Browsing Tag

Alt Punk

Atlanta duo, Piece, caused a new wave of noise rock to crash in with their debut EP

Posted on 29 June 2023

While some alternative acts can be accused of compromising on substance for an edge, the Atlanta-based duo Piece is far from guilty of this sonic sin in their latest single, star cunt.

The second single, taken from their debut EP, Piece Be with You, carved through the airwaves with the no-wave buzz saw riffs and revolutionary punk-rock attitude, which blew the dust off the mohawk-littered scene. Taking the foundations laid down by Sonic Youth and other noise rock pioneers, the off-kilter energy in star cunt is scintillatingly gloomy to the last distorted note.

Tayler Lee and Ty Varesi’s rebellious synergy has seen them become well-known on the Atlanta touring circuit. After the release of their EP, which would do Kathleen Hanna proud with the riotous proclamative vocals, their time to reign internationally supreme is now.

star cunt is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FLEAS became agitated alt-punk icons in the making with the visceral rancour in their post-rock hit, Nightmare

Posted on 17 February 2023

Slip into the visceral disquietude of the latest single, Nightmare, from the Suffolk-based alt-punk five-piece FLEAS.

Starting with a raw spoken-word verse over sludgy post-rock guitars, the candid rancour slowly builds until you’re palpitating at the same pace of the frenetic arrangement that conceptually ties together to replicate the sensation of being torn from a dark trip curated by your subconscious mind.

FLEAS banded together while studying at West Suffolk College, which saw them put their own spin on an iconic track by Slaves and finding the inspiration to orchestrate their signature aggressively versatile sound. Since forming, FLEAS have been lauded by BBC Introducing, won the NMG award for the best rock act and supported major acts, including Fightmilk and Dingus Khan.

The reissue of Nightmare will officially release on February 17th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Honeybadger is out for blood in their biting alt-punk hit, Cold Wind

Posted on 6 February 2023

After hearing the ferocity of the grungy punk riffs in Honeybadger’s latest single, Cold Wind, there is no room to question how the Brighton-based sonic juggernauts came about their moniker.

With a tonal palette that makes Oh Sees sound sedate, Cold Wind is a high-octane psychedelically off-kilter whirlwind through the breakthrough act’s ingenuity and technical ability. Lyrically, Cold Wind spits venom at the type of frauds destined to trip over their contradictions after falsifying the truth to fit their insidious agenda.

Everyone has met one such protagonist, and Cold Wind is the ultimate vindicating middle finger with the boisterous rolling punches. Playing chaotically is one thing; orchestrating tightly disordered anthemics is quite another, and that is exactly where Honeybadger, who had a riotous 2022, excel.

Since forming in 2014, Honeybadger has stormed stages across the UK and featured on BBC Introducing, BBC Live Lounge and Wyatt Wendel’s Planet Rock show. Though we are sure the best is yet to come.

Cold Wind was officially released on January 28th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hybridic indie punks Junior Bill painted an anthemic picture of injustice with ‘Boys from Jungle’

Posted on 4 February 2023

With socially conscious lyrics as hard-hitting as the ones penned by Bob Vylan, Kid Kapichi, Meryl Streek, Junior Bill are way ahead of the trend of cuttingly observational and compassionate lyricism in their latest single, Boys from Jungle. Punk boomers who bemoan the wokeness of contemporary punk may want to save their blood pressure spiking by looking away from the hit that advocates the rights of asylum seekers and paints a stark picture of the injustice that greets them when they arrive on our blighted shores.

Rather than skating by on their lyrical wit alone, Junior Bill concocts awakeningly volatile alt-indie instrumental ensembles that are lightyears away from the usually brashy swagger of UK indie rock. With off-kilter guitars that wouldn’t be out of place in the alt-90s no-wave movement and the post-punk nuances tearing through the rhythm section, getting wrapped up in the hybridic punk aesthetic is non-optional.

Boys from the Jungle is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, Youth Club!, which more than has the potential to become the UK alternative album of the year.

Boys from Jungle officially released on January 27th. It is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Empty Page affront the new normal with their 90s nostalgia-implanting electro-punk anthem, Dry Ice

Posted on 20 November 2022

Rather than releasing a sonic sign of the stagnant times, The Empty Page protested our drab and dog-eared-with-anxiety modernity by letting pulsating synths guide the way towards 90s nostalgia in their electro-punk hit, Dry Ice.

Lyrically, you’re reminded of how it felt to be stripped of inhibition, sharing the euphoria with strangers long before they could request you on Facebook and never speak to you again and even longer before the pandemic left its mark on our social appetites while the dizzying guitars drop off-kilter momentum around the gravelly pulls of the post-punk bass strings.

It’s a major shift from the Manchester-based outfit’s previous sound that has been lauded by just about everyone that matters. The duo has ventured into their The Julie Ruin era, and we couldn’t be here for it more. After all, synths were the true gateway to punk and DIY (FIGHT ME), and this new anxiously frenetic earworm that will pull Polaroids of strobe-lit hedonism towards your temporal lobe is the ultimate affront to the new normal.

Dry Ice will officially release on November 18th. Watch the official video on YouTube, add it to your Spotify playlists, or support the band by purchasing the single on Bandcamp. 

Follow the Empty Page on Facebook, Instagram & TikTok. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ATR delivered sheer punk rock defiance in his no-wave stormer, A New Life, Featuring Kellii Scott

Posted on 26 March 2022

ATR served up another gnarled no-wave punk single with the release of the blisteringly sweet lo-fi anthem, A New Life, featuring Kellii Scott (Failure).

ATR was formed in 2014 after the founder, Jess, returned from his tour in Iraq as a combat medic with PTSD, a traumatic brain injury and other sustained injuries. With that context, the defiance within A New Life takes on a whole new meaning. If you have ever known how it feels for your mind to wage war on you, the lyrics in A New Life hit like mantras you’ll want to follow and turn to for resilience.

Before his time in the army, Jess was the lead singer and guitarist for an MCA Records-signed punk rock band in the 90s. Even though they were an underground outfit, they shared stages with the likes of The UK Subs, Anti-Flag, The Ataris, and At the Drive In; he never lost his discordant biting touch, but he did attune his sonic signature to the lo-fi alt-grunge style that will electrify you in A New Life.

A New Life will officially release on March 26th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The Magnapinna brought in the new wave of no-wave with ‘Party Rumours’

Posted on 27 February 2022
Party Rumours by The Magnapinna

With riotous vocal reminiscence to Against Me paired with their scuzzily volatile new wave energy, The Magnapinna’s single, Party Rumours, is just a few voltages short of taking a bath with a toaster.

The Magnapinna started as an online international outfit before evolving into an Ireland-hailing collective that has garnered positive press across the board. They have been lauded by Kerrang, who rightly observed the maniacally eccentric band are like no other.

The title single from their 2022 LP has all the party rock energy of Andrew WK’s Party Hard paired with the discordant punk edge of Dead Kennedys and lofty nuances of surf punk in the gorgeously layered backing vocals. The LP itself scales the entirety of the alt-rock spectrum in absorbingly visceral fashion and lets The Magnapinna’s Mike Patton influence shine through.

Party Rumours is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emancipate Yourselves with Sh’Bang’s Alt-Rock Hit, Bail Money

Posted on 4 August 2021

Philadelphian alt-rock 4-piece Sh’Bang defines themselves as sweeter than punk and heavier than rock, based on their single, Bail Money, taken from their 2020 EP, The Woman Who Changed the World, we affably agree.

Any fans of Neutral Milk Hotel, AJJ, Harley Poe and Amigo the Devil will get caught up in the soulfully eccentric eminence of the single that carries the energy of punk paired with their pretence-less passion that makes no bones about utilising abrasively honest expression.

If you turn to artists such as Social Distortion for your serotonin, you won’t know what has hit you when you hit play on Bail Money. The volatile single delivers the efficacious reminder that eternal conflict is perpetual in many minds; your angst doesn’t alienate you; it offers commonality.

Check out Sh’Bang’s latest EP, The Woman Who Changed the World, via apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Flick Of A Pen: California band Joker’s Hand show us into the ‘War Profiteer’

Posted on 19 May 2021

As their curious minds go into the dark midst to fully see what is going on despite the distractions, Joker’s Hand show their displeasure with how money is made from so much suffering on ‘War Profiteer‘.

Joker’s Hand is a thriving two-piece indie alt- rock/punk band from Torrance, California. They cook up a tasty ska-fused track here which showcases their rising talents with Kevin Kawano and Matt Lau, letting it rip on how messed up this profit-driven world really is.

This is the story of how politics can be so thoughtless sometimes — as many people are struggling — whilst the horrific greed and decay of morals, is so worrying and needs to change urgently. They cleverly add their sarcastic undertone to this promising single, that has a real message that needs to be heard far and wide.

They sing with so much passion and honesty, as they show you into their thought process while doing it with a cheeky grin on their faces too. The performance is top notch, as the catchy rhythm has you listening intently the whole way though.

‘War Profiteer‘ from the talented Californian two-piece alt-punk/ska/rock fusion band Joker’s Hand, opens up the truth newspaper to page through the truth and to dispel the fake. They have a likable sound that has you impressed and nodding your head, while your whole body follows to join in.

Stream this truthful single on Spotify and see more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Fall Town has released their punchy alt-punk-rock anthem, Freedom without End.

Posted on 17 May 2021

The evolution of punk gained a brand-new trajectory with Fall Town’s latest single, ‘Freedom without End’. The Scottish powerhouse put accordant tones up against caustic walls of noise that power-pop, pop-punk, and alt-rock fans alike will want to hear.

Freedom without End is from Fall Town’s forthcoming debut album; the endlessly pioneering track that seamlessly switches up instrumental style is transfixing from the first unpredictable progression to the last. It’s so much more than a random smorgasbord of assimilative increments; Fall Town made every texture their own.

The screeching guitars get forcibly shunted into overdrive after melodic reverb-soaked winding chords, while the vocals prove to be just as versatile as the instrumentals. Discernibly, Fall Town have perfected the art of punchy power-pop choruses; it’s the kind of track you hear for the first time and know you have to see it live. We can’t wait to hear what the rest of the album holds.

You can check out the official music video for Freedom with End via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast