When seeking out great music to share in this blog I have numerous sources that I keep an eye on in the hope that a new release will appear. One of these troves of aural treasure is Cardiff label/punk vinyl distro Brassneck Records. They're building up an excellent catalogue of releases, many of the bands have already appeared on this blog (Spoilers, Holiday, Hot Mass, Ghost On Tape, Traverse etc....). You can find them here : http://brassneckrecords.bigcartel.com/ or here : https://www.facebook.com/brassneckrecords/
If you want to visit the Bandcamp page where their releases are "name your price" (and why wouldn't you?) then click here : https://brassneckrecords.bandcamp.com/
As a fan of Brassneck I was pleased that owner Scott McLauchlan agreed to send me a top 10 list. After a little indecision; " I'll have a look into the top 10 thing but I'm famously indecisive and will probably spend a week changing my mind. I'll get on it though." "I'm shit at top 10 lists. How about a random "here are 10 great songs from bands beginning with the lettter A" or something? I don't know how specific you want me to be with the concept of "favourites" but I know how to play good songs". this was what Scott came up with.....
"As per the title of this blog, this is “just some punk songs”. It’s not a definitive top ten or a best of list. Just some stuff I listened to recently while exploring the “B” section of my vinyl shelves. Other letter based lists may follow (almost certainly not in alphabetical order)."
Blotto – ‘Your Pest Miss Frankfurt’
Blotto are a sloppy/gruff punk band from Japan. I have a lot of love Japanese punk but these guys do this style as well as anyone else in any part of the world. They mainly released split 7”s (I’m aware of at least 10 of them) but discography compilations also exist on vinyl and CD.
This song comes from the split 7” with Hard Skin on Snuffy Smiles back in 2010.
Broccoli – ‘I Am A Robot’
Broccoli were (are?) one of the best bands spawned in the 1990s. In any genre. Their second album “Home” is one of the best albums ever recorded. In any genre. This is one of the best songs from that album. Flawless.
Recently reissued on vinyl via Drunken Sailor (UK) & on CD by Fixing a Hole (Japan).
The Beltones – ‘Fuck You Anyway’
You know when people say “if you look up [X] in the dictionary, there’s a picture of [Y]”? Well in this example, X = punk and Y = the ‘On Deaf Ears’ LP.
Blocko – ‘Fibs’
Blocko happened at the turn of the century with a bunch of 7”s, a 10” and an album before buggering off and forming new bands. They channelled melodic 90s UK punk but somehow didn’t sound like any of those other bands.
“Fibs” is from their split 7” with Eighty Six released in 2002 by Boss Tuneage & Bombed Out Records in the UK.
The Bananas – ‘A Slippery Subject’
Superficially, The Bananas are a chaotic, messy group of Californian punks who sound like a bunch of drunken mates singing on their way home from the pub. This belies the fact they might just be the most perfect pop band to ever exist. They released 4 LPs between 1998 and 2008 and every one of them deserves inclusion in any list I ever make. Add them to your vinyl shopping list (via Recess Records in San Pedro, USA).
Bum – ‘Debbiespeak’
Bum’s “Wanna Smash Sensation” LP was released in 1993 in a post-‘grunge’ world where the music media of the day was heralding punk as the next big thing (again). And while Epitaph, Fat, Lookout (etc) were taking centre stage, just north of the border in Canada, one of the best pop punk LPs ever recorded slipped under the radar. Bum released a load of 7”s and 3 studio LPs but they never topped their debut LP.
Bear Trade – ‘Don’t Forget You’re Going To Die’
The UK has a load of great punk bands right now and Bear Trade are one of the best. It’s pure fist in the air, singalong, woah-oh chanting, beer drinking music. I’m also a sucker for strong regional accents and BT tick that box hard. This is from their debut LP ‘Blood & Sand’ which was in my top 3 (maybe 2) LPs of 2014. You can still get it via Dead Broke Rekerds (US) and Everything Sucks Music (UK).
Big Drill Car –‘Let Me Walk’
In 1991, not long after I’d abandoned heavy metal and, just as I was digging below the surface of the more “obvious” punk releases, Big Drill Car released the ‘Batch’ LP. Along with a few other releases by their peers, The Hard-Ons, ALL and Chemical People, BDC genuinely changed how I looked at music post-metal. This song comes from their ‘Small Block’ LP released 3 years earlier and is another perfect example of a band at their prime doing what they do better than any subsequent imitators.
Bad Religion – ‘I Want To Conquer The World’
Yes, it’s Bad Religion. Everyone knows this song. If somehow you don’t own, the ‘No Control’ LP, please go and fix that now. Thanks.
1989. Epitaph. Again, you know this.
Boys – ‘Sundae Skool’
Another one of the more recent songs on this list, this is from Boys’ 2013 demo tape (and later 7”). They come from Cincinnati and they play pop punk in the style of Lipstick Homicide, The Ergs and Jabber. Melodic and catchy as hell, Boys are one of the best at what they do. If you’re going to The Fest in Gainseville this year, go and check them out.
Demo tape long since sold out, 7” available on Bloated Kat Records.
Love this. Broccoli, Blocko, and Boys are all on my to do list now.
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