Tellis-Nayak: Synthesizer (tracks 2, 7, 10)
- Katie Klocke: Violin (tracks 6, 7)
- Engineered by Taylor Hales at Electrical Audio in Chicago.
- Some overdubs recorded at Rosecrud in Evanston, IL by Sean O’Keefe.
- Mixed by Sean O’Keefe and Jason Narducy.
- Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room in Milwaukee.
- Executive Producer: Josef Novotny
- Design by Chris Tillman
- Special thanks to Zack Kantor
And now for some hype for your ears!
The powerful statement opener “No More Indecision”:
(All credits and rights to Verböten)
Hosted on Narducy’s Split Single channel is the raucous, delightful “Bodily Autonomy” in lyric video form:
(All credits and rights to Verböten)
The bands first ever official music video. For the song “Kicking Away”:
(All credits and rights to Verböten)
Overall, the band Verböten gives us a perfect vision back in time into the 80s with their album Verböten. It’s punk music, so you get your three expected punk chords as a foundation, yet you also are treated to so much more. Shorter than average length songs, tight drumming, guitars that truly sing. Guitars that rip and blister across chords, create a melody and allow for a groove to flourish. And songwriting and musicianship that has had decades to come together, giving the band maturity, wisdom and a great product to its listeners. The song titles are straightforward and often times the messaging is just as so. You’d never guess the band wasn’t playing music together for decades based on how well they sound together, and how they play off each other. It’s easy for one to hear the skill level and from experienced musicians Carroll and Narducy, but while listening you’ll also appreciate Bradford and Kean. While Bradford and Kean haven’t spent as much time earning a living on stage as Carroll and Narducy, the former two should not be regarded as amateurs. They belong and contribute so much to the band’s sound on this album. Great additions in Vijay Tellis-Nayak who performed synth on three tracks and Katie Klocke who performed violin on two separate tracks. The melody on each track is enhanced by their musicianship and contributions. The songs flow well from one to the next on this album. The sonic quality is great throughout.
The opening track “No More Indecision”, comes out of the gate swinging. A punk call to arms with a modern-day political message. A message that punks and all music fans can appreciate regardless of the era and we at SWT wholeheartedly support. The musicianship is righteous, blistering and head bobbing worthy from the drums to the guitars to the dual vocals from Narducy and Bradford. I love the contrast in their tones. This melody is not quite mosh worthy, though later songs may get you there listener.
The drums to start “Bodily Autonomy” establish this song quickly. This song melodically is a hard charger, marching towards another message we at SWT fully support and one we hope our readers do as well. To make a serious directive more playful but still impactful; cause we’re humans, not robots, right? So far, these first two songs are right out of the 80’s punk playbook and my ears and mind love every second. The melodic changes are perfectly executed allowing for the vocal deliveries or musicianship to shine.
On the next song, “Kicking Away” opens with some intentional mic feedback and quick chord playing from the guitarists and drummer. The dual vocals from Narducy and Bradford were a lovely contrast providing a choral effect. Another highlight for me, was the lead guitar solo about 1:20 into the song. While listening I was thinking of Minor Threat but I’m sure listener, you’ll have even better comparisons come to mind.
“Machine” kicks off with hard hitting, rock-solid drumming, and loud sounding guitar with quick and often alternating chord progressions. The aggressive nature and loud noises within this melody seem perfect for the song title. The lyrics further establish the lack of human connection.
The fifth song on the album, “Lost In My Skin” has guitarwork that jumps off the page. The melody would be perfect in a video game to drive around to. The song is only 1:37 long so maybe not GTA but an older school, frenzied pace game like Crazy Taxi. Insert one of your favorites here. The lyrics are delivered at a frenzied pace that matches the melody. Again, kudos to the construction of this song and the ones that precede it.
“Dark Things” features a funky, incredible bass line. What a groove. Carroll’s drumsticks that keep time, creating some anxiety in the melody. About midway into the song, the band plays with the vocals. There’s a great vocal effect from Bradford used. Old school audio type thing. The effect sounds almost like it was recorded onto a telephone. Affect that, the melody ramps up in aggression. The lyrics hold onto the past, over it but not yet ready to release.
The next song, “Better Life” is highlighted by guitar playing that ends up with a melody that is catchy as hell. There’s some funk to its gallop. It’ll remind some of 90’s melodies in the best ways. In this song, Bradford’s vocal delivery is a bit less 80’s punk to me, and that variation allows the listener to hear her in a different light. The result is a gem of a tune. The addition of Tellis-Nayak on synth and Klocke on violin take the tune to another level. The lyrics examine.
The eighth song on the album, “Full Disruption” kicks off the shortest song on the album with raucous drumming, guitar work and features aggro vocals that you love within punk. It’s quick but packs a hell of a punch. The lyrics are active, questioning some of the ails of modern times.
On “Radiate” the frenzied guitar chord progression and drums line up perfectly to create nearly two minutes of fury. Once again, this melody fits within the late 70’s, 80’s punk scene. It’s beautiful. The ‘radiate’ chant is a lovely vocal effect that is executed perfectly The lyrics are anxious and examine the desire to protect our loved ones.
I love the melody changes within the song “Human Division” in going from fast to slow, then allowing space for the vocals from Narducy and Bradford. To me the lyrics play naturally as a follow up to the opening track, “No More Indecision” and they do so wonderfully.
“Scam Culture” kicks off with some incredibly blistering guitar, and frenetic drums. Followed by vocals from Bradford and Narducy. The lyrics call out over consumption and Consumerism. The ending feedback to the song allows for some nice reflection before moving forward to the final song on the album.
“Conviction of Youth” is the last song and it’s the longest of the album. I’m not reading more into that, just an observation. The lyrics are reflective of the song constructor’s past. Another melody with Carroll’s rock steady drum work and incredible guitar work from Narducy and Kean. This song also ends with a bit of chord movement and feedback similar to “Scam Culture”. Overall, the song seems like a fitting way to tie up the album.
Verböten gets 4.5 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. Verböten slides into the lower end of the 4.5 Scum Drops rating, which would place it in the 84th-87th percentile of all 2024 releases. To be more specific, 84th or 85th. It’s great at what it is, punk. To shed some credence on myself, I am someone that has listened to hundreds and hundreds of hours of 70’s and 80’s punk over the years and I’m an old punker at heart. So, as you may have noticed above, I don’t hesitate to say that melodically this album could fit into the late 70’s to 80’s eras. I’m grateful this project was completed, and I hope there is more music released to follow. But if not, this debut album is a solid piece to hang their hats onto. Add to your collection on the format of your choosing, but I will highly recommend seeking out on vinyl as punk is meant to be heard, in my opinion.
Verböten Track listing (song length)
- No More Indecision (2:06)
- Bodily Autonomy (2:25)
- Kicking Away (1:54)
- Machine (2:54)
- Lost In My Skin (1:37)
- Dark Things (3:19)
- Better Life (3:24)
- Full Disruption (1:26)
- Radiate (1:54)
- Human Division (2:13)
- Scam Culture (2:05)
- Conviction of Youth (3:32)
Total runtime: 28:49
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. The listening process from start to finish with Verböten will take you less than 30 minutes. You could listen twice in under an hour. Worth it. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, the songs that are highlighted in green font above are my favorite songs on this album.
Interested in more? Check out Verböten’s Instagram page, and their Linktree. I’d also recommend getting the album. It’s available in both CD and vinyl form and other merch can be found here!
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
