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Punk

Lewis Shepperd primed the masses for a clash against the classes with ‘Council Estate Reject’

Posted on 5 July 2024
Lewis Shepperd

Lewis Shepperd is set to viva la revolutionise the airwaves with his latest single, Council Estate Reject; whichever way the UK election swings on the day of the release, the scathed synthesis of indie, punk, rock, and Britpop will prime the masses for a long overdue revolt against the elite classes. Instead of placing faith in populist politicians and the façade of democracy, tune into this scintillating sonic insurrection.

The hypercharged punk pulse fed through the propulsive basslines and antagonised tempo of the percussion sends sparks of kinetic energy through the frenetic release which captures the collective sense of ennui, fires shots at the mindless monarchists, and evokes an insurgent riot. The three-minute liberation from the dystopia of our age is a sanctuary of electrifying escapism away from the misery that breathes down the neck of the working class.

So, if you miss when John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ was fiction and the media didn’t solely serve to sink us into subordination, find the ultimate outlet in Council Estate Reject. The embodiment of the punk ethos filtered through an indie rock lens with croons far more seductive than Johnny Rotten was ever capable of, delivers a high-octane shot of vindication which amplifies in potency when the guitar solo slashes through the palpitatingly sweet production.

Council Estate Reject will be available to stream on all major platforms from July 5th; stream it via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

IST IST dominated the Manchester post-punk pantheon with their latest single, Repercussions

Posted on 14 June 2024
IST IST

Look at Manchester as a landscape and you’ll be confused by the claim that we do things differently here; the proverb only materialises through the mettle of sonic architects in the same trailblazing vein as IST IST.

Since their debut single, IST IST has been an unreckonable authentic force that has easily earned its place in the post-punk pantheon. With their latest single, Repercussions, taken from their fourth LP, Light a Bigger Fire, they emerge once again as an unextinguishable paragon of eminence.

From the first angular note that leads you into a neon-lit hedonic tour de force, you’re hooked into an exhilarant earworm that delivers scintillation and kinetic rhythmic propulsion by the smorgasbord.

By extrapolating the brooding vocal presence of Sisters of Mercy, the cerebral intensity of Magazine, the coruscating synths of Arcade Fire, and the menacingly pulse-pounding beats of Depeche Mode, and synthesising them into a cocktail that could only be stirred by their own hand, IST IST delivered a broodingly expansive testament to their cultivated fortitude.

Producer Joe Cross (Courteeners, Hurts) ensured that the single, which unravels as an exposition of how insidious thoughts can spill from the psyche into reality, becomes an invitation to liberate yourself from your introspective vexation – if only for the duration of the emancipating hit that surpasses ear candy and becomes an elixir for oppressive reflections.

Stream Repercussions on all major platforms, including Spotify, from June 6th.

Follow the band on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Prepare for a post-punk power surge when LIINES unleashes their kinetic comeback track, Holding On

Posted on 5 June 2024
LIINES

The emotional underpinnings of longing in Holding On capture exactly how LIINES fans have felt while waiting for the new material to surface. It’s been almost three years since the last fix from Manchester’s post-punk revolutionists, now that it’s here, prepare to be overpowered by propulsively kinetic earworm.

From the first lashing of the seething with distortion guitar strings, you know you’ve hit play on a track capable of tearing your soul in two and stitching it back together with threads of adrenaline, desperation and hope. Intensity reaches every aural atom in the light-handed production that allows Zoe McVeigh (vox, guitar, bass) and Leila O’Sullivan to exhibit the raw magnetism of their creative synergy.

Charged with hauntingly emotional potency and driven by a frenetic rhythmic pulse, Holding On unravels with the same catchy lyrical reprises projected through the signature songwriting structure that has allowed LIINES to be a continuation of Manchester’s post-punk legacy, not just a mere mediocre facsimile.

Yet, notably, there’s a heightened sense of vulnerability within Zoe’s stridently pitched searing vocals, ensuring Holding On hits every feasible raw nerve before tearing you away from the articulated agony through the liberation within the exhilarant progressions.

From the release of their 2018 debut LP, LIINES has pushed post-punk into unchartered waters, With their renewed cultivated edge carved by the Sleater Kinney influence that reverberates through the single until the haunting Pixies-esque middle eight that allows the vox to drift from the basslines as they prowl under the optimism searching harmonies, their distinctive volition met freshly honed prowess.

Holding On will be available to stream on all major platforms from June 7th; pre-save the single here, and follow LIINES on Facebook to stay up to date with news of the upcoming EP, due for release in Autumn 2024.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The future of alt-rock arrived with Zegovia’s grungy punk-pierced protest, (It’s All Just) Noise

Posted on 3 June 2024

Imagine an immensely volatile lovechild of Dinosaur Jr and Pavement with punk proclivities, and you’ll get an idea of what Zegovia birthed with their latest single, (It’s All Just) Noise.

After the warm overdriven guitar chords swathe the pulsative drum rhythms with discordance in the intro, the rancour strips back as angular notes deliver intricately off-kilter melodies, creating a raw edgy aesthetic that speaks to how sharp Zegovia cut their teeth before they delivered the hook-rife controlled chaos in (It’s All Just) Noise.

So much more than your assimilative bubble of alt-90s nostalgia, Houston’s most inventively authentic alt-rock outfit rose up from the sludgy ennui of grunge, driven by the punk rock ferocity that is clearly running in their veins.

After feeling the full force of the visceralism in their latest release, it is evident that the four-piece’s determination to keep the pulse of rock beating in their rhythm won’t be in vain. Sleeping on a bed of nails would be easier than sleeping on Zegovia.

(It’s All Just) Noise arrived on the airwaves on May 24; stream the single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NYC’s Jazz-Punk Raconteurs of Rancour, Goldbloom, Stridently Blossomed in Their Fusionist Revolution, Redneck

Posted on 21 May 2024
For Money and Power by Goldbloom

The protestive pulse of punk and the rhythmic rebellion of jazz went hand in hand in ‘Redneck’, which is just one of the seminal singles from the Texan-born, NYC-based jazz trio Goldbloom’s sophomore LP, For Money and Power.

Channelling the jazz-punk flair of icons in the same vein as Acoustic Ladyland, with this sax-led riotously smoky tour de force, the outfit which originally connected at NYC’s New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, pushed visceral momentum into an aural arena hallmarked by sophisticated syncopation and inaccessible pretension.

The synergy trio’s triadic power is on full display in Redneck, as is the dualism between the technical skill and the intensity of a garage rock band riffing out a sonic resistance that you will want to join them at the vanguard for.

Redneck is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bad Friends With Black Cats Let the Cat out of the Bag in an Exclusive A&R Factory Interview

Posted on 11 May 2024

Ahead of their eagerly anticipated EP, I WANT TO MOVE, Bad Friends With Black Cats shared insights into their evolving sound. From acoustic beginnings to a dynamic full-band experience, the group delves into how they’ve layered darker, more vulnerable lyrics with robust energy, underpinned by acoustic rhythms. The lead single, “OKAY, BYE,” encapsulates key personal milestones, setting the tone for the EP’s raw, candid vibe inspired by influencers like PUP and The Front Bottoms. This conversation invites listeners to peer deeper into the essence of their music, promising an intimate connection forged through shared struggles and high-energy anthems.

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Bad Friends With Black Cats, thanks for the opportunity to sit down with you ahead of the release of your EP, I WANT TO MOVE. Can you walk us through the journey of your sound evolution leading up to this EP? What elements did you experiment with or push to the forefront this time around?

Well up until this EP, everything released had only been acoustic demos. So the biggest step we took was definitely incorporating the full band sound while still maintaining an acoustic rhythm guitar driving it. Marcelo couldn’t have written better drums to the tracks and was able to always push the energy and keep attention on the song. The lyrics continue to get darker and more vulnerable while keeping a sense of relatability, leaning on heavy influences from bands like PUP and The Front Bottoms.

What’s the story behind the lead single of the EP? How does it encapsulate the essence of the entire project?

“OKAY, BYE” is a song about meeting my partner, Melissa, in Ottawa back in 2017. It describes several aspects of our lives over the first 2 years of our relationship. It touches on my state before meeting her, my anxieties of living in a new city, and the struggle of finding a place to live. It is literally about the stage of my life where I found the music that would go on to influence this entire project (The Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball, PUP) and for that reason I think it’s the perfect introduction to the new era of Bad Friends With Black Cats.

What lies behind your motivation to deliver raw and candid music?

It’s what I’ve always connected with and listened to personally. I’ve always gravitated to the lyrics and meaning of a song and really loved when it was vulnerable and authentic. Bands like PUP, who deliver such high energy and emotion despite yelling about everything they hate, have always hit home for me and have been my preference; it only makes sense that would bleed over into my writing and what I want to make.

Which artists are the most influential on your sound, and where else do you pull inspiration from?

The biggest influences on our sound are bands like PUP, The Front Bottoms, Jeff Rosenstock and Modern Baseball. However, I have gone through so many phases of my life listening to different styles, and I believe they all play their own part on influencing our music. (Green Day, MCR, Avenged Sevenfold, Mumford and Sons, Aesop Rock)

Growing up, Blink 182 was also a huge influence on both Marcelo and I. You can really hear Travis Barkers influence on the drumming as well as the idea of not taking ourselves to seriously with the lyrics.

How do you hope the EP will resonate with your audience or shift listener perceptions about your music?

I really just hope listeners find the struggles in daily life relatable and worth yelling with us about. I think we touch on a variety of very relatable insecurities while delivering high-energy tunes that people can enjoy.

How do personal experiences and emotions feed into your songwriting and music production?

Paul: That’s really the driving force of our music. Our music starts and ends with the struggles we face every day. It’s the reason I pick up the guitar and start writing. Personal experiences and emotions are what sparks creativity, at least for my personally.

We’d love to know the story behind your endearingly unique artist name, and a little bit of the band’s history and inner workings.  

I originally started this band with a high school friend, Connor Ratayczak. After going 5+ years of barely communicating and being flakey, we reunited to try and start a band. We each had black cats and thought the idea of being “bad friends” had a ring to it. I think it really fits the “goofy punk” band name style and fits the brand very. My black cat, Shady, is also my best friend (concerning, I know) and having her incorporated somehow makes me happy. I got Shady at the beginning of the toughest phase of my life, so she’s been through it all too!

Looking beyond this EP, how do you see your music evolving in the future?

It’s hard to say. Obviously we’ll strive to improve our sound and quality and take another step forward in the next recording venture. But in terms of style and inspiration, I don’t think we know. We have a ton of songs we’re sitting on that fit this style that we’re so excited to start recording, but it’s hard to predict what we’ll write next. I’ll continue to listen to amazing artists that inspire me to create.

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Listen to Bad Friends With Black Cats on Spotify.

Follow the band on Facebook and Instagram.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Chasing Shadows: Hazard’s ‘Never Going Home’ Echoes the Depths of Desolation

Posted on 7 May 2024

For their standout single, Never Going Home, the Welsh three-piece Hazard filtered psyched-up shoegaze-y post-punk through a grungy and intensely evocative lens, resulting in an emotionally tumultuous outpour of despondence. With vocals spilling into the middle ground between the haunting timbre of Placebo and the sharp confronting antagonism of Angels & Airwaves as the monochrome guitars carve a chill into the mind-bending production, Never Going Home unravels as a dark narrative that tears into the soul and triggers empathy as a dual-sided vignette of loneliness and displacement pours across the alchemic instrumentals.

If the reprise of “She’s never going home/I feel so alone” doesn’t hit hard, there’s probably not much hope for your soul.

There’s no better single to discover Hazard through; after ceaselessly evolving their sound since their 2019 dawning, their sound has culminated in an unflinchingly agonised attest to their ability to stir visceral emotion within their fans

Stream Never Going Home with the rest of Hazard’s sophomore LP, On a Dark Night in My Room via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yur Mum – Duality: Unflinchingly Authentic Brazilian Punk Rock

Posted on 5 May 2024

I may be late jumping on Yur Mum’s scuzzy punk rock bandwagon, but after feeling how deep the unique angle to their visceral edge cuts while they played in support of The Battery Farm and witnessing how they can merit the title of their latest LP, Duality, I discovered a duo that’s criminal to sleep on.

The way their Brazilian roots pull through the complex fusion of frenetic percussive rhythms creating a thunderous heartbeat pulsating through rapid and intricate cadences against the snarled basslines incited a riot of distinctly augmented annihilation.

Affectingly authentic to the core and so much more than the sum of their synergistically dualistic parts, Yur Mum is destined for bigger stages; the intuition into each other’s pandemonic energy is evidenced in every antagonised aural atom of their sound.

Two of the standout singles from the duo’s latest album, Anhangá and Hands to the Sky encompass the versatility of the London-based Brazilian duo comprising Anelise Kunz (bass/vox) and Fabio Couto (drums).

Hands to the Sky goes heavy, low down and dirty, and infectiously kinetic with the grooves that leave the rhythmic pulses in a vice grip as the bass lines whip up hypersonic fury around Anelise’s rock reverent vocals. Anhangá hits even harder, orbiting around profane levels of distortion while Anelise uses the gratifyingly discordant noise as the playground for her chameleonically charismatic presence.

Stream and purchase the Duality LP on Bandcamp.

Follow Yur Mum on Instagram or hit their official website for more info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Love, Builder of Worlds has unleashed their synth-punk manifesto, Scared for the Climate

Posted on 2 May 2024
Love, Builder of Worlds

With the release of “Scared for the Climate“, the independent artist, Love, Builder of Worlds, delivered an electrifying DIY alt-rock anthem that captures the essence of punk rebellion with the precision of a seasoned artist.

The single encapsulates a raw, urgent message wrapped in the infectious energy of funk-drenched synth punk—a stylistic nod to the dance-punk vibes reminiscent of Kathleen Hanna’s work in Le Tigre. The track’s short, snappy runtime is no barrier to its impact; instead, it enhances its punchy, protest-driven ethos. The lyrics hit hard and fast, their pseudo-hip-hop delivery layering a sense of immediacy over the compelling synth rhythms. The result is a powerful musical manifesto that does more than just sound an alarm—it’s a public safety announcement for the planet.

Love’s unique artistic background, as part of the Olólúfè Collective, infuses their work with a profound understanding of intersectional struggles. They navigate through genres—from punk rock to afrobeat—with the ease of a genre-defying originator, underscoring their commitment to challenging colonial binary frameworks through music.

Scared for the Climate is a fiery call to awareness, urging listeners to confront one of the most pressing existential threats of our time. Through this track, Love, Builder of Worlds, doesn’t merely aim to entertain but to galvanise action, making it a quintessential listen for those attuned to the pressing issues of our era and the potent power of music as a form of resistance.

Scared for the Climate is due for release on May 5th; stream the single on Bandcamp, SoundCloud and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Far Below Perfect brought Hawthorne to even greater heights with their pop-punk LP, I’ve Been to Hell Before…

Posted on 26 April 2024

After teaming up with Pop Punk Wolf Records, Hawtorne’s Far Below Perfect is set to unveil his LP, I’ve Been to Hell Before…, which is cataclysmic enough in its cultivation of pop-punk evolution that the genre may never be the same again.

Starting with a glimpse into the Far Below Perfect live experience, the LP shifts into the hit, Isn’t Life Grand?, which echoes the influence of Blink-182 and Bowling for Soup, while the pop-punk agent provocateur blasts through their frenetically fierce progressions at a dizzyingly fast tempo, which only slows to inject some existential humour.

In Where’s Your Hero Now? Far Below Perfect continues to give the thrash pioneers a run for their frantic energy while working in elements which hark back to the legacy of the Beastie Boys. In the following track, Far Below Perfect finds their groove in groove metal while never loosening their grip on iconic emo aesthetics until the track culminates in a rallying cry for anyone who would rather die than surrender.

If anything comes close to a ballad, it is track five, April’s Fool, which injects melodic hooks around the agonised with ennui vocal lines before the following single, Headaches, exhibits the artist’s ability to weave progressive ingenuity into their hits. To conclude the LP, Far Below Perfect channels the bite of punk into the infectious volition of future-forward pop-punk in Be Fri Or St End, and ends the LP on an augmented high with On My Own, which proves that loneliness might be a curse, but people with enough resilience to endure isolation can’t be reckoned with. It’s quite the statement for a one-man pop-punk powerhouse to make.

The I’ve Been to Hell Before… LP will hit the airwaves on April 26th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast