More than a decade before the American riot grrrl movement, a group of playful valkyries from Switzerland established themselves as the spiritual progenitors of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Mixing punk rock attitude with girlish charm, Kleenex (later known as Liliput) set out in 1978 to prove that music could indeed be more fun than not. Over their five year career, they succeeded brilliantly, setting the stage for the grrrl groups that would follow a decade later. These two CDs (containing the entire Kleenex/Liliput recorded œuvre) were originally released in the early '90s, but quickly went out of print, becoming virtually unattainable for anyone not wealthy enough to purchase them as collector's items. Thankfully, by re-releasing this set, Kill Rock Stars has both acknowledged their roots and made some great, historically significant music more readily available.
Anyone familiar with riot grrrl-ism will immediately notice striking similarities to it in Kleenex/Liliput's music. The child-like charm and lack of pretention, the loose, free-spirited presentation, the nonsense-lyrics and exuberant chants, the very embodiment of the term "rock ditty" -- it's all here in a slim, proto-riot grrl package. What's different is the Germanic heft Liliput adds to the equation. There's a nagging sense of Kraut-Rockism that I somehow can't shake. I'm also fond of the unorthodox instrumentation in Liliput's music. A violin here and a saxophone there not only lend an air of experimentalism and novelty, they help to dispel the otherwise unavoidable monotony of four dozen sub-three-minute rock hit-and-runs.
It's impossible for me to pick out favorite tracks here, but describing a few might whet your appetite. The opening of CD one, "Nighttoad", is a three chord jangler that intones repeatedly, "Give yourself lust&" in a thick German accent. From the background, the exclamation, "Nighttoad!" punctuates each repetition. In general, the fact that the English is almost inscrutable only adds to the charm. This track (like its fellows) possesses a youthful freshness and enthusiasm that still resonates 20 years later. "When the Cat's Away" is a too-cute faux-polka that can only properly be enjoyed while wearing lederhosen and getting high on Pixy Stix (I would imagine). Any band perpetrating something like this will never be accused of taking themselves too seriously! "Tschik-Mo" has a tongue-in-cheek Asian flavor; I could be wrong, but I suspect the lyrics are all nonsense. It has a hypnotic aspect, too, stemming in no small part from a droning rhythmic figure that is present throughout the song. I can just picture the girls going geisha to perform this one!
If you're at all interested in the riot grrrl phenomenon, and if you're at all historically oriented, this is a must-have item. Please don't let anything stop you from obtaining it. To help you in this regard, I'll stop writing& now!
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