2 Manky Hookers and a Racist Dwarf - Demo (2021)
By Flork!
I know that I’ve heard that line before, yes, wait a moment… of course, Brendan Gleeson’s wry exclamation from the movie In Bruges: “Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, I think I’m heading home”. Obviously, someone must have thought “What a great name to call a punk rock band!” and thankfully someone at some point did, a young group of punk rockers from Bratislava, a group I am eager to listen to, who upon hearing their demo remind me that punk’s not dead.
2 Manky Hookers and a Racist Dwarf is one of those groups who transports me back to a time long past, way back to the 1980s in the midst of Duran Duran and MTV, when kids wore eyeliner (males more than females) and used hairspray instead of gel, when punk rock, like real punk rock (Piccadilly Circus and CBGB), which was accompanied by an anarchist lifestyle and heavy drug usage, was taboo and antisocial, although some bands back then like The Clash or PIL did take it to a commercial level. Punk emerged from the 1970s into the 1980s at a time when young people were beginning to identify themselves in American and Canadian high schools based on their musical tastes, such as New Wavers, Metal Heads, Bat Cavers, and so on, or the Preps (Preppy kids who dressed somewhat conventionally and listened to Bryan Adams or Madonna, aka the popular crowd). But there were also a few punks around, skinny kids with mohawks (or faux-hawks for the less-daring like myself), who smoked and drank and skipped class and identified as anarchists. They wore cut-off jean jackets with holes in their black skin-tight jeans and safety pins in their ears, modelling themselves after Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten. They had few friends other than their own kind and were regarded as fuck-ups who got Fs in math class and physics and were feared by everyone, even by the music genres mentioned above.
Anyways, I’m rambling again, too full of nostalgia and perhaps a touch of ADHD. I play the first track off the demo by 2 Manky Hookers and a Racist Dwarf and I’m blown away. The track Tsunami is such a cool song, beginning with Brendan Gleeson’s infamous line, and then I’m captivated by the singer’s voice. I don’t know her name, but she has just rocked my world and I am intrigued and need to hear more. I won’t be able to sleep tonight or the rest of the week. I’m quickly addicted. The song is over too quickly, running for just over 2 minutes like all the tracks on the demo (the whole compilation lasts just under 12 minutes). Track number 2 Rožky is equally amazing and it too leaves me wanting more. The remaining tracks, Vírus, Feminista, Šikana, and Samota, all one-word titles like the opening tracks, inspire mosh pits, riots, and anarchy. They are all great songs that are backed by strong talent and experience, a band that knows what they are doing.
2 Manky Hookers and a Racist Dwarf have an extremely tight sound filled with honest and raw energy, punk music that fuses into postpunk thrash, or crust, a product from the underground punk scene of the previous decades that lives on in the 2020s and is thankfully played here in Slovakia. The studio production and mastering are also top-notch, even the simple artwork seems appropriate.
This is an amazing band with loads of talent in their veins and I can’t wait to see them live. 2 Manky Hookers and a Racist Dwarf may never make it into the Top 40, nor get airplay on Fun Radio, but so what? This band doesn’t need any help to go far in the world of punk rock. If this were Bez Servitky, they would definitely get 10 out of 10 and hopefully invite me back to dinner someday.
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