Following yesterday's update which introduced a new band that I knew nothing about, today you're getting a band that formed in South London back in 1994 who are known all over the world.
Inner Terrestrials (https://www.facebook.com/innerterrestrials) have been wowing audiences for 27 years with their fusion of "dub, punk, ska, folk and general anarchic danceability." They line up with founder members Jay Terrestrial (vocals/guitar) and Fran Webber (vocals/bass) plus drummer Ben Swan and they've just released a new album titled Heart Of The Free.
This track tells us how 50,000 acres of rain forest is lost every day and that 60% of all wild animals have disappeared during the last 40 years. It mentions how the oceans are a dumping ground for the effluent of consumerism and how contamination by man made chemicals affects every marine organism. Fossil fuel pollution and mass farming are destroying the planet but is there anything we can do, especially when big business does it's best to shut down solutions?
The Skints (https://www.facebook.com/theskints/) are from London and feature a line up of Jon Doyle (Bass), Jamie Kyriakides (Drums/Vocals). Josh Waters Rudge (Guitar/Vocals) and Marcia Richards (Keys/Sax/Flute/Melodica/Samples/Vocals). They formed as school friends in 2005 and released their first ep in 2008. Since then there's been 4 albums, including their latest, Swimming Lessons (which contains the song you're getting today). Their music is a fresh sounding mix up of reggae, dub, ska & punk and they'll provide a nice change of pace to the usual fare you get on here.
They've just released a new video for a track that's a little harder edged than most of their songs. It's about Little Englanders and ineffective politicians... climate change and dinosaurs in human clothing. It's called The Island...
There's some very good blogs and shows/podcasts around at the moment promoting new punk music (feel free to name your favourites in the comments as I'm always keen to check them out) but I can't help but think we're a band of modern day Sisyphus' eternally rolling punk rock boulders up never ending hills of indifference. No matter how good the music is that we promote, the vast majority of the music loving public prefers naff tv karaoke. But we plough on as we enjoy it, we love discovering a new band and shouting about it in the hope others will feel the same. Manchester band Autonomads aren't a new band, they've been together since 2007, but boy are they good.
Mixing elements of dub, reggae, ska, punk & folk, they're a 5 piece featuring Jay (guitar/vocals), Porl (drums/vocals), Ehliot (bass), Perkie (keys/melodica/vocals) and Eeyun (guitar/vocals). With round 500 gigs and several European tours under their belts they're a finely honed outfit who get stronger with every release. The latest of those releases, All Quiet On The Western Front, came out last month and is the sort of record that deserves to be heard : https://autonomads.bandcamp.com/album/all-quiet-on-the-western-front
Dealing with topics such as the gentrification of Manchester (including the chopping down of the 100+ year old Birley Tree in the city centre to provide student accomodation), border controls/small island mentality and the under privilaged sleeping rough or under lock and key on both sides of the channel, the exploitation of the many by the few.
And there's the song I'm featuring today. IT'S NOT AN INSULT! This is Run Like A Girl.......
I got more unwanted male attention when I was twelve years old I still have my keys between my fingers when I'm walking home Humans only love you when your smiling I'm told So look happy, look happy, keep smiling, keep smiling
Chorus
You run like a girl, not an insult You cry like a girl, not an insult
Gotta be the man they say don't show how you feel But its all constructed and you know it just ain't real When I was young they said you know that boys don't cry Keep it down and grit your teeth until they day you die
Laugh and feel and cry and scream Yeah I'll laugh and feel and try and scream Laugh and feel and cry and scream Yeah I'll try and scream yeah I'll cry and scream
Not sure what things are like in your part of the world but over here in Britain the media seems obsessed with scrounging benefit cheats. Today's song is about the biggest one of the lot.
Autonomads are a diy "dub/reggae/ska/punk/folk collective from Rusholme, Manchester. Featuring Robbie Wild (guitar/vocals), Porl (drums/vocals), Ehliot (bass), Perkie (keys/melodica/vocals) and Eeyun (guitar/vocals), they're veterans of around 500 gigs and play "crusty political sounds from the heart of the north."
They got together in 2007 and released their debut album, No Man's Land, in 2009. 2012 saw them release From Rusholme With Love, a split album with Black Star Dub Collective. Their latest release, 2014's One Day This Will All Be Gone... Everything Now! is widely considered to be their best so far. You can find it "name your price" here : https://autonomads.bandcamp.com/
It's an album that concerns itself with issues such as squatting, injustice, austerity, the media.....(basically life in general), they've channelled their anger and produced a great record. From it, this is Our Elizabeth.....
our elizabeth, bring out the guillotine she's our benefit cheating queen she's irrelevant, always has been that's our benefit cheating queen do you think they'll throw me a party on the scale of the jubilee when they find out i've been cheating benefits as long as her majesty scum! a drain! a parasite! that's the words they use for us but they don't commission boats for me i can barely afford the bus sitting in her castle people rotting on the streets the biggest council house this nation's ever seen protected by the state and paid for by the people get lizzy in the stocks and eradicate this evil our elizabeth, bring out the guillotine she's our benefit cheating queen she's irrelevant, always has been that's our benefit cheating queen our elizabeth, bring out the guillotine she's our benefit cheating queen well i heard they gave lizzy a little pay rise it's hard work cutting ribbons when she's got bags below her eyes they talk about spongers in the tabloid newspapers they should sack old lizzy and up their wages we've been conscripted in this system that we all despise fed up of the bullshit, the corruption and the lies every year a wedding, party, jubilee frankly i don't give a fuck about old lizzy our elizabeth, bring out the guillotine she's our benefit cheating queen she's irrelevant, always has been that's our benefit cheating queen.....
