For the past seven years, Spanish Love Songs have made a reputation for themselves across their previous three albums for creating some of the most emotionally powerful music, a feat that, with the release of their fourth album No Joy (Pure Noise Records), the punk quintet achieved yet again.
Punk is a music genre often associated with grassroots and “sticking it to the man”. Par for the course for the evolution of anything, the harsher edge of punk has softened from studded and spiked leather jackets and mile-high mohawks of the eighties to button-down flannels and sometimes Hawaiian shirts and Vans. But the message tends to be one and the same; rebellion, anti-norm, and angst wrapped in a DIY bow.
The pop-punk genre will never die. It’s fresh, fun, sometimes a bit silly, and wholly needed in a world full of stress and hate. People need music that makes them happy. People need music that will put a smile on their faces. People need music that will invoke a fresh breeze, wind in their hair, and a joyful being. Thank Gallus for the new album We Don’t Like the People We’ve Become (Marshall Records).
The most telling feature of Tomorrow Never Comes (Epitaph Records) is the cover. A band logo and four headshots are framed in a grid. It’s like seeing a novel that puts more emphasis on the well-known author instead of the book’s title, and it’s a testament to the longevity and the roots (radical) of Rancid, a band that’s been active since the early 1990s. Their tenth full-length focuses on the musical experience instead of a flashy album appearance.
New Jersey is a rock, emo, and pop-punk music mecca, so it comes as no surprise that rock/pop-punk champs Can’t Swim would hail from the same. They’ve dabbled in a couple of genres on past albums like hardcore and indie before settling into more of the pop-punk vein which fits like a glove for the group. The quartet is gearing up for the release of their fourth album, Thanks But No Thanks (Pure Noise) as it drops the same day as their US-wide tour kick-off supporting Free Throw.
Think of high-profile collaborations and what springs to mind? Self-indulgent widdling like the simply dreadful Dylan & The Dead live album, Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart‘s unwanted ‘All For Love’ for the movie The Three Musketeers, Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey, Korn, and Skrillex? I’m sure there are many other offenders out there but you get the picture, ideas that may have sounded promising on paper but ultimately should have remained there.
Ryde, a seaside town located on the Isle of Wight is home to former BBC sports presenter turned controversial conspiracy theorist David Icke – it also happens to be where the young trio by the name of Grade 2 originate from. Formed in 2013 at the tender age of 14, the band is comprised of childhood friends Sid Ryan (vocals/bass), Jacob Hull (drums), and Jack Chatfield (guitar/vocals) who united over their love of classic Punk Rock, Ska and O!
From the double hit release of Late Teens in 2018 & Wasted Energy the following year, Press Club demonstrated with ease their ability to become punk’s latest act to look out for. Unfortunately, as with so many other bands, their plans were postponed due to the global pandemic. With the return to normality, the Australian band were able to finally perform this new material across the globe. Now, three years on from the release of their sophomore release, the band sets their sights on new horizons with Endless Motion (Hassle Records) a culmination of the tormentous past few years.
Making it clear from the outset that vibrancy (and guitars) are a key element of their third album, Pale Waves kick off Unwanted (Dirty Hit) hurtling straight into a vocal and guitar-strummed combo two-line tease of what is to come throughout the album. While opening track ‘Lies’ may spend most of its run-time stripped down to a funking bass and drum pattern playing under Heather Baron-Gracie’s catchy vocal lines, it flashes enough of a smile to let us know the six-string grin is back. Continue reading
It’s been nine years since A Wilhelm Scream released Partycrasher – an eleven-song banger of an album that expanded upon the hardcore sensibilities of its predecessor Career Suicide. Now, after nearly a decade of touring, the New Bedford, MA progressive punk quintet has finally offered some fresh material with their newest release Lose Your Delusion (Creator-Destructor). Continue reading