The
Afrika Korps, one of Washington D.C.'s earliest pure punk bands, were something of a supergroup -- all of the key members of the band had been in even earlier proto-punk bands that had released D.I.Y. albums long before such things were common in the U.S., but like most supergroups, they didn't last long. By 1979, singers, songwriters, and guitarists Kenne Highland and Ken Kaiser were going it alone as a duo and had resettled in Boston (where Highland had married Linda "Miss Lyn" Cardinal, local fanzine publisher and subject of the opening "We Are the Only Real People") where they released 1979's
Hello World under the shortened name the
Korps. Where the
Afrika Korps'
Music to Kill By had been basically a lo-fi mix of the
Ramones,
Dictators, and
Stooges,
Hello World is a much more wide-ranging and considerably poppier album of possibly even medium fidelity. Highland and Kaiser were more confident songwriters by this point, and the songs are both catchier and funnier, with the new wave's inherent fondness for both tongue in cheek genre parody (the bubblegummy "The Blizzard of '78") and sick humor like the pro-lung cancer sentiments of "Have a Lark." The 2005 reissue is quite comprehensive, adding four early demos, both sides of a 1978 Ken Kaiser solo single produced by Highland, and a couple of previously unheard tracks. Unlike most of the Gulcher reissue program's releases, which are strictly for historians and punk fanboys,
Hello World is a genuinely good, interesting album that's of interest to a wider audience. ~ Stewart Mason