Strike Under
Despite a flash in time existence (1980-1981) and miniscule output Chicago’s Strike Under have several notable distinctions to their credit. First and foremost their Immediate Action 12″ was the first release for Chicago’s famed electro-industrial label Wax Trax! (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, etc.). Strike Under is also remembered as the starting point for guitarist/voaclist Steve Bjorklund (Breaking Circus, producer) and bassist Pierre Kezdy (Naked Raygun, Pegboy). The band split in 1981, soon after recording the tracks for the Busted At Oz compilation and the Immediate Action 12″. And what of this record you ask? Well Flex pretty much shits all over it:
Mid- to slow-tempo HC from Chicago; some Naked Raygun influence, but pretty boring otherwise. [4].
A quick listen and you might agree - the guitar sound is mighty weak sounding on some of the tracks, and the pace is kinda slow. After repeated listens though it grows on you. Everyone knows “Context” from the Killed By Death series, right? It is the standout track on the record, without a doubt. The others are decent, if somewhat undistinguished from their influences. “Sunday Night Disorientation” has lazy, Brit post-punk vibe, while “Closing In” is a mostly instrumental track ala Naked Raygun or The Effigies. “Elephant’s Graveyard” reminds me of Radio Birdman or the Fun Things, and “Immediate Action” is a speedy, midwest Hardcore ‘81 track. Have a listen and decide for yourselves
Strike Under - Sunday Night Disorientation.mp3
Strike Under - Context.mp3
Strike Under - Closing In.mp3
Strike Under - Elephant’s Graveyard.mp3
Strike Under - Immediate Action.mp3
Personally, I like the tracks from the Busted At Oz comp better, if only for the grittier guitar sound:
Strike Under - Anarchy Song.mp3
Strike Under - Fucking Uniforms.mp3
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Holy shit. Thanks for posting this.
i fuckin’ LOVE you, man.
No shit. I’m a huge Breaking Circus fan. Something about Steve Bjorklund’s voice/lyrics/thing gets me. The only Strike Under track I knew was “Elephant’s Graveyard.” Karma will eventually demand a topnotch mix CD for you.
That was I.
Oh man, I am a big fan of Strike Under. I wonder if anyone out there has a copy of the Trial By Fire demo that went around. Trial By Fire was Chris Bjorklund, Pierre Kezdy, and Bob Furem, (3/4’s of Strike Under) formed after Strike Under broke up. They recorded an LP but it was never released.
ha, still to this day strike under are one of my all time favorites, and not for nothin, but i think this beats most of the early chicago output by far….. on a side note, back when i was whoring myself out to bleeker bob i used to fly home to chicago, buy copies of this in the dollar bin, then flip em at bobs in nyc for a hundred or so cos it was ‘rare early wax trax’… think i might still have a box of em with a few of the different sleeves ta boot.
I am only familiar with context,these are solid trax-do i hear the Ruts influence on “Sunday Night”?Cheers!
Ha! Elephant’s Graveyard is on the WaxTrax Black Box and is one of the few tracks I still listen to off of that comp. I always kinda wondered about these guys, and put ‘em on a mix tape about a week ago. Cool to find your blog!
Hey!,
Great post! I’ve always liked “Context, “Immediate Action” and “Sunday Night Disorientation.” The other songs don’t move me–not enough guitar power. But the Busted At Oz tunes are classic. I remember being bummed by the EP after hearing the Oz stuff first.
Two requests/questions for the public:
1. To Collinstrange (or anyone else): The cheapo version I bought of this had a white sleeve. You don’t have extras of the lovely spray paint cover? If you do, I’d buy one from you. Name your price. (I don’t need the record, though.)
2. I’ve heard tell of a 7″ EP of Strike Under demos packaged in a brown paper sleeve. Does this record actually exist? I’ve never seen one.
[…] It doesn’t smack you in the face or hit you over the head, but if you give it long enough eventually Breaking Circus will burrow into your brain like a parasite. Adjectives to describe the din include: terse, sharp, jagged, sinister. Musically akin to Roland from Big Black sitting in with Fly on a Wire era Effigies (that all could be suggested by the common locale of Chicago). Former Strike Under guitarist Steve Bjorklund was the mastermind behind Breaking Circus, releasing The Very Long Fuse in 1985. In ‘86 Bjorklund moved up I-94 to Minneapolis and began working with the Rifle Sport rhytm section of Flour and Todd Trainer. Two more recordings followed in 1987 - the simmering The Ice Machine LP and the 6 song zenith Smoker’s Paradise. Enjoy the beauty of “Knife in the Marathon”, the sharp cut of “Eat Lead”, and everything in between: […]
Thanks for the memories. This band had a tremendous influence on so many other bands- I do not think that they ever received enough credit. From the first time I snuck my underage ass into OZ on Hubbard to see them play, I knew that they were something special- at the time, they had the biggest following of any Chicago band. NR and the Effigies did not enjoy nearly as much success until Strike Under disbanded and Chris went on to play with the Effigies and Pierre with NR.
Trivia: The original covers were not spray-painted, they were silk screened by hand in the Strike Under practice space in the basement of the “DA House.” I still have my own personal copy from the 1st pressing.
thank you for this… i have been searching for this forever!