The Anals-Commando of Love/Wake Up, You're Dead 7"

Early in this decade, there was what appeared to be a move towards Screamers influenced synthesizer Punk. The great SynthPunk website and the amazing Tomata Du Plenty interviews in the Big Takeover seemed to presage cool, driving, hard synth music that would show up any day. Instead, crappy Industry B.S. like Hot Hot Heat and the Electroclash movement (hey lay-dees!, pfffttt) were served up. As far as I could tell from my vantage point, what was a neat possibility had turned into a bust, another reason to despise music scenes in general and the Indie sector of the Industry in particular.
Thankfully, Metz, France has served up an antidote to said blathering in the form of the Anals. A duo comprised of B. Marietta, who plays guitar and drums, and E. Satti, on synth and vocals, the Anals have released a great 7" of grating SynthPunk that fulfills the promise, albeit late in the decade, that I glimpsed during that rapidly fading time.
Commando of Love is a bizarre lyric about an S.S. member who loves a Jewish woman during WWII. VERY uncomfortable subject matter, obviously. It makes me squirm, anyway. The music is very hot tom tom driven Slow Punk (thanks, Row), with harsh, treble-y synth providing the melodic action. It reminds me a lot of Gear and Roesslers' best distorted blasts, and Marietta's drumming is equal to that of K.K. Barrett's blunt force pounding.
Wake Up, You're Dead features a kind of spiteful haiku lyric. The tune is another slow one, with repetitive drumming and machine-like synth, glazed over with some of the best feedback squalling this side of Michael Belfer's immortal playing on Tuxedomoon's No Tears.
It's really delicious to hear harsh electronic sounds coupled with driving beats, and the ones here are real ear candy, aural junk food of the best sort.
With this 7", the Anals have delivered a great slice of heavy SynthPunk. It's great to hear someone do it with the attitude and style that was promised in the past, yet only partially delivered. I look forward to full length releases from this cool, disturbing band.