A recent update on here saw me say a few glowing words about Puppy & The Hand Jobs. Today you're getting more glowing words about a band that feature P&THJ's vocalist Jaime Paul Lamb. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, they're called Stevie And The Sleaze and they also boast members of The Raincoats, US Bombs and Mighty Sphincter. The line up is Stevie Davis (bass & vocals), bacpac (guitar & vocals), Jaime Paul Lamb (guitar & vocals) and Danny Hawkins (drums & vocals). Their sound is very much influenced by '77 style punk rock. You can get more info on them here : https://www.facebook.com/stevieandthesleaze/
The track on the comp (Looking For A Date) is taken from the band's new Self Titled album. It's an impressive slice of catchy garage trash that's available on cassette and as a digital download. It's definitely worth checking out : https://stevieandthesleaze.bandcamp.com/album/stevie-and-the-sleaze
This is the closing track, it's a dumb, fun singalong titled I Wanna Blow My Brains Out...
2019 has been a great year for punk music and it's time to post my annual end of year chart. It's never easy doing these, everyone obviously has their own list (feel free to post them in the comments section) and I always miss something out. I'm only scraping the surface but as of today, this is what I'm going with...
100) CASUAL NAUSEA - DIY Or Die
99) FLANGIPANIS - Getting By
98) POWERPLANT - Dungen
97) THE HARD-ONS - Harder And Harder
96) CASH REGISTERS - My Destructive Personality
95) VINTAGE CROP - Company Man
94) ABOLITIONIST - Ugly Feeling
93) THE UNKNOWNS - Dressed To Kill
92) THE COATHANGERS - F The NRA
91) BRUCE - Captain, We've Lost Bruce
90) SUICIDE GENERATION - Prisoner Of Love
89) THE CULTURE INDUSTRY - Dying In The Streets
88) THE FALLOUT - Set Us Up
87) THE BRIEFS - Dumb City
86) SNIFFANY & THE NITS - Good Boy
85) BLACK RUSSIANS - Leningrad Beach
84) MARTHA - Into This
83) MEMES - Blah Blah Blah
82) PIZZATRAMP - There's Been A Murder
81) ROTTEN FOXES - Over The Ropes
80) TORSO - Sick Of Fighting
79) THE ANTI-BODIES - Ninety Years Without Slumbering
78) COVERT FLOPS - Spy Code 492
77) HAGAR THE WOMB - Hated
76) LATTE+ - Lost In Berlin
75) JUDY AND THE JERKS - California
74) CORNER BOYS - (I'm Such A) Mess
73) IMPERIAL WAX - Bromidic Thrills
72) THE CRAVATS - Shy
71) MUM - Luka
70) WORLD WAR IX - Coke Machine
69) VISTA BLUE - Big Stars
68) PETE BENTHAM & THE DINNER LADIES - A Bas Le Caviar Vive Le Kebab
67) GRADE 2 - Don't Look Back
66) WHO KILLED NANCY JOHNSON? - Punish The Poor
65) RATS FROM A SINKING SHIP - Looney Left
64) SCABZ - Feel Good Summer
63) BERLIN BLACKOUTS - We've Come To Destroy
62) ANXIOUS LIVING - Graveyard Orbit
61) PRIORS - Call For You
60) PUPPY AND THE HAND JOBS - Plan 9
59) MIDNITE SNAXXX - Music Inside
58) PANDEMIX - Can't Assimilate
57) NERVOUS JERK - 1994
56) ACTIVE SLAUGHTER - It's Not Anti-Semitic To Hate Fascists
55) SKINT & DEMORALISED - #RefugeesWelcome
54) MATERIAL SUPPORT - All Bosses Are Bastards (ABAB)
53) SPERMBIRDS - All Rights Reserved
52) POWERSOLO - Backstab
51) SUBHUMANS - Thought Is Free
50) BAMBOO VIPERS - Inch Eye Private Eye
49) PLASTICHEADS - Nowhere To Run
48) TRAMPOLINE TEAM - Patty Hearst
47) SORE POINTS - On The Wire
46) PHONE JERKS - Three Jobs
45) THE PROLETARIAT - Move
44) PETROL GIRLS - Big Mouth
43) BOMBARDEMENT - Wheel Of Destruction
42) USA NAILS - Smile
41) NO COLLUSION - Aw Naw
40) HOMELESS CADAVER - Fat Skeleton
39) PINCH POINTS - Shibboleth
38) GULLS.- Shop
37) THE SUBJUNCTIVES - At The Kraken
36) PROTO IDIOT - Erase/Rewrite/Repeat
35) CITY MILES - Empty Vessels
34) UBIK - New Disease
33) THE STIFFIES - My Baby Ain't Fun
32) THE ZIPS - IOU
31) THE MANIKINS - Make A Run For It
30) THE CONTROL FREAKS - She's The Bomb
29) THE CAVEMEN - Night After Night
28) LOST CHERREES - Bigoted Nation
27) CHEAP PERFUME - Time's up
26) C.O.F.F.I.N. - Be Gone
25) BOOJI BOYS - Stevie Cool
24) THE RESTARTS - A Dark Day In September
23) DARK THOUGHTS - Must Be Nice
22) GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS - Smarting
21) AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS - GFY
I've got to be honest, I was a little surprised when I heard Slovenly Recordings were releasing the new album by Oakland California's Midnite Snaxxx. I thought the band's catchy garage stylings may have been a little on the poppy side for a label that's associated with all that's wholesomely trashy about the genre. You know what though, whoever decided to unite band and label is a blooming genius.
The new album is titled Music Inside and it's my favourite Midnite Snaxxx release yet. Back in 2017 I was comparing them with The Ramones, Dictators and Cheap Trick (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2017/02/midnite-snaxxx-rule-world.html) and whilst those comparisons could still be considered valid, this time around there's a whole lot more variety to the album. Boasting 12 tracks, none of which gets too close to the 3 minute mark, it's a lean, energetic and inventive treat. It transcends their roots and is in my opinion more influenced by spiky post-punk than any of the illustrious bands the various members have previously graced. It's available on limited edition turquoise vinyl (100 copies), black vinyl or digital download... https://slovenly.bandcamp.com/album/midnite-snaxxx-music-inside-lp
This song is a good example of their new post-punk direction, it's called Disconnected...
Following on from the recent update featuring The Lost Riots, here's an interview with the band's frontman Jeffrey Thunders...
Hi Jeffrey, please introduce yourself and tell people which bands you're in
Hey I'm Jeffrey Thunders. I'm currently in 2 bands. I 'sing' in The Lost Riots. I also play guitar in The Ratz.
Which bands are your biggest influences?
Oh man that's a tough one. I'm still influenced by things around me. Friends bands, relationships, our current state of affairs with the government in this country and probably growing up in the shadows of one of the biggest cities in the world, New York City. As far as musical inspiration/influence the old standbys are: Black Flag, The New York Dolls, The Replacements, Joe Strummer, Rancid and pretty much anything Jay Reatard does. I'd like to add that as odd as it may seem Supergrass "I Should Coco" is still a great album. It definitely stands the test of time.
The Lost Riots - Downtown
When did you decide you wanted to be in a band and how did you go about it?
I'm just old enough to remember how huge Nirvana was but to not be 100% influenced by them. Great band, and I wont deny that In Utero got heavy play on my stereo as a kid, but it wasn't until Dookie by Green Day was released. That was my "holy shit" moment. It wasn't until years later at the tail end of High school that somebody put a bass in my hands. The 3 of us jammed in a basement. It was horrendous, but it was incredible at the same time. It was all downhill from there. Short end of it all.....it was the summer I graduated high school. That's when I realised how much I needed to be playing music. As I got older and started going to local shows, or hopping the train to Manhattan, I started meeting people in the scene. Eventually after asking a few thousand people, a few sorry saps started a band with me.
Which band was that?
The band I jammed with in the basement, in which I played bass, was called The Fuzz. We didn't really do anything except one evening we kind of crashed our drummer's sister's party. We set up our stuff and just made a bunch of noise because we really could not play our instruments. We stumbled through a cover of "I fought the law". At that exact moment the police showed up because there were noise complaints from the Neighbors. However, the first band that I really played shows with and got my face out there was called Fatale. I don't even think we were together for a year. But it was fun while it lasted. We had a Modern Lovers meets Lou Reed kinda sound.
You play good old school punk rock music and I suspect that your live shows can get quite lively. Have you got any good tour stories?
Well some shows you play to an empty room, some there are people jumping around. I try to put my all into any show. A lot of times I sacrifice my body. Tons of days after shows I find bruises or cuts on me. I'm not so sure about crazy stories. Any good stories? Some I probably shouldn't say, like when we did a few shows with Cheetah Chrome that were a ton of fun. We met some guy in Atlanta who played saxophone with the MC5 on a Russian tour. We met a crackhead in Albany NY that gave us a mannequin head. Someone in Charlotte North Carolina tried to flatten our van tires by putting vodka bottles under them. But for the most part there's good people out there. A lot of people come up to us and question us about the patches on our vest or whatnot. We've met some tremendous people in other bands while travelling. Bands from across the country that we still chat with and play shows with. Whomever said punk rock is dead is a liar!
The Lost Riots - Save Rock n Roll (live)
To me, The Lost Riots and The Ratz play a similar style of down and dirty old school punk. What would you consider to be the main differences between the bands and if you were to write what you considered to be your greatest song, which band would you record it with?
Well I'm gonna piss someone off with this answer haha. The Ratz have a new 7" about to come out, and The Lost Riots released a full length in December. Once this Ratz record comes out people will be able to tell the difference. The major difference is Ines Segarra (formerly of Damn Broads) is now playing lead guitar and handling a ton of the vocal responsibility in The Ratz. The new record is more raw and in your face. To me it's very early Adolescents. Plus our songs are all close to one minute in length. With The Lost Riots our sound has evolved into more of a rock n roll sound. Once Scott "Son Of A Fitch" Fitch came into the band our whole sound completely evolved. Plus we added a rhythm guitar player. Everything sounds more full and mature. It's almost like Social Distortion meets Bruce Springsteen. There's also definitely a New Jersey influence on the new Lost Riots stuff. I don't think you would be fair to either band, or myself to have to choose. It would be like asking which child you like best.
The Ratz - Let's Get Drunk Tonight
The new album by The Lost Riots, The Kids You Love To Hate, is a very enjoyable listen. Where did the ideas for the songs come from? How much is autobiographical?
I really appreciate that compliment. Especially coming from someone that has pretty much heard all of the best underground punk in the world. That's a huge commitment. I try to include as much of myself in lyrics as possible. There are quite a few songs on The Kids You Love To Hate that are very much auto biographical . "When you're back in town" I wrote about a friend that moved out to LA and ended up winning an Emmy award. If it weren't for punk I never would've met him. "Goddamn Town" and "we were wrong" are about adventures in NYC. "Gentrified" Scott wrote but it's essentially about how gentrification has hit our hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. Songs like "I Just Lied" and "Suburban Insanity" are about substance abuse. I really concentrated on the lyrics on this record. I hope someone out there likes them.
Yeah, i think the lyrics are a big part of the album. You mentioned both Bruce Springsteen and Lou Reed earlier and I can see similarities in the way many of your songs are like mini stories.
Growing up as an Italian in the Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut), Bruce Springsteen is just part of your upbringing. His songs transcend through the generations. Bruce Springsteen is one of those artists that people need to get past "Born in the USA" or "Glory Days " to completely appreciate. Its middle class, blue collar life in a little shoreline town. Lou Reed I never fully immersed myself in. Sure I have Velvet Underground records and some of his solo stuff, but I never got deep into what he did. Lyricists that have meant more to me than some legends out there are Dave Weinberg from Boston hardcore band The Suicide File, Defeater frontman Derek Archambault, Laura Jane Grace and Brian Fallon.
You've mentioned The Lost Riots and The Ratz but tell me a little about Jeffrey Thunders and The Scabs...
Jeffrey Thunders And The Scabs - Get Out
Jeffrey Thunders and The Scabs is just a once in a while recording project. Its basically myself and Scott Fitch. There are some songs that we write that may not totally fit in with The Lost Riots. It's just something fun once in a blue moon. There's really no intention of it being a full blown band at this time.
Tell me about your label, Die Hipster Records...
Die Hipster started off as a way for me to get my band out there. After years of trying to get someone to help out I came to the realisation that nobody is going to help. To get the name out there I did some comps with bands within the Connecticut punk scene. That was just over a decade ago. Since then the label has definitely grown. I get bands from all over the northeast sending me stuff. We have a nice little roster of bands right now with a few more coming on board in 2020. In 2019 Mike Sneek has come into the fold to help. He brought a fresh attitude into the mix. We now have seasonal/quarterly comps as well as zines to coincide with the compilations. DHR has also been booking shows for roughly 15 years now under the same name. Even though its defunct I use Lookout Records as a model. Lookout pretty much only had Bay Area bands. They supported their scene and helped those area bands. That's what we wanna do with Die Hipster Records. https://diehipsterrecords.bandcamp.com/
If you could interview one person, who would it be and which would be the question you'd most want to ask them?
It would probably be my grandfather who came to America from Sicily and ask him about the hardships he had to endure being an immigrant.
Which local bands do you recommend we check out?
There are a ton of great bands around here : Enziguri - The Bronx, they have a classic NYC hardcore sound. Sonorous Rising - New London Ct. They are very unique. Ukulele, keyboards and drums. Really awesome band! Killer Kin - New Haven Ct. Old school sound. Imagine Iggy singing for The Heartbreakers. Fast Times - Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I love Fast Times. They are a good old fashioned punk band with a splash of pop punk in the mix. White Thrash - Danbury Ct. Three piece punk rock band with an early 80s hardcore mix. Great bassist. The dude is so good. I gave ya 5 but I could've kept going.
What would you like to be doing music wise in 10 years time?
I'd like to think that I'd still be a punk in 10 years. That's even if I'm still alive. If no one wants to be in a punk band with an old man I'll probably be doing acoustic stuff. Or at least still be releasing records digitally.
All good things come to an end and that was the case last May when an announcement appeared on the Epic Problem Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/epicproblemuk/); "On Friday just gone, we played what will now be our last ever gig. There will be no countdown, there will be no “final show” and there will be no reunions." The band are from New Mills (a small town in Derbyshire, 15 miles from Manchester) and feature Neil "Mackie" McLennan (from Blitz) on guitar/vocals, Morry (bass/vocals), James (drums) and Jake McCullough (vocals/guitar). They'd been together since 2010.
There was an addition to the announcement though... "We still have one more release in the form of a currently un-named EP, but after that it will be pastures new." Christmas day saw Brassneck Records add that ep to their Bandcamp page. It's titled Grace and features 3 songs which remind us why we were sad to hear of them going their separate ways. Fingers crossed those pastures new involve them making new music in whatever form. https://brassneckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grace
This is the lead track on the ep, a fine example of their brand of melodic punk. Featuring an appropriate lyrical couplet "you think these things are built to last, but somehow you you know they're gonna end" it's called Bleeding Out...
I think it's fair to say that New Haven's The Lost Riots are one of the most punk rock sounding bands out there. There's maybe slight hints of garage and hardcore in their sound but basically they sound exactly how you'd hope an archetypal old school American punk band would sound like. By that I mean proper punk and not your watered down Blink Day Glory kinda thing. Fronted by Jeffrey Thunders on distinctively snotty vocals and guitar the band also features Matt Mullarkey (bass), Scott Fitch (guitar), Noel Thomas (guitar) and Chadwick Gregory (drums). They're influenced by bands such as Dead Boys, The Heartbreakers, Stooges and Black Flag. You can find out more here : https://www.facebook.com/TheLostRiots/
They've been on this blog a few times previously and are back today with a song from their new album The Kids You Love To Hate. The first thing that strikes me about the album is that during their time together (they formed in 2012) their sound hasn't really changed much. Maybe the production is slightly better and as a whole the album is probably more consistent throughout but otherwise it's the sound of a band sticking with what they know and love and doing it really well. As well as the regular members, the album sees guest appearances by Cry Havoc vocalist Jonny Disaster and The Travis Bickle Army frontman, Eric Montes. You should check it out...
This song is about reminiscing about a long lost friendship, it features some very solid playing and great gang backing vocals. It's called About You...
I'd just like to wish all the visitors to the Just Some Punk Songs blog and listeners to the show a very merry Christmas. Thanks for your support and I hope you all got lots of gifts today...... Unless you're a nazi.
This is a festive song from Alice Bag Band. No Gifts For Nazis...
Quoting from their Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/crapsons/), Crapsons are two noisy idiots from the Wirral." Those two noisy idiots being Markey (bass/vocals) and Gilbert (drums/vocals). They've been picking up some very positive press; "Crapsons are the most punk band I’ve seen in a while”..."Snotty and brilliant"...“Crapsons are reminiscent of The Sleaford Mods, Half Man Half Biscuit and a raw high school garage punk band. The influences are easy to hear but they come out sounding original with fast paced fuzzy bass and crashing cymbals as the singer spits bars like a young John Cooper Clarke.”
Sounds to me as though they're worth a listen!
Luckily enough, they recently released a new single so let's check it out...
Nice and gnarly with humour aplenty and a big singalong chorus. Lots of bass and energy, lyrics about scallies, smackheads and sticking Brexit up your arse. I recommend you give them a listen. I'm just off to check out their earlier releases on Bandcamp https://crapsons.bandcamp.com/
The rest of you can enjoy one of the two videos they released to help promote the single. This is Who'll Babysit The Goths...
Scallies are always chasing me The hipsters accept mediocrity And While the punks march to the sound of their beat The vegans are telling you what to eat Smack heads walk fast down our street The drunks, they can’t stay on their feet While homelessness is a travesty I still can’t party with 50p
Who’ll babysit the goths? x8
There’s a general election on a WhatsApp group The Tabloids are lined with unreliable scoops You’ve got to go the gym, start giving a damn Stop posting quotes on Instagram Just put your feet up, it’s time to relax Completely abolish council tax The Tory party are one hell of a Farce You can stick your Brexit right up your arse
Who’ll babysit the goths? X8
Not Me
Mum, what’s for my tea?
Who’ll babysit the goths? X8
There’s no point in crying, What are you so sad about? X 3
There’s no point in crying, Who will babysit the goths?
Hi Gino, many thanks for agreeing to the interview, I won't pretend to be a Gino And The Goons expert but I've listened to your music for a few years and featured you in blog updates a few times so hopefully my questions will turn out ok. I suppose the obvious place to start is by asking where you grew up, what you listened to as a youngster and when did you start discovering the rock n roll acts that have been an obvious inspiration? Honestly, I never completely grew up. I was born and raised in Mudflap, Pennsylvania. Which is in the northwestern part of the state. Great for hunting and fishing which I don't do. Not that's a bad thing just ain't my bag. I'm the youngest out of five kids and between my parents, brothers and sisters I listen to what they listened to. To just name the good ones that stayed with me would be, Willie Nelson, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Cramps and the Rolling Stones. I still listen to all those bands. Black Flag, Ramones and Motorhead changed my life. Old country and blues music changed my life. Shit, I could go on. Minutemen, Meat Puppets and Butthole Surfers.... Link Wray, Dead Moon and all things Fred Cole. New Bomb Turks, Teengenerate, Oblivians, The Gories, Pat Todd! The Lazy Cowgirls and the Rankoutsides! There's a thing people say quality or quantity. Both Pat Todd, Fred Cole and the Rolling Stones have both. Hank Williams!! SIde note: I have to mention NY Dolls, Johnny Thunders, VU, Lou Reed...NYC in the 60's and 70's. Oh, and the Devil Dogs.... I know I know I'll stop..
SAMF
Were Gino and the Goons your first band? I notice it was a good few years between you forming the band and your debut release. Any particular reason for that? It was the first band where I played guitar, vocals and was songwriter and leader of the gang. After playing drums for other people's bands and just being a fill in I wanted to control everything. Ha! Though I was opened to Goons ideas and trying to make it feel as much as a band as I could. But I put my name in the band for a reason, ya dig? I wanted people who were fun to hang out with and wanted to do it to the fullest. Ability was last on the list though, it was on the list just towards the bottom. Anyway, I wrote a few songs and really liked how they sounded. (Hit It! and Get On Down from the first record and Better Believe from the latest on Drunken Sailor). I Moved to Baltimore, Md. and was still playing drums. I didn't think I could start my own band at this point. I started playing with an old friend, I was doing all the work in that band but not writing. I figured if I'm going to do all the leg work, all the hard work I'll do it with my songs and my band. Though he wrote great songs I was ready to go it alone. So I pulled the first band of Goons together. The drummer had a drum set but didn't know how to play. So I took away his kick drum and we just did floor tom, with tambourine, snare and cymbal. Right hand used a shaker for a bunch of songs. If they couldn't make a show or a recording I did it myself or pulled other people together. Most of the time it was last minute. Like person in the crowd last minute. Another point of putting my name in the band was I couldn't have anyone hold me back. I didn't and don't have time to wait for anyone. Nothing personal, I just have shit to do. Just when those Goons were ready to record in Baltimore time ran out and I moved to Tampa, Fla. in 2010. It was another year before I pulled another band of Goons together. By the time we were ready to record and it was 2012. https://www.facebook.com/GINO-and-the-GOONS-269493892726/
"Goons come and go. Some come and come again. Others don't."
Any particular reason for the fluid line up? Are you that hard to work with! or is it just easier bringing in different people as and when required?
I started this band some 12+ years ago myself, I laid all the ground work, do all the grunt work, and all the stuff that isn't the most fun, but I always envision the Goons as a band, always considering a Goon's opinion and valuing their input. Sure I get final say, I'm Gino. I put my name in the title of the band for a reason. But I'm open minded. I've been beat up, strangled, disrespected and left to the side of the road as the Goons rode away in my own personal vehicle. Leaving me stranded some 1500 miles from home. Despite all that, I'm one of the easiest and most fun people to work for and to be around. Not to mention charming and handsome. Some Goons are Goons for life and some are not. I can't expect others to be on my schedule, and I sure as hell can't be on theirs.
"Beat up, strangled, disrespected and left to the side of the road as the Goons rode away in my own personal vehicle" it sounds as though you have some interesting tour stories? Anything particular spring to mind and which do you prefer, playing live or releasing a new record?
Some of my favorite stories are when we pull into town, eat at a good local place, play a killer show and everyone there is into it and dancing, we sell some merchandise, hang out laughing and drinking, have a decent place to sleep, find a Waffle House in the morning and then hit the road.
Recording is ok but I definitively prefer playing live.
It only seems like 5 minutes since I was featuring a song from your Do The Get Around album on the blog but you've already released album number 5, Off The Rails. Any particular reason for the fast turn around?
Bart at Big Neck asked to do a record and when we recorded we ended up doing 20 songs. Shortly after Bart asked, Julian from Drunken Sailor asked for a record. I asked Bart if he minded us doing another record at the same time and he was cool with it and so was Julian. Off The Rails was supposed to come out first but it didn’t work out that way. We have 10+ more songs ready to go but I’m gonna wait to record them.
About your song writing. How much is autobiographical. I'm thinking about songs like Pills In My Pocket, Glory Days Gone, Got No Friends etc. Also To me your songs sound like very good scuffed up pop songs, is it your intention to write "hits" even if you know in the modern world only anodyne overproduced crap makes the charts? I didn't write those songs you mentioned so I can't answer that. For me, sometimes they are autobiographic sometimes half and half, sometimes not at all. I like that term, scuffed up pop songs. I have no idea what the modern world is or what it likes. I don't even know what people my age like. I know what I like. So I write songs I like and hope other people like it too. I'll just finish up with the obvious question of is there a pencilled in release date for the other batch of tracks you mentioned? End of 2020 beginning 2021 Thanks Gino
Typical, you wait ages for Just Some Punk Songs to feature a song called Rats and then 2 come along at once....
Kent punks Surgery Without Research seem to be making a habit of featuring on here in December as it's only just over a year since I posted a song from their Thugs In Blue ep (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2018/12/surgery-without-research-thugs-in-blue.html). They return today as they've released an impressively crammed 25 track album called Clusterfuck. This time around Andy H (vocals/guitar), Mark Spooner (guitar) and Dave Booker (bass) have been joined by new drummer Chris Hogg (although Nathan Antino still features on several songs). The album's taken 3 years to finish but it's well worth the wait. One of the songs from it also features as the title track of the recently released Simon Says ep (it went down a storm on a recent Just Some Punk Songs show so I'm sure the album will be as equally well received). You can get both on cd or as digital downloads here : https://surgerywithoutresearch.bandcamp.com/
Clusterfuck is the sound of an angry band. It's proper punk protest music though there are sporadic bursts of humour. Titles include Sheep, Religious Bullshit, Payday Punk, Tory Clowns... many of the targets of their wrath are tried and tested but it's all extremely well done. This song features a lyric video, it's a more sedate pace than most of the album but it's no less heartfelt. It's called Rats...
Today I'm posting a song that originally saw the light of day last year but has just turned up on Bandcamp and as I missed it before I'll stick it on here today.
You probably know The Drones (https://www.facebook.com/thedronesuk/). Not to be mistaken with any bands of the same name they hail from Manchester and originally formed way back in 1974 as a glam rock outfit called Rockslide. By 1976 they'd changed their name and hitched their horse to the punk wagon and relocated down to London where they released a fistful of singles and an album called Further Temptations. Like many of their contemporaries they've split and reformed and currently feature a line up of Steve 'Wispa' Cundall (bass/vocals), Al Crosby ( Ed Banger & the Nosebleeds - lead guitar) and Brian Grantham (ex Slaughter And The Dogs - drums).
It's been a while since we heard from Plymouth oi! band Hostile Minds (https://www.facebook.com/hostilemindsoi/). They featured on Rebellion Records' Oi! Ain't Dead 6 comp alongside a number of other top genre acts (Crown Court, B Squadron, Hard Wax, Top Dog, City Miles, Brassknuckle and Clockwork Soldiers) but aside from that it was 2017's Life On File ep. (https://hostileminds1.bandcamp.com/album/life-on-file). Drummer/vocalist Tom Boutwood has popped up a number of times with his other bands, Hard Wax, Arch Rivals, Riot City Radio and Dead Legions whilst bassist Matt Colton is also in Hard Wax & Riot City Radio and guitarist Tom Murphy is in Riot City Radio so I don't suppose we can complain about their lengthy absence. Especially as that absence is now at an end...
Back in October they reported that plans to get a new album finished this year were behind schedule but that they'd be back in the studio in the new year. Happily they've just finished a song and uploaded it to Youtube to tide us over. As far as appetite whetters go, it's a good one. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Andrew 'Doc' Collins at PMC Studios, Plymouth, it sounds great. Nice and gritty bovver rock with a big singalong chorus. The change from a 4 piece to a trio hasn't affected them, they're still as powerful as ever. Sirens are blaring out, Sound The Alarm....
Choked Up are from Brooklyn and formed in 2017. They line up with Cristy C. Road (Vocals/Guitar), Rachel Alicea Gibbons (Lead Guitar), Rose Bomberg (Bass) and Wes Ruiz (Drums). They play pop punk songs "about love and companionship and special connections, but during the apocalypse." Just in case any of you has a hell of a memory and thinks "hell that vocalist sounds familar" Cristy has featured on here before with her previous band The Homewreckers (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-homewreckers-nervous-rex.html).
They've recently released debut album Dichoso Corazon which they present as a love letter to the broken hearted. Engineered and produced by the legendary Mass Giorgini (Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun, Common Rider), it's catchy as hell Latino queercore pop punk heaven. Lots of hooks and melodies but with just enough grit to make it an extremely palatable dish. You can check it out here : https://chokedup.bandcamp.com/album/dichoso-corazon
This was the first single from the album, it's an earworm that demands repeat plays and it's called Home...
Proudly putting the trash in trashy garage punk are Puppy and the Hand Jobs. They're a trio from Phoenix, Arizona who featured on here last year with the tasteful I Eat Abortions (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2018/08/puppy-and-hand-jobs-i-eat-abortions.html). Now they're back with a co-release on Black Gladiator and Slovenly Recordings, a new 7 track exercise in bad taste called I Hate Everything.
Amongst the delights on offer are the titular expression of dislike for everyone and everything plus songs about oral sex, masturbation and stalking. It doesn't hang around, it's all over after around 8 minutes but it's 8 minutes of depraved fun that'll leave you either wanting to hit play again or take a bath (or both at once!). I enjoyed it a lot.
They've released a video for Cocksucker but I can't post it on here as it's on Pornhub rather than Youtube but that's ok as it allows me to share my favourite track. This is a joyful modern day garage classic that could have easily been recorded back in the 60's and it's about Ed Wood's legendary movie that featured Bela Lugosi. It was written by Eddy Detroit who is not on the band, but was a Sun City Girls collaborator. It's called Plan 9...
Edit.... Since I uploaded this they've released a proper video so I'll edit it in :
You may have heard of Charlie Murphy, he's featured on here previously in a couple of cool bands (Freak Genes and Internal Credit). Now he knocks up an impressive hat trick with Isolation, a Falmouth based dark punk trio in which he contributes guitar & vocals alongside Rob Camp (bass & vocals) and Jo House (drums). Not sure if they take their name from the classic Joy Division song but it'd be nice if that was the case.
They've recently released a debut Self Titled ep, it contains 6 tracks and it's an excellent calling card. First impressions are "wow, that's energetic." A couple of the tags on Bandcamp are dark punk and goth but don't let that fool you into thinking they're serving up an atmospheric gloom fest. From first minute to last they've treated us to a punchy banquet sparking with vim and vigour. There's nods to his other bands but I'd say it's more manic. You can find out for yourselves by snapping it up name your price : https://isolationfal.bandcamp.com/album/isolation
When listening to Cheap Perfume's impressive new album Burn It Down I had one of those "this sounds mightily familiar" moments that occasionally happens when you listen to far too much punk rock music. I'm sure I'd been singing "It's ok to punch nazis" before and indeed I had, the song in question had been released a couple of years ago as a benefit single and had featured on this very blog https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2017/09/cheap-perfume-its-okay-to-punch-nazis.html
I'd forgotten all about the band but now they're back and they've definitely got my attention again.
Hailing from Colorado and lining up with Jane No (vocals), Stephanie Byrne (vocals/guitar), Dave "Hot Dave" Grimm (drums) and Geoff Brent (bass), they're an angry, dirty, foul-mouthed and unapologetic feminist punk rock band that are well up for confronting many of the wrongs in society. Don't think it's all po-faced preaching though, far from it. They also display plenty of cheeky humour and acerbic wit. They deliver serious messages on difficult subjects such as sexual assault, sexism, fascism, alcoholism, gender stereotyping and plunging to the depths of despair. But despite the dark subject matter, we also get some great fist in the air, singalongs such as the Joan Jett inspired chant of "I don’t give a fuck about my reputation" and the really rather poppy Fauxminism (plus the aforementioned call to rise up and punch nazis!).
UkePunk (https://www.facebook.com/UkePunk/) hail from the Greater Manchester town of Ramsbottom and formed in 2009. They feature a line up of Paulus Device (Uke & Vocals), Andy Moore (Bass & vocals), Glenn Jackson (Keys & Vocals) and Luke Taylor (Percussion). They appeared on here earlier this year with a Daily Mail bashing song that was taken from their impressive I Blame The Parents album https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2019/05/ukepunk-watch-out-daily-fail-song.html
And now they're back with a new single.
Inspired by frontman Paulus Device receiving parking tickets on his last two visits to London, it contains the band's trademark acerbic humour but the striking thing on this release is the bass. There's a definite dub/reggae influence going down. Think The Clash, The Ruts or maybe Basement 5. It's a song asking the question, "mr traffic warden, how do you sleep when you're profiting from other people's misery?"As they admit though, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it...
[Gm]THEY USED TO CALL HIM THE TRAFFIC WARDEN BUT NOT NO MORE IT NEVER WAS A RESPECTED OCCUPATION AND THAT'S FOR SURE [F]GET A REAL JOB AND GET YOURSELF A HAIRCUT WAS MY FRIENDS RAPPORT [Gm]THEY USED TO CALL HIM THE TRAFFIC WARDEN OH NOT NO MORE
[Bb]HE'S A CIVIL EN[F]FORCEMENT [Gm]OFFICER [Bb]HE'S A CIVIL EN[F]FORCEMENT [Gm]OFFICER [Bb]HE'S A CIVIL EN[F]FORCEMENT [Gm]OFFICER [F] [Gm]
[Gm] DEVOID OF ANY APATHY AND SOUL DEVOID OF ANY CHARM HE LOOK RIGHT THROUGH YOU AS GOES ABOUT HIS BUSINESS I DON'T WISH HIM ANY HARM.BUT! [F]THIS POSITION MUST REQUIRE A CERTAIN CHARACTER WITH A LASHING OF INSENSITIVITY [Gm]GOOD PEOPLE CANNOT COMPREHEND
[Gm] HOW DO YOU SLEEP MR TRAFFIC WARDEN? DO YOUR CHILDREN KNOW WHAT YOU DO DIRTY MONEY FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S MISERY SHAME ON YOU [F] THERE'S TIME TO REDEEM YOURSELF TIME TO PUT THINGS RIGHT [Gm]GET A REAL JOB AND GET YOURSELF A HAIRCUT THEN YOU WILL SLEEP AT NIGHT
Shit! Shit! Shit! I've got to choose a "favourite" song from the new Dark Thoughts album to post at the bottom of this update. It's pretty much an impossible task because every bloody song on the damn thing is a favourite!
The band, as you hopefully already know, are a 3 piece from Philadelphia who've featured on here several times previously. The last time was in August when I said "Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket To Russia.... Forest Hills' finest, The Ramones, released 3 absolutely killer albums in little over 18 months and I've got to be honest with you, on the evidence of their first 2 albums plus their new single, Dark Thoughts are going to do something very similar." Do you know what, they've done just that. For my money, their triple whammy of long players are as impressive a debut run as anyone has achieved. If we were still back in the 70's during punk's golden age everyone would be shouting about how great this band are. As it is, the commotion is not as loud but I'm sure I'm not the only lover of punk music saying similar things. They're the best band around, tell all your friends.
So the new album... it's titled Must Be Nice, 12 songs crammed into a trim sub 20 minute run time. Listen, enjoy, listen again. You'll soon be able to get the physical release via Stupid Bag Records or Drunken Sailor Records but no need to wait to hear it as it's available as a nice early Xmas gift name your price on Bandcamp... https://dark-thoughts.bandcamp.com/album/must-be-nice
So to choose a song to finish on. Lets go with Please Don't Leave...
A sad night for Britain as Boris Johnson's Conservative party are returned to power by a nation sold a Brexit pup. There was the chance to vote for real change but it was spurned so now it's more of the same as those with wealth and vested interest raise a glass to 5 more years of coining it in. But it's done now, we dust ourselves down and carry on.
A nation that no longer cares – a state of terminal despair The liars and cheats have won the night – will the last one here turn out the lights You had the chance to go for change – you had the chance but you threw it all away Enablers and you right wing shils – supporters of the policies that kill
They wage war on society, throw millions into penury They decimate communities to pay the price of rich men’s greed Another time, another place – a kinder, gentler, humane state But all of that’s been thrown away – the 5 Evils are here to stay
What the hell have you done? You’ve been fooled again You’ve fucked up everything! You’ve been fooled again You’ve fallen for their blatant lies – how long till you realise The emptiness of your victory last night? You’ve been fooled again….
The consensus of the post war years has been pulled down around our ears Not even that Bitch went as far as the generations who followed her Do you think these people are on your side? Do you think they’ll help you turn the tide? You won’t have too long to wait as you watch them further shrink the state..
A transatlantic conspiracy – scratch the surface it’s there to see Who pays the think-tanks calls the tunes…. the billionaires behind the news They say they want to set you free from Marxist ideology Scapegoat the poor, no safety net, reward the rich and squeeze the rest
I warn you, don’t you dare fall ill – you won’t afford the treatment bill I warn you never to grow old – your choice to starve or die from cold Don’t be young – they’ll steal your dreams. Don’t be homeless – those streets are mean I warn you never to be poor – accept your lot, don’t ask for more
What the hell have you done? Yes you, you’ve fucked up everything – and you’ve been fooled again!
The new release is an ep titled Who Rules The World, it features 4 female fronted aggressive blasts of shouty hardcore punk who's 7 minute runtime flies by leaving you wanting more. It's out on Sheffield label Kids Of The Lughole and it's available on 7" vinyl (ltd to 300 copies) and digital download https://kidsofthelughole.bandcamp.com/album/who-rules-the-world
This is the title track, it barrels along at a rapid clip and you should hitch a ride....
