SUPERHELICOPTER

saviours of rock*n*roll

Yeah! Come on, baby! Superhelicopter are the saviours of rock*n*roll, everybody! Loud, fuzzed, distorted, inhibited, crazy, drunken, obnoxious, obscene, grooving rock’n’roll. They are easily the loudest, fastest, simplest and terminally best garage band in this fucking world, where everybody’s grandma is playing drums in a garage band and all the rest is listening to stupid 80ies-influenced electronic-music. (I grew up in the Eighties, they were shit from the hair-dyed-make-up-wearing-beginning to the new-wave-keyboard-heavy-end and I hated it.) No, with Superhelicopter it is guitar, drums and singing. And groove. No matter how simple that riff is they’ll play or how distorted the guitar is, there will still be a goddam great groove in the song that will make you shake your head and your butt in no time. They are hilarious also. I mean, can you take this seriously? Maybe you’d better. Some might say, this is not more than one distorted guitarriff and screaming vocals, but I’ll tell you, it is a revolution.

Right from the first 7” I heard, where the singer introduces the songs to the (imaginary) audience in true rock*n*roller / MC5-style, even though they recorded in the rehearsal room (call that a cellar somewhere), I knew there was something going on. Nils Westphal is, somehow or another, the head of Superhelicopter, who records and plays with a different selection of friends every time in a variety of formations with changing names in a system that I have never looked through. There is Superhelicopter, and Superhelicopter Ltd. and the Superhelicopter-Recorder and so on. I don’t care, ‘cause it’s still rock’n’roll to me. They released their first 7”, more a demo really, in 1997 and have done eight single, a 10” and a split LP with German Hardcore-band Eradicate plus various CD-R compilations and one track on a single-comp that I wasn’t able to hunt down (but I am working on it). Their latest release is a 7” on High School Refuse-Records with two blasters called “Fire Pussy” and “34YV” and they are a sure knock out. I mean, if these two crude ditties don’t blow your soul, there is no helping you anymore. This one will be compared to the Oblivians again, but that comparison is a shortcut, to say the least. If you ask me, the Oblivians look like really old men compared to Superhelicopter. If you ask Nils, he’ll tell you, Superhelicopter will never reach up to the Oblivians and Eric O. doesn’t give a shit anyway. So some hero-worship is there. Superhelicopter covered the Oblivians once, as well. So there. But that is about it. I’d like to bring another comparison. The band with the coolest garage-groove right now are The Hives. Well, The Hives suck shit from through straw compared to the no-bars-held, fuck ‘em all approach of Superhelicopter. And that is for sure, sucker.  

Actually, the never made it “big” anywhere, but they are quite well known in France and Belgium and some other countries, but they deserve a lot more. Big thanks have to go out to a cool dude, who realised the potential of Superhelicopter first. Moreover, a guy so modest and nice, that he doesn’t put a pompous label-name on his records, but stays with his name and address: Manuel Wastl. How you doin’? Another record label changed its name once to go with the title of one of their singles. That is what I call dedication and influence (check out the discography to see what I am talking about.)

Now, why do Superhelicopter deserve much more, than they’ve got? Because they got soul. Lots of soul. Just like Andre Williams does, or Mick Collins, or Jon Spencer once had. They should be driving limos or at least pick up trucks, have fridges filled with beer and backyards to party in everynight. Because they never lost their wild, uninhibited style of garage-rock. See, they recorded their demo-7” on a “Goldstar”-radio-recorder (these had real mics in them) that was placed smack in the middle of the rehearsal room. Later on they went into a studio and didn’t like it, so they went back to the “Goldstar”. (That little gem was later on destroyed by a band they shared rehearsal-space with. It’s a pity.) And that same wild style is still on their last single. Maybe they have learned to play their instruments a little better, but they won’t let it get it into their way. If one chord fits, why try to stuff in another one. By the same logic, you won’t here a lot of guitar solos here. You’ll hear the singer, Nils Westphal himself, scream and shout and do some really crazy shit, but that is the way it should be. Then there is Nils’ unique style of MC-ing through these records. That’ll make the cats go crazy.

To sum this one up, I’ll repeat: Superhelicopter are the saviours of rock*n*roll, so if you are looking to get saved (and I know you are) then try this one. Don’t go for some watered-down, compromising scrap that is nice to hear. Go for something that’ll make your ears bleed and you’ll like it. There will be a lot more by Superhelicopter this year, promised.  

WRITE TO SUPERHELICOPTER: superhelicopter-recorder@web.de

Discography:

Rock’n’roll Band 7” (3 songs) 1997 (own)

Rock’n’roll Nightmare 7” (6 songs) 1998 (Manuel Wastl records)

Destroy 7” (6 songs) 2000 (Manuel Wastl records)

Rock’n’roll Damnation 10” (9 songs) 2000 (Manuel Wastl records)

Rejected #6 7” (3 songs) 2001 (High school reject records)

Split LP with Eradicate LP (12 songs) 2001 (Manuel Wastl records)

Twisted Baby 7” (2 songs) 2001 (High school refuse records)

Indicted! 7” (4 songs) 2001 (Wrench records)

One song on the Motormadness-comp. 7” 2001 (Hell on Wheels Recordings)

Recorder CD-R (5 songs) 2002 (sort of a promo thing)

My Soul 7” (4 songs) 2002 (Yakisakana records)

Fire Pussy / 34YV 7” (2 songs) 2002 (High School refuse records)