The band, founded in 1985, has just released its thirteenth album. “Appear Disappear” captivates with its raw, harse sound and calls for rebellion. For any rock fans listening to the latest opus from the Swiss band, the fury of the record might bring to mind U2. Those in the know, however, will be aware that it was the Swiss who influenced the Irish! Co-founded in Geneva by Fribourg native Franz Treichler, the “Gods” have influenced a fair number of bands, including the Irish stars mentioned above, as well as David Bowie and the German band Rammstein. The Young Gods’ music is based on guitar-free rock that makes inventive use of the sampler, a tool that lets you record sound from any source and then do what you like with it. Rappers were among the first to use this tool, followed by electronic music artists. “Appear Disappear”, released in June, is styled as a rock opus, this time featuring guitars. Some tracks in the Young Gods’ catalogue are for hardcore fans only. This album, however, is more accessible. The Young Gods wanted to create a raw album, and they did! This album is fuelled by the tensions of the world. “Appear Disappear”, the first track, is an onslaught of drums shredded by oversaturated guitars. This short song is followed by “Systemized”, where Franz Treichler sings, “I’m not the enemy,” in his own idiosyncratic brand of English. You have to listen to “Appear Disappear” a few times to get a handle on it. Is it a dark album? The lyrics of “Shine That Drone” champion resistance. “The song’s about a crowd that starts dancing and stamping on the ground to kick up a cloud of dust, which then interferes with the drones,” the singer explained to music journalist Daniel Koch. “Appear Disappear” is thus more a call to arms than a painting of the apocalypse. Anyone new to the “Gods” can absolutely start with this album before working their way through the band’s back catalogue. Doing things this way will doubtless find favour with Franz Treichler (guitar, vocals), Cesare Pizzi (sampling, electronic instruments) and Bernard Trontin (drums), who consider sound an infinitely malleable substance. So where does Switzerland come into all this? Culture vultures will spot that one line from the album – “I spend my time in the brain of the monster” – is a quotation. When he visited Switzerland in 1964, Che Guevara used the expression to refer to wealthy Helvetia, a peaceful land filled with banks and not always above suspicion, according to his friend Jean Ziegler. STÉPHANE HERZOG This summer’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland was a shot in the arm for woman’s football – with an attendance record, exciting matches and a sense of euphoria both inside and outside the stadiums. The Swiss team thrilled their home support on the big stage, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. Those dreamy days of summer should not disguise the fact that women’s football in Switzerland had been prevented for a long time from getting to this point. Women were still being denied access to this bastion of masculinity well into the 1960s. Unlike its English and German counterparts, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) had never banned women’s football as such. Nevertheless, Switzerland’s female football pioneers had to fight hard for the right to play, as historian Marianne Meier and gender scientist Monika Hofmann recount in their book. Sisters Monika and Silvia Stahel – who founded Switzerland’s first-ever women’s football team, FC Goitschel, in the Aargau village of Murgenthal in 1963 – were two such pioneers. Once the ball got rolling, women’s football wanted to become more than just a novelty act at village tournaments. Yet attempts to get competitive football off the ground fell foul of the SFA, who instead sought to placate would-be female footballers by offering to train them as referees. Monika, Silvia and friends would have preferred to play but saw the refereeing course as a chance to get on the football pitch and show what they could do. They were only allowed to officiate junior matches. The first Swiss women’s football league was finally established in 1970 – and welcomed to the SFA fold 20 years later. The beginning of the 1970s also saw the first women’s international matches. One of the best fledgling internationals of this era was Madeleine “Mado” Boll, who played for the Milanese works club ACF Gomma Gomma. The talented Boll had moved to Italy after being frustrated by the dearth of opportunities in Switzerland. Boll had even played a game for one of FC Sion’s junior boys’ teams at the age of 12 in 1965 – and became an SFA-registered player as a result. The governing body stripped her of her registration once it had noticed its “mistake”. Boll never gave up, paving the way for thousands of women and girls who have since followed in her footsteps. THEODORA PETER Podcast series (in German) coinciding with the book: www.revue.link/pod The Young Gods: 40 years of experimental Swiss rock Back of the net THE YOUNG GODS: “Appear disappear” Two Gentlemen records, Lausanne, 2025 MARIANNE MEIER & MONIKA HOFMANN: “Das Recht zu kicken. Die Geschichte des Schweizer Frauenfussballs” (The right to play. The history of Swiss women’s football). Verlag Hier und Jetzt. Zurich, 2025. 335 pages, 39 francs. Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 27 Books Sounds
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