Here are just a few words on the latest Dragness, a 3 piece punk outfit from Nashville TN, USA, release ‘Bronze Metalist’. ‘Bronze Metalist’ is the follower to their 2017 ‘Monumental Moves and Unattainable Goals’ CD. It is a DIY release with 8 songs that will appeal to the fans of up tempo garage punk. It is a divers album that rocks different tunes in style and sound but without losing it to chaos. The main foundation is unpolished garage rock with a punk attitude.
Jagger Holly / The Windowsill – Saving the genre, and you know it . . . Split 10” 2019 Shield Recordings
For some punk died in the 80’s and for others it is still going strong. Well punk ain’t dead or at least the non-rebellious kind of pop punk isn’t. ‘For I Am’ and ‘Great Shakes’ just released a killer album and at the end of last year Shield Recordings released a 10 inch split record by two fine pop punk bands ‘Jagger Holly’ and ‘The Windowsill’. Both bands contributed four songs that the got pressed on 250 pieces of transparent Red vinyl and 250 pieces of clear vinyl mixed with Red.
On the A-side, Jagger Holly’s contributions are, besides ‘Better Off (Without You)’, some mid and up tempo punk rock tunes build on a solid rock and roll foundation with poppy and catchy melodies covered with some teen acne. On The B-side The Windowsill offers four songs that will satisfy the fans of surf punk like The Queers, The Manges, The Travoltas, The Ramones, Screeching Weasel and so on. So four decent poppy punk rock tunes, influenced by 60s rock and roll and the Beach Boys, that are not misplaced on a warm summer beach bbq party.
This 10” offers some classic inspired and retro sounding pop punk, catchy tunes, good melodies and loads of good vibrations.
Tracklist:
A Side Jagger Holly:
01. Nobody Wants You
02. Out Of Luck
03. Better Off (Without You)
04. All the Boys
B Side The Windowsill:
01. Cigarettes Kill
02. Don’t Worry Baby
03. Leads Back To You
04. Last September
Last Year Shield Recordings released the s/t debut album by a new punkrock outfit called Great Shakes. Next to March, This Means War, … Great Shakes s/t is another fine boundary crossing cooperation between the neighbour countries Belgium and the Netherlands.
This outfit plays fucking enjoyable and catchy pop punk influenced by the greats such as Weezer, Green Day, Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio, … Although their sound isn’t something new or shocking (and it does not has to be), it is some great sounding, rough around the edges pop punk enriched with some Social Distortion rock and roll that every punk rock fan can buy without hesitation.
Track list:
01.The Flood
02. Summertime Alone
03. Get a Little Closer
04. November Star
05. Celebrate My Life
06. Ordinary Life
07. Ego Complex
08. Falling Forever
09. Bitter Nights
10. Confesions
11. Never Gonna Die
12. Say Goodbye At The End
Loud Love – s/t EP Vinyl/Tape/CD EP 2019 White Russian Records / Kick Out The Jams /Mark My Words Records
Loud love, ‘Straight Outta Belgium’, is a five piece punk/post-hardcore/emo/indie band composed of former Circle, Cast-Down, We’re Wolves, The Setup, El Mirage, … members. These experienced craftsmen formed the band in 2018 and are fronted by ex-Circle/The Setup vocalist Dries. What I always love about Dries his vocal duties is that he can easily switch from screams to clean vocals giving the band he is in a distinctive mark.
Loud Love deliver a tight, mature and professional sound that is heavily inspired by late nineties emo, punk rock and post hardcore. A sound that would not be misplaced on a modern version of the ‘In-Flight Program: Revelation Records Collection ’97’ compilation album. Loud Love sounds familiar with bands as Hot Water Music, Texas Is The Reason, Circle, … in the background but with a fresh and modern vibe. It is the perfect adulthood soundtrack: emotional driven tunes for rebellious and melancholic hearts about Life, Love, Pain and Regret. 9.5/10
For I Am – Late Bloomers LP/CD/Tape/digital 2019 Bearded Punk Records, Sound Speed Records, Punk & Disorderly Records, Lockjaw Records, La Agonía De Vivir, Fond Of Life Records, No Reason Records, Milestone Sound, Trilob Records
1994 … 14 years old … the year my love for punkrock really started when Green Day released Dookie, their breakthrough album. Before that I was mainly listening to mainstream pop and 50s rock and roll but after dookie my musical quest really started: discovering punk, hardcore, heavy metal, … Still today I’m really fond of punk music in all its forms. From the early pioneers that created the genre in the late 60s and early 70s to the ones that made it their own during the 80s-90s and the ones, such as For I Am that keep the genre passionately alive today.
For I Am just presented their third album ‘Late Bloomers’ after their ’15 Minutes Late’ 2015 EP and their 2017 ‘All About Perspectives’ full lenght. With ‘Late Bloomers’ they proof that they have been growing ever since. More mature, more power(pop), more intimate tunes, more melody, more social awareness, more punk rock, … more everything. Strength through diversity are the key words and it is all nicely blended is a sublime and colorful album.
‘Late Bloomers’ is a must have album for everyone who grew up with Swedish 90s punk rock but also for the fans of quality powerpop, heavier tunes (Die Hard) and George Orwell (P.I.G.O.T.R.Y.). On this record every single tune is an absolute winner. 9.5/10
Jack Torrance is a German band named after the main character, played by Jack Nicholson, from the movie ‘The Shining’. A movie produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel ‘The Shining’. The band concists of people from other hardcore punk bands like, Deathjocks, Anti-Control or Backstreetnoise if those bands ring a bell. Recently they released their debut album as a vinyl (white vinyl) release only, with a download-code.
With the phrase “No fascism, No racism, no patriotism, no sexism, no bullshit, no nothing heartcore” printed on the inner lyrics sleeve you get a pretty good idea what the band stands for. With the Big War memorals (101 years ago WOI ended on November 11th) just around the corner and in times where fear leads to hate all over again statements like these are still necessary to be made. That state of mind is what got me into punk and hardcore many years ago.
But back on track now. With ‘Flickering Lights’ Jack Torrance brings passionate and emotional driven hardcore about life, love, broken hearts and regret. Decent heartcore inspired by post rock and 90s hardcore spiced up with some old school hardcore elements and fronted by a rasping and desperate sounding voice that reminds me in a way of Modern life is War. Personal Highlight is the track ‘Fragile’.8/10
Spider from Long Beach California (USA) is a punk rock band fronted by vocalist Hector Martinez (also active at Epitaph, …), guitarist Karl Izumi, bassist Jeff Abarta and drummer Alf Silva. The band started somewhere in the mid ninetines, broke up, regrouped, broke up again, … and came back in 2015. Last August they released a new 7” called ‘Energy Gone Wrong’ on CPYTR CNTRL RCRDS.
This 7” contains two original songs ‘Energy Gone Wrong’ and ‘The Reeperbahn’ and the Black Flag cover ‘Drepression’, taken from Black Flag’s 1981 debut album ‘Damaged’. After the intro of ‘Energy Gone Wrong’ I immediately get a US BOMBS feel. It is like Duane Peters is playing in an 80s hardcore punk band. Spider offers a mondern mix of energetic, raw and vicious 70s punk, US BOMBS alike punk rock and some early 80s ferocious hardcore punk inspired by Black Flag, Bad Brains, ….
Energy Gone Wrong certainly has a taste for more. 8.5/10
