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Review: Tronics - Love Backed by Force / Shark Fucks 7” (Reissue)

Few albums or bands have done as much to influence me in the past few years as the Tronics and their 1981 LP, Love Backed by Force. I first discovered the Tronics in 2007, through an impulse buy in the used CD bin at Rhino Records in Claremont, California, by way of a still-sealed CD compilation of twenty-two bands I had then never heard of, with off-kilter names like Scrotom Poles and Danny & and the Dressmakers, called Messthetics Greatest Hits: The Sounds of UK DIY 1977-1980. In it were twenty-two tracks of fucked-up DIY punk and noise that instantly pleased my then (and still!) DIY punk and noise obsessed ears. After several listens, I fell in love with songs like the O-Levels ode to Malcom McLauren, “We Love Malcom”, Scrotom Poles’ disturbing “Pick the Cats Eyes Out”, and Steve Treatment’s (who was rumored to be backed by Nikki and Epic from Swell Maps on this recording!) “Change of Plan”. None of the songs on that compilation made as much of an impact on me as the slightly over three minute choppy DIY pop gem, “Shark Fucks”, by the Tronics, which has just been re-released on vinyl, along with their only LP, Love Backed by Force, on What’s Your Rupture?.

In 1981, after self-releasing two singles (including the amazing Suzy/Favorite Girls 7”) and two full-length cassettes (the first of which has been said to be the “first independent release on cassette to be nationally and internationally distributed”), the Tronics released Shark Fucks. It’s about as lo-fi of a single I have heard. In it, singer Zarjaz spouts nonsensical lyrics over a clutter of an out of tune tom, a similarly out of tune clanky guitar, and some underwater sound effects. The raw sloppiness of the recording and the earnestness of Zarjaz’s voice recall a spontaneity (despite the gurgling overdubs) that, to me, can only be compared to that of old soul or Delta blues recordings, yet with a post-punk edge. The B-side, “Time Off”, begins with a minute or so of dubbed semi-racy dialogue before turning into a catchy ode to needing a respite from the daily grind. A prominent saxophone lead gives the song the feel of an entirely different band than the minimalism of the A-side.

Within the same year, the Tronics also released their third and final album, and their only full-length vinyl release, Love Backed by Force. It’s a psychedelic collage of soundscapes and DIY pop songs that bring to mind, at moments, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Swell Maps, and early 80s DIY jangle pop. Less abrasive than Shark Fucks, Love Backed by Force is beautiful and minimal. Though it may take several listens for those only acquainted with the aforementioned 7” to fully absorb, the repeated listens are definitely worth it.

The album begins with “Charlie Manson,” an instrumental track that lies somewhere between UFO sound effects and krautrock, however, what connection the song has to Los Angeles’s favorite serial killer is unclear. Following it are two of the greatest songs out of the UK DIY era. “Love Backed by Force” is an uptempo mix of stammering guitars, tribal drumming, and Zarjaz’s haunting voice. “TV On in Bed” is a perfect jangly pop song about skipping out on the party and instead watching TV in bed with the one you love, with a tremelo’d guitar and beautiful female backing vocals. I could go on about every song on this album, as all are classics and will forever be entrenched into my being to come back up from time to time as bits hummed at the grocery store or tangents diverted from other conversations, but I must be brief. However, I can’t write about this album without mentioning “They’re Talking About Us”, where Zarjaz sings “Oh, how I love your bullet hole / It’s healing now but concealed by your dress / Your party dress.” Bizarre!! Or, “Crush on You”, a love song about confused and possibly unrequited teenage love (“I love you and I don’t know why”). Or, “Min Dama”, a chant-like number in the Clockwork Orange language of Nadsat.

I could go on forever, and if you’ve met me in person I probably already have, so I probably don’t need to mention that both of these recordings are essential. Pick them up now before the reissues begin to attract the price tags the originals fetch.

Tronics - Love Backed by Force