Random Notes 2

Random Notes 2: Pages of Blank Metal & Noise
by Matthew Rooney

36 pages, 11.5cm x 15cm. B&W print, cardboard cover. 


$4 (Canadian dollars)

Random Notes 2 is a follow up to the zine produced by Matthew Rooney in 2017 (read the review here). It's a hand bound collection of comics, illustrations, and collages, loving put together with a punk aesthetic. I say lovingly, because not only does gaffer tape look great as a spine, it also protects your fingers from those b@*t@rd staples. 

Taken together random notes form a satire on the state of American politics:

"No One Cares About Politics Unless There Is A Meme"

With side forays into sex, and the idiocy of human violence.

If you're into interesting little zines that fully embrace alternative diy culture Random Notes 2 is for you. You can see more images over on mjrzines.tumblr.com

To buy a copy email: mjjrooney {at} gmail {dot} com

Please say Syndicated Zine Reviews sent you.



Review by Nathan Penlington

Break the Chain, Volume 2

 A5, 44 black and white pages

£2.90 (+£3.62 p&p)

The second volume of Break the Chain is a battle cry from the Jacksonville punk scene. Sequels are always tricky, and so I was eager to see if zine maker Matt Sessions could pull it off.

The first interview is with Dawn Ray’d, a black metal band from the north of England (my neck of the woods, how exciting!). Reading through this interview, I was a little disappointed with myself; my surprise at the band’s articulation and love of poetry (their band name comes from a poem by Voltairine de Cleyre) spoke volumes about my own preconceptions of heavy metal bands. Much of their interview was an exploration of the power and beauty of words, and yet it ended with a reminder of the anarchy at their core - “Fuck the pigs, smash the Nazis”.

This volume also offered fantastic artwork from Matt Jaffe. His images have been created with thousands of dots, each one carefully placed, each one a crucial part of a bigger picture. Jaffe’s artwork is sharply evocative, but more importantly it teases one’s curiosity – each image bears a strange caption (“alienergy”, “sickened”, “radiate”), none of which make sense straight away.

It’s clear that Sessions has held onto the same punk ethos that birthed the fist volume of Break the Chain, and he’s built on this significantly in the second volume. The pages are crammed full of content, each item fitting well within the theme of angry protest whilst offering their own distinct point of view.

Sadly, some items fall a little short. Ed Dantès’ essay “In Prisons We Trust (part one)” is full of angry commentary, but unfortunately offers very little depth or intelligent examination of the points he is criticising. I was really rooting for Dantès – his argument started off well, gained momentum, but the deathblow never came (perhaps it arrives in part two).

This volume is a gripping read, and I think this has a lot to do with Sessions’ obvious love for the music scene in his area. It’s clear that he doesn’t make Break the Chain for profit or notoriety (you won’t find his name anywhere in these pages), but because he loves the Jacksonville scene.

On the whole, the second volume of Break the Chain is a triumph. It it builds on the themes of protest and angst introduced by its predecessor and the result is a zine which is polished and cohesive – clearly, Sessions is finding his groove.

Volume two of Break the Chain can be bought here 

Review by J.L. Corbett

Synesthesia

A5, 20 colour pages

£3.62 (+ £3.62 p&p)

Synaesthesia (the condition) is sensory confusion. Your house tastes like cake. Your lover’s voice smells like fresh cut grass. Your favourite song feels crunchy. The number seven is green, for some reason.

Synesthesia (the zine) dives headfirst into delirium. Stacey Matchett evokes a sense of desperate, inescapable confusion in her pastel colour palettes, bold rainbow scribbles and delicate black linework - it’s a beautiful assault on the senses. 

Usually when poetry and artwork appear together in print, the images end up playing second fiddle; they usually serve as garnish, pretty pictures to illustrate the words. Matchett turns this convention on its head. The bright images dominate the pages of this zine, holding hostage the reader’s psyche and rendering the accompanying poetry somewhat redundant. It’s not that the poetry is particularly poor, more that within the psychedelic pages of Synesthesia its role is secondary to the artwork.

When I first encountered Matchett’s work in volume one of Break the Chain, I described it as “grunge expressionism”. Reading through Synesthesia, it seems clear to me now that her work is too nebulous to fit within that category; her art style shifts throughout the pages, and yet each drawing bears her stylistic signature.

Matchett does a great job of creating a collection of artwork centred upon a theme without falling into predictability – each page explores a different facet of a disorganised mind and does so with a touching vulnerability.

You can buy your copy of Synesthesia here.


Review by J.L. Corbett

Lunchtime For The Wild Youth – Issue 2: The Gigs

Lunchtime For The Wild Youth – Issue 2: The Gigs

by Russell Barker

£1

A5, black and white, 28 pages

The follow up to the first Lunchtime For The Wild Youth in which Russell revisited the records that sound tracked his teenage years. This time he documents the first 22 gigs he went to.

Issue 2 follows the precedent set in the first issue by again removing technology from the process of making the zine. The result is in keeping with fanzines of the 80s - written on a typewriter, produced on a photocopier, cut & paste, with facts less important than experience.

The contents of the zine are pieced together from a faulty and sometimes very specific memory and a gig book Russell kept for 8 years, in which he stuck tickets and documented every obscure support band. Like Issue 1 Russell’s enthusiasm for music energises each description, and it will have you scrabbling to Spotify to rediscover bands you’ve forgotten or check out bands you’ve never heard of.

Now where are those ticket stubs you couldn't bear to throw out?

Fill a lunchtime, buy a copy here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/502597924/lunchtime-for-the-wild-youth-issue-2-the

Review by Nathan Penlington.

Lunchtime For The Wild Youth

Lunchtime For The Wild Youth

by Russell Barker

£1

A5, black and white, 24 pages

The concept behind this zine is simple – Russell sets out to revisit albums that were loved in his teenage years, and not played since.

Russell’s enthusiasm for music is infectious. The zine will have those that were there at the time – in the mid to late 1980s - scrabbling to their shelves, storage units to dig out CDs and vinyl, or to eBay to re-buy their past.

And those who aren't quite old enough to remember will discover something new. It is a project born out of a love for the lost tangible joys of record buying – bunking off school to be the first in line at the local record shop on release day, the zines and community built through exchange and bootlegs.  But it is a zine that gains from being able to listen to almost any album in minutes through the magic of Spotify. Reading LFTWY had me compiling a list of albums and songs that sounded interesting and playing them as a kind of soundtrack to the zine.

Lunchtime For The Wild Youth is smartly executed - straddling the divide between youth and adulthood by removing technology from the process. The zine was written on a typewriter, produced on a photocopier, nothing fact checked using the internet.

The artwork, drawn by Russell's daughter Robyn is a charming addition, and a reminder that music has a power that transcends generations.

This is an infectious zine that will have you itching to do the same with your own wild youth.

Buy a copy here - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/496577105/lunchtime-for-the-wild-youth

Review by Nathan Penlington.