I am admittedly a hardcore punk kid who often finds joy in ska and sometimes goes back to his metal roots, but everyone now and then I run across a song that really doesn’t fit into any of those, but it’s so good, that I have no choice but to dive in and give it a listen and write up. Such is the case with Die Feen and their new song “Pencils” a second-wave gothic styled rock band with some punk undertones that remind me of The Damned. The song sounds very full despite only being two people in the band.

The history teacher in me also loves that the song is part of “an ongoing story about an American diplomat’s life from the late 70s - (probably) the late 80s. A summary of the story so far can be found in our pinned reels on IG.” that is “based on true events”.

From their social media: “November 1979: 54 Americans are taken hostage at the American Embassy in Tehran. One of them just got served with divorce papers, and (though not thrilled) welcomes the distraction. Jan, 1981, Washington, DC: After 444 days, our intrepid divorcé is back home and it sucks. In addition to his many other traumas, The Rockford Files were cancelled while he was in captivity. Boo. Spring, 1982: Babe wake up, new villain just dropped. He’s called the attaché and everyone loves him. Fuck that guy. Late April, 1983: Bern, Switzerland. At a party at the French Embassy a man introduces himself… it’s one of his Tehran captors who is now a diplomat himself. He says he was prepared to end our dude. What a dick. Later that night he finds his former captor’s car, fills the gas tank with sugar, and heads to Gstaad to celebrate this petty victory. May 3, 1984: New post—the US Mission, West Berlin. All that lies between him and his new assignment are 103 miles of Autobahn and thousands of Soviet troops.”

So give the song a listen, check out all their cool videos and posts and support this rad ass band!

You can also listen on their Spotify or my Indie Rock Playlist

Make sure to follow them on IG and FB too

Need a song or album reviewed? Contact me using the link below (Keep in mind, I only review bands I actually like; you can go elsewhere for insincere or negative reviews.)

sbmt.to/dcxpc-live

Want to mail a vinyl for review? Message me at dcpcbooking@gmail.com for the address

No tapes and no CDs, I can’t play either of them.

Also make sure to check out DCxPC Live’s store where I have vinyl release of live albums by amazing hardcore, punk, ska and metal bands! We are a small DIY record label doing our best to document the scene we love in the way we love it most—LIVE!