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“Beton Nostalgie” is a collection of songs released on various EP and split records. 18 songs from their Demo, Litovsk split, UVPR compilation song, Desert Urbain, BMAB single serie and Urban Savage split. It is coming in a gatefold jackets with awesome drawing by All Cats Are Grey France’s Syndrome 81 started gaining momentum in the Punk scene with their 2013 demo tape, drawing comparisons to the plethora of great bands that defined the French Oi sound of the 1980s with a heavy stomp culled from classic USHC. The band has progressed since then, and the sound is more diverse but also more defined, having filed off some of the American influences and moved in a darker, distinctly French direction that is both melancholy and anthemic, with lyrics being influenced by growing up in Brest, France. The band comes from this dark place and write songs about their personal struggles growing up and growing old. These are songs about watching your friends lose sight and move on while you question why you are still here, haunted by your past and having to look your former self in the eye while you apologize for who you’ve become. These are songs about trudging through a desert you built yourself.
Our take: Discography-to-date collection from this French oi! band. When most Americans hear the phrase “French oi! band” their mind probably jumps to Rixe, but Syndrome 81 don’t sound much like Rixe at all, at least most of the time. Sure, there are similarities (particularly on their earlier tracks, originally released on cassette way back in 2013) as both bands are steeped in their native country’s long tradition of oi! music. However, while Rixe seem like perfectionists, whittling down each part of the song until it fits into the Rixe aesthetic, Syndrome 81 are more willing to go out on a limb with their songwriting. By the third track on this release, “Recouvrance,” the band is experimenting with criss-crossing melodic lines on the guitar and bass and more melancholic, minor-key chord progressions. While oi! has a reputation for being restrictive as a genre (one might even say dumb), Syndrome 81 incorporate a wide range of sounds, tones, and textures. It always still sounds like oi!, but oi! in wide screen. In this respect Syndrome 81 reminds me of the Beltones, another band who wasn’t afraid to expand the oi! formula to incorporate dark, melodic pop in the Leatherface vein.