"Nothing but feedback laden filth. Abrupt and dissonant arrangements, beneath abrasive screams of endless disappointment. This is pure arty noise punk." Sounds interesting, yeah?
tunic (no capital T for these guys!) are Rory Ellis (bass/vocals), Dan Unger (drums) & David Schellenberg (vocals/guitar), a noise punk trio from Winnipeg, Manitoba who've been around since 2014 and though I only recently came across them a quick flick through their back catalogue shows that they're not lying with the above description of their agreeably shouty squalls of punky dischord.
On a recent Just Some Punk Songs show I played a song ( Nothing Nothing) from the Complexion album they released earlier this year. The chatroom folk were impressed. I said it reminded me a bit of Girls In Synthesis but someone made a better comparison, with Bad Breeding. Anyway, I made a note to get something by them on here and here it is. It's the digital only single they released a couple of months ago and you can find it on Bandcamp : https://tunicband.bandcamp.com/track/nylon
Abrupt, tick. Abrasive, tick. Shouty, tick. Arty, tick. Dissonant, tick. Yep, it ticks all the boxes. It's called Nylon...
Stevenage anarcho noise merchants Bad Breeding are preparing to return all guns blazing with a new album titled Exiled. It'll be out on One Little Indian Records and Iron Lung Records on June 21st and on the evidence of the 2 songs they've teased us with so far it's going to be something special. You can check out those tracks and preorder the album here : https://badbreeding.bandcamp.com/album/exiled
Their third album, it's accompanied by a statement from the band :
"There are homeless young people in Stevenage town centre and in order to feed themselves they are begging people for money. There is a food bank in Stevenage. It provides meals to families who can't afford them; many of them are in work. Demand for the food bank's services, funded and staffed by the generosity of local working-class people, has increased rapidly over the last three years. Yet Stevenage is just over thirty miles from one of the richest cities on earth.
"There is no complexity or ambiguity to these facts - they are a deep, visceral shame on the political forces that have held power for the last forty years. They are not circumstances visited on us by some remote force like the weather. They happened because of savage ideological choices designed to humiliate and psychologically kneecap the great majority of us who are the victims in this sickening charade.
"There is resistance in the face of the brutality. The quiet dignity with which communities have borne this violence and sought to staunch the bleeding wherever possible is one. The inarticulate outbursts of rage, collective and progressive or isolated and reactionary, are another. But neither the coping mechanisms of the kind, or the refusal to cooperate from the rebels, can bring change quickly enough. The entrenched logic of capital and the callousness it breeds within us lies like a suffocating smog over our towns, choking out the sun and the infant cries of our aspirations.
"In these desperate circumstances it is still seen as puerile utopianism to demand that children go to school fed or that young people might have a place to live not at the mercy of a venal landlord or a change in circumstance. Basic human empathy is treated like an unfortunate weakness.
"Sadistic military machismo is unquestioningly lauded. The ability, the desire, to detonate bombs which kill hundreds of thousands and scorch the earth for generations are praised as a sign of strength rather than the mark of a bloodthirsty sociopath. The urge for fascistic violence is slowly winked at and nudged forward.
"Because no one is saying the obvious doesn't mean that it shouldn't be said. When manicured centrists in a detached media-class bubble stack up likes and retweets for being 'radical' enough to say things that any decent human being should feel as a matter of course it is clear other voices are vital.
"To sneer at their self-congratulatory mediocrity.
"To demand more.
"To point out that if you are in the middle of the road you get run down.
"It's not radical to live with dignity. It's not radical for people to be able to feed, house and clothe themselves. But in this country that is a right extended to fewer people by the day. The chance for genuine human flourishing, for a good and fulfilling life in concert with your community, is an ever more remote possibility to millions crushed under the pressure of their postcode."
As you can tell from the statement, and the lyrics to the song you'll find below, Bad Breeding don't just make glorious noise. They also put a lot of thought into the message they're trying to convey. Definitely one of the UK punk scenes most important bands, they deserve your attention. This is Whose Cause?
Another timely scapegoat plastered on the cover a portrait of mistrust to march you up the hill Demonised faith, an all-too-familiar face Whose truth to trust, who will twist the blade? See they’ll simplify you and they’ll simplify me to sanction a war on solidarity Another barbed tool to facilitate division through suspicion, fear and hate
And they’ll lead you down the path to show you all that’s wrong Milk you until the veil is pulled … now it’s your turn So whose cause are you really bending for?
Another timely scapegoat plastered on the cover Same monied lobby boys punching down on easy targets, to dig out the weak see you might find comfort in the chuckling heap but who really wins when you recycle their shit? Just because it fits, doesn’t mean it is Rank nationalism, what really was it for? A timeless con trick to keep you from scratching at their door
The next Just Some Punk Songs show will broadcast this Tuesday at 8pm (gmt) and will be a special show featuring just bands with female vocalists. Don't expect X Ray Spex, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bikini Kill etc as that would be too predictable (and too much of a nostalgia fest). The bands I'll be playing will be for the most part more modern day (though the classic corner section of the show will feature a song from 1966). Also don't expect anything as predictable as a playlist comprising the likes of Amyl And The Sniffers, Neighborhood Brats, Stiletto Bomb, Ubik and all those other great bands that have lit up recent shows. That would be a bit too easy (although a couple of recently featured bands with new releases will get another plug). What can you expect? Tune in Tuesday and you'll hopefully be wowed.... https://www.facebook.com/events/1892360577497894/
As a teaser I'll feature one of the bands that'll feature on today's update. Gumming formed in March 2017, are based in Richmond, Virginia and feature Emilie (vocals), Landon (guitar), Marisa (bass) and Lee (drums). In May of last year they announced themselves with an 8 track Self Titled release that's name your price on Bandcamp. Last month they returned with impressive album Human Values. It's also name your price so no reason not to snap it up.... https://gumming.bandcamp.com
The song I'm highlighting is track 8 on the album and is a good summation of their sound. Noisy, pissed off but not without a tune. Really good actually. This is Anger Ranting.....
USA Nails are a 4 piece, London based band who formed in 2013 and have already released a couple of albums (Sonic Moist & No Pleasure). They're noisy, discordent, inventive and they take no prisoners. Play loud for best results.
The line up is Steven Hodson (guitar/vocals), Matt Reid (drums), Gareth JS Thomas (guitar) and Daniel Holloway (bass). Last week they supported Future Of The Left in Cardiff and if you were were forced to compare them to any other band FOTL wouldn't be a bad shout.
