Ukraine

PREMIERE

Bichkraft - Desire

By Phillipe Roberts

Long before “dystopia” lost its edge in a buzzword death spiral, Urkanian four-piece Bichkraft were conjuring up squalls of noise-forward post-punk that gleefully bit back at the rise of global authoritarianism. Their first three Wharf Cat releases culminated in last year’s liberating 800, which saw the band take a sonic leap towards a tighter, more refined sound. Back in the studio yet again, Bichkraft fashion a subversive new sound on “Desire,” a bombshell in their discography that downshifts on the nervous energy towards a swaggering dance rock track that takes a brutal government to task. 

PRE-ORDER - https://www.wharfcatrecords.com/store/bichkraft-desire PRE-ORDR ON APPLE MUSIC - ADD LINK PRE-ORDER BANDCAMP - ADDLINK About “Desire” Kiev, Ukraine’s Bichkraft is back with their first single in English, "Desire" b/w "Rod." Where Bichkraft's lauded 800 was comprised of sprawling collaborations with Sam York (Public Practice), Elizabeth Skadden (Finally Punk, WALL) and Carson Cox (Merchandise, Too Free), here we see Bichkraft streamlined to the duo formation of Jenia Bichowski and Dima Novichenko. These concise and hook-driven tracks do not shy away from addressing the chaos and uncertainty of living in Ukraine. A-side "Desire" is about a police raid in a bar where young men were forced into military service afterwards. You can hear the fatigue and disappointment in Jenia Bichowski’s voice as he sings, “Baby, baby it's true / There's no safe place for you.” The B-side “Rod” sees Bichowski taking his vocal delivery to new places over an endless stream of Novichenko’s concise and morphing riffs. These two songs hint at an exciting new direction for Bichkraft, and we can't wait to hear more. The 7" flexi-disc is a limited run of 200 and comes with artwork designed by the band and a download card. About Bichkraft Dima Novichenko and Jenia Bichowski formed Bichkraft in the winter of 2014. They were joined by bassist Serzh Kupriychuk and recorded the Mascot LP. Shortly after, Zenya Fenec joined to play live drum machines. This four-piece recorded the album Shadoof in their hometown of Kiev, Ukraine. While visiting New York they recorded tracks for their most recent album, 800. They followed up 800 with the release of the "Desire" single in August of 2019. Bichkraft have played with such groups as WALL, Merchandise, Sonic Death, Selbram, The Sediment Club, Bambara, Ian Svenonius and Lust for Youth.

Lounge-style keys and bouncing percussion cover for lyrics indicting the repressive Ukranian regime for raiding dance clubs to forcibly conscript young men into the military, a relatively common occurrence in Bichkraft’s native Kiev. Vocalist Jenia Bichowski’s anguished delivery of the haunting hook - “Baby, baby it's true / There's no safe place for you” - speaks to the depth of dread churning beneath the surface of their collective minds, poisoning romance with fear. Guitars gleam like knives in the background, shifting between angular melodicism and frayed noise as they stumble, seasick, over each other. With the track careening to a close, Bichowski sings “I’m just hanging on” in a stupor, wounded by the violence he’s seen and anticipating the violence that’s sure to come as men are ripped off the streets. As both reportage and rock n’ roll, “Desire” hits the mark, dead center.

You can pre-order a 7” of “Desire” over on Wharf Cat’s site here.