Growing up at the end of the world makes you feel unique and timeless things. There is universality in life apart from the excessive urbanism of big cities, rocked by the waves and a not so rare sun. The teenage years are those of endless summers where feelings and the taste for freedom enter a new dimension. LITOVSK takes a look at this period but also on its commitment to activism and questions its relationship to others, social determinism and religious faith.This record could be described as a kind of testimony but it’s much more than that : lyrics, music and artwork go in the same direction and form a rich protean ensemble. During these five songs, LITOVSK ventures into new territories with more melodies and more room for melancholy without losing anything of their singular sound and energy. This 12’’ was recorded between Leipzig and Brittany and it is brilliantly illustrated by Evan Luven’s full of sensitivity photos.


Our take: Even though we’ve carried several of their records over the past few years, I’m pretty sure this new 5-song 12” EP is the first time I’ve given them a close listen. They do not sound like what I expected! Has anyone coined the term skingaze yet? As in a combination of skinhead / oi! music and shoegaze? I think the word accurately describes Litovsk’s sound. The singer belts out broad, anthemic melodies like Gary Bushell is in the audience tonight, but the guitars are lush, layered, and bathed in effects. It’s halfway between Blitz’s Second Empire Justice and Modern English’s After the Snow, and like those records (both of which I love, by the way), the songwriting is excellent. While that’s what Litovsk brings to mind for me, it’s also not too far away from stuff that labels like Jade Tree were putting out in the late 90s. A similar mix of lush arrangements, melodic songwriting, and a dash of punk energy powered bands like the Promise Ring, Braid, and Texas Is the Reason. Maybe that broad range of comparisons means there’s a timeless quality to Litovsk’s music. Any way you slice it, though, this is a beautiful and powerful EP.