We're not quite in the north east again today but we're not far off as Cool Jerks (https://www.facebook.com/cooljerkspunk/) are from Leeds. They're a band that mix up all the best bits of punk, hardcore, post punk and even surf (as in the type of surf hammered out by Natterers and Dick Dale rather than Jan And Dean) to serve up one hell of an aural treat. They've just released a debut album titled England and as with last year's similarly themed Private Sector lp that saw Hygiene storm their way in to my 2019 best of list, it's really rather stunning.
It's a record that "explores the state of the national psyche and what is left of this country after years of austerity and the rise of the far right" and whilst the band admit the album won't provide any answers, it does depict a grim portrait of the state of the nation today. The songs are urgent and driving, the vitriol drips. We're painted pictures of Churchillian warriors fighting to protect their country on the beaches of Zante and Magaluf. Patriots with the flag of St George hanging above their decking. Comparisons are drawn with the haves ("I'm loving the new Merc, it goes like a bomb. I nearly hit a kid earlier,,,) and the have nots ("pay your rent, your bills and your bus fare to work..."). Anger and sarcasm combine in the wonderful minimum wage "zero hours, zero power, part time, part life..."
I've been listening to the album for a couple of weeks now waiting for release day and have been itching to shout "CHECK IT OUT. RIGHT NOW. HERE....." https://cool-jerks.bandcamp.com/album/england-lp
This song is pounded out with scathing venom, it's called Tory Paradise...
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