GO PUBLIC! Was formed by four punk rock musicians from Lyon, France who played in bands such as SIXPACK, CONDENSE, PARKINSON SQUARE or NOT SCIENTISTS. Here they deliver 12 songs with various punk influences: “2 Old To Die” reminds me a bit of SCOTT “DELUXE” DRAKE solo stuff while “All Faith Is Lost” or “Snowball” clearly lean towards 90s emo punk. These guys are no beginners and know what they’re talking about, you’ll find traces of bands like DESCENDENTS, HÜSKER DÜ or JAWBREAKER in these songs. You’ll also hear a bit of up-tempo punk rock’n’roll in “Getting Late” or in “A Rose In Her Hair” and even a touch of FUGAZI in “fm 1” or in “634269”. The vocals remind me a bit of Australian punk rock’n’roller SIMON CHAINSAW at times (“Sheishimheisher) and the band gets more surprising when slowing down the tempo and getting more poppy in “In A Park”. If you like your punk rock tight with a dash of melancholy and lots of guitar melodies then look no further! /Laurent C.
Some RAMONES influenced punk rock by our favourite pop punk record label, Monster Zero Records!
Sweatpants Party “S/T”
Kevin Apers offers us 12 songs in The APERS vein. From fast angry punk (“I.K.E.A.”, “Fucking Useless”, “Elevator”) to RAMONES tributes (“Gimme Gimme Wok Treatment”) and cool punk rockin’ songs (“Happy Heart”, “Wasting No More Tears”, “Super Disappointed”), you’ll get all the ingredients that used to makeThe APERS so great. It’s not hard to imagine that songs like “I Will Never Drink Again” or “Weird Brain” can only be killer live, so keep your eyes open.
This Japanese band started in the mid-90s and you can hear that they know what they’re talking about! Their music is a cool bastard son of rock’n’roll and punk as you can hear in “Back On The Attack”, “Seventeen Seventeen”, “Walk Like A Man”, “Fun Tonight” or in “Work Out.” The spirit of the RAMONES can also be heard in “Too Busy” or in “Sad Little Girl” and you’ll even hear surf rock touches here and there and in “Back To The Summer Beach” as well as a bit of powerpop in “Excuse.” Good old rock’n’roll with punk energy. Sometimes you don’t need more to have a good time!
These guys from Innsbruck, Austria play fast melodic pop punk à la NO FX but can also lean more on the powerpop side with “The Day You Gave Me Your Heart” or “My Heart Is Beating For You.” You’ll also get some RAMONES influenced punk rock with “Spaceship” or “The Night Himo Died” and a touch of 90s emo punk in “Quit Pro Quo.” Party punk all the way!
As you can imagine, this Spanish band isn’t a straight edge hardcore one. I was expecting some silly punk pop but songs like “500 Days Of Summer”, “Deepest Of My Heart” or “I Should Have Cried” have a bit of melancholy into them and the RAMONES influence is obvious in songs like “Look Out Below”, or in “Take A Ride.” The band also gets more in the rock and roll territory with “In The Basement” or in “Weirdo.” Oh, and these guys can also sing perfect vocal harmonies, always a plus in that style!
Big Budget-Looking Video Made On Gonzo Girl Trip During COVID
“…..riot grrrl energy that today’s world needs.”-The Aquarian Weekly
Big corporations are peddling deceiving “disposable plastic.” Recycling programs are being discontinued due to cost effectiveness. And here we are frozen in indecision: what do we do for the ailing planet? Helpless and hopeless, some say f#$@ it, and others get punk rock about it and make a rousing statement. Today, the post-riot grrrl four-piece band, How Tragic, takes a stand with its achingly-beautiful apocalyptic “Goodbye Cruel World” video.
“The world is burning, the ship is sinking, and people are like ‘what’s the point in even trying anymore?’” says the Brooklyn, New York-based songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer, and
director Paige Campbell. “It feels like we can’t do anything to help; it feels like there’s no point in trying; it feels like we don’t know who to believe and what is the truth. There’s a special place for people who still have the fight left in them, and this is their song.”
The “Goodbye Cruel World” video boasts breathtaking landscapes; stylishly, high-concept cinematics; and a captivating video performance by Paige. The backstory behind the video is that Paige, and two of her friends, found themselves stranded together when the pandemic took over. They were confused, terrified, and kind of curious if they could spend lockdown doing something creatively constructive. The trio set out on a cross-country adventure that stretched from the vintage elegance of the Silver Sands Motel in Southampton NY; to North Carolina in a ghostly KMart location being liquidated, and the gorgeous sand hills in Jockeys Ridge State Park; to Bisbee, Arizona at a vacant beautiful hotel and artist retreat and in the desert; and, finally, back to New York City months later with How Tragic reuniting for a filmed street performance at Coney Island.
“Goodbye Cruel World” is a mid-tempo punk song with a touch of 1950s balladry overtones, and it’s as seething as it is sensual, smoldering with ill-fated romantic ideals. One choice passage reads: We hemorrhage apathy, As The World Turns/There’s not much else to do but sit and watch it burn/Goodbye, cruel world/Goodbye, cruel world/and this wasteland/Goodbye cruel world. This is a song for the ages, but we will probably be looking down at our phone checking out influencers, and the meticulously-curated lives on display when the earth explodes in a big ball of fire. But we can’t say we weren’t warned.
Previously, How Tragic (unsigned) has been championed by rock legend Rodney Bingenheimer who introduced the band on his radio show where he premiered the single “Deathwish.” The quartet has issued the 4-song EP, Past Lives—co-produced by Paige alongside producer, engineer, and mixer Matt Chiaravalle (Courtney Love, Debbie Harry, Warren Zevon)—and debuted as a headliner at the iconic rock venue the Mercury Lounge.
Sour Candy dances the edge of torn romance with a melodic punk energy of soaring high hopes and razor sharp guitar blasting through wall of sound vocals with distant echoes of 60s pop and a few ‘yeah, yeahs’ kicking in between…
‘Sour Candy’ the latest single by The Dark Shadows will be released though Select-A-Vision Records in collaboration with Icy Cold & Manic Depression Records, Paris and digitally available online through Bandcamp 6th September with a digital release on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. to follow.
“Soundtrack To The End Of The World” is a concept album originally written in 2012 featuring Max Splodge from SPLODGENESSABOUNDS on narration duties. Zak Splash being a fictional artist from the 70s who has a comeback hit in this millennium. The opening track “Zak Splash opens on a quite heroic note reminding me a bit of The WANDERERS or The DAMNED. This is punk rock with girl vocals and a post-apocalyptic atmosphere. The keyboard touch adds an interesting new wave touch to the songs while “Invicible” sounds more like a mix of punk rock, post-punk and 80s heavy rock, quite an original mix! You’ll also get a bit of pop in “Less Every Day” or in “Fake Like You”, a touch of goth rock in “Splash On You” and almost post rock vibes in “You Can Do It.” It sometimes sounds as a jam between BLONDIE and SIOUXSIE & The BANSHEES so it can’t be bad, right? The Fire Goes Out” is a kind of futuristic ska putting an end to this uncommon album. “Soundtrack To The End Of The World” is not your typical punk rock record and might not be the easiest album to get into but it’s definitely worth it. Keyboardist Andy Thierum was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2014 and Proceeds from this release go to the MS Society. The album is out on FFR UK. /Laurent C.
Spanish language and punk rock often mix well together and there’s no exception with DISCIPULOS DE DIONISOS. The band plays fast punk rock with teenage vocals. They’re not really an angry punk band though since they seem to be singing only about fun and sex but most songs are up-tempo and less than two minutes. You’ll hear some 90s indie/emo punk influences in “Noches De Amor Y De M.D.M.A.” or in “Un Hombre Lobo Americano En Londres”, some 80s American hardcore (“La Mujer Del Doctor Soler”, “Patinete Loco”) and some street punk touches in “Odia A Los Chavales.” Songs like “Mi Novia Es Fascista” or “Gibson SG” are quite catchy and this album is definitely worth checking out if you need your fun punk rock dose this summer. /Laurent C.
After releasing their EP “Hexed” 3 years ago and a few other EPs and digital releases before, The HALLINGTONS from Norway are back with a full LP on Monster Zero Records. The RAMONES influence is still very strong and these new songs have quite a few catchy choruses (“Not Coming Back To You”, “Business Boy”, “Slaughterhouse”, “Spinning Me Around”, “My My My Mexico”) The sunny pop punk side of the band shows more in songs like “Your Boy”, “Becky’s On E” or “Alien Girl” and you’ll get a good dose of old-school punk rock riffs in this album (“Go Godzilla”, “Figures You Out”.) The album closes with “Hallington Hop”, a song that must be the band’s anthem. Quite a fun summer punk rockin’ album!/Laurent.
Musician (SECOND RATE, HAWAII SAMURAI, BLACK ZOMBIE PROCESSION, DEMON VENDETTA, DUMBELL, SIMON CHAINSAW and many more!) and writer (Tons of fanzines and megazines (!) New Noise magazine, a book about French 80s thrash metal and one about French punk rock legendary band BURNING HEADS, etc.), Nasty Samy has been very busy these last 25 years and although he started thinking about recording a solo album years ago, the last two years weren’t really the best ones to release an album… Here it is now! This album is actually a cover album featuring a few friends and people Sam met on the road. The CD comes out with a great looking 48 page black and white booklet in which Sam tells us about each song and the reasons why he chose them among others. Nostalgia is central here but it never gets pathetic. After an intro sample of “Le Feu Follet” (Louis Malle) on a music compsed by long time friend Sylvain Bombled (SECOND RATE, MAYERLING…) you get to hear a power rock version of GUN CLUB‘s classic “Sex Beat” with Paul Smith (DUMBELL) on vocals just before “Creepy Kackalope Eye” (SUPERSUCKERS) with Patrice Fillol (NEDGEVA) on vocals. If anybody has told me about a cover album by Nasty Samy, I would have bet on a DRAMARAMA song. He chose “Work For Food” with pop punk vocals by Forest Pooky, and of course I would also have bet on MORRISSEY too since Sam is actually responsible for making me like the Moz. The chosen one here is “The Last Of The Famous International Playboys” with Francis Altrach (NOTHING MORE) doing a very good job singing it. The LEMONHEADS‘ “Rudderless” featuring Mike Begnis (SHOOT THE SINGERS) will take you straight back to the 90s and The HARD-ONS “I do, I do, I do” is one of my favourite tunes on here. Singer Wattie Delai (DEAD END) is perfect on this one. My other favourite on here is definitely SAMHAIN‘s “To Walk The Night” on which Erin Sims’ voice almost sounds like SIOUXSIE‘s. Then you get back to power rock with “The Last Goodbye” (AGENT ORANGE) featuring Simon Chainsaw on vocals and grungy powerpop with TUMBLEWEED‘s “Hang Around” with Anne Durand on vocal duties. You’ll also get some American indie punk moments with “You Fight Like A Little Girl” (PEGBOY – Paul Smith on vocals again) and “Oyster” (JAWBREAKER) with Rom Tom Cat on vocals. One of the most surprising choices on this album has to be “Shine On”, the HOUSE OF LOVE mega hit here sung with style by Ravi (BURNING HEADS.) Although Sam is a true metalhead at heart, he didn’t include any metal songs and decided to give a rock/powerpop colour to this album. On the other hand, he’s paying tribute to skate/pop punk with a DAG NASTY cover (“S.F.S”)! The record ends with a bang with an excellent THERAPY? Cover (“Nausea”) with great powerful vocals by Sylvain Bombled and a surf rock rendition of JOY DIVISION‘s classic “Transmission”. Whether you like these covers or not, you can only admit that this is a very good paylist and “a postcard sent from the past with a few comforting words written on the back…”. /Laurent C.
Veglam 