Apathy Cycle - Forgotten Genocide

Apathy Cycle are a four piece punk rock band from California who formed in 2009. Featuring members of bands such as Intro5pect, Broken Society and Leftöver Crack, the band have previously released two EPs, the last was in 2014. Then back in April, after six years, the band released a self-titled full-length. They mix skate punk, hardcore and ska which makes for a real interesting album.

Forgotten Genocide starts out with a ominous sounding introduction before making the switch to a skacore style. The song makes you think you’re getting ready for a gigantic circle pit before switching things up and getting you skanking up a storm. Throughout the song it does switch between the more melodic skate punk sound and the ska which creates an amazing sound. The song itself looks at horrific moments in history that have been forgotten and how this is wrong. They make the point that if we don’t remember these atrocious moments in our past, we will repeat them in the future. 

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The Cavemen - Nightmare

New Zealand's premier purveyors of tasteful garage punk rock, The Cavemen released a brand new 4 track ep on Friday titled Euthanise Me. As always with The Cavemen, you don't just get a "hit" and 3 b sides, you get a full ep's worth of great music. The title track is a rowdy rocker that's accompanied by a fun sci fi video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyB9SRQZc6U) and the closing track sees the guys slowing things down a little and introducing doomed romance into the mix. I am going for one of the middle tracks which is Nightmare. It is a frantic sub 90 second hit of fat free budget rock banger that will get you bouncing around if garage punk is your thing.

Broadway Calls - Meet Me On The Moon

Broadway Calls is an American punk rock band from Rainier, Oregon. The band has released three records and toured the United States and Canada extensively and often. More recently the band has completed tours in Europe. Broadway Calls have toured with such bands as Alkaline Trio, The Gaslight Anthem, Rancid, The Bouncing Souls, and Bad Religion. They recently released their fourth album Sad In The City which is also their first on Red Scare Industries whose label boss Toby Jeg said it’s the best thing they’ve ever put out. That is a big statement when you look back at how many amazing releases Red Scare have put out over the years.

Meet Me On The Moon is a song about getting away from all the troubles on earth with that special someone. The song is a lot of fun but also shows a serious side when you think about how bad the world must currently be if you want to escape all the way to the moon. I can see this song being a big favourite with Broadway Calls fans.

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Burnt Tapes - Getitgotitgood

Burnt Tapes are a Melodic punk rock band from London who write songs about sadness, regret, nostalgia and mental health. A lot of the boxes ticked there for me. In September they released their EP Grower and it is a cool little collection of songs showing off their progress as a band.

Getitgotitgood begins with a short introduction that builds towards Pan’s vocals. Pan’s vocals give the song such an infectious energy that have you wanting to sing along immediately. The song’s highlight is without a doubt the chorus, which may be one of my favourites the band has written to date. Pan definitely has a fantastic skill for writing some huge hooks. This is one that I’m really looking forward to seeing live when such things are allowed to happen again. 

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My Kid Banana - Decepticunt

My Kid Banana are a four piece band from Saint Paul, Minnesota, who write pop culture punk songs. Way back in February the band released a new album named Nostalgic Interference and it’s taken me far too long to get around to checking it out.

Decepticunt is an angrier song on the album as you might be able to tell from the title. The song is about getting out of a bad relationship with someone you thought was great but in actuality is an awful person. I imagine the song gets a great reaction at My Kid Banana live shows.

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On My Arms - Going Home With You

On My Arms are a four piece band from Venice, Italy. The band formed in 2011 and are heavily influenced by bands such as The Ramones and The Queers, as well as more modern day acts such as Teenage Bottlerocket. I first became aware of the band due to their excellent Life At Thirty EP which was released in 2018. In May, On My Arms released a new five track EP titled More Than Drugs.

I am sharing Going Home With You which is perhaps my favourite song of theirs. From the outset it’s an uptempo sing-along that’s full to the brim with this infectious energy. The way in which Ganz delivers the vocals is fantastic, punchy on the verse and then loads of melody in the chorus.

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Civic - Radiant Eye

Civic are a "gutter rock" 5 piece (Darcy Grigg, David Forcier, Jim McCullough, Lewis Hodgson & Roland Hlavka) from Melbourne. They've released 3 yop notch singles on Anti Fade Records and have now added a 4th in the shape of the Radiant Eye 7". The A side, and title track features a saxophone and is a blistering garage rocker with some great hooks. Definitely one you'll be rocking out to.

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The Shell Corporation - Hot Bleach Injection

The Shell Corporation hail from Los Angeles and feature a line up of Jan Quixote, Curtiss Lopez, Seantonamo Bay & Jake Margolis. They released both their debut album (Force Majure) and debut single (Bread And Circuses) back in 2011 and have since released a couple more albums (Mandrake & Fucked). Earlier this month they released a new 5 track ep titled Told Ya So.

It's an impressive helping of political hardcore from a band that tell us in the title track that 40 year old punk rock songs are still relevant today (and to prove it, they turn in a belting cover of the 7 Seconds classic Here's Your Warning). Another highlight is Unfollow, a song that takes aim social media and people's often dodgy online activities ("Why do I still hit reply to you? I love you in person but your online persona is a trifling bore").

This is Hot Bleach Injection...

Shot Balowski - Critique of Everyday Life

Shot Balowski are a 3 piece based in Carlisle and Glasgow who's line up features Debbie Ullrich (bass/vocals), Tef Lovegrass (drums/vocals) and Simon Whittle guitar/vocals). Earlier this year they released a debut, self titled album and it ain't half bad.

They're a band with a left leaning political worldview who write snappy little punk tunes on subjects such as militant suffragette martyr Emily Wilding Davison, orange hued has-been Donald Trump, hate filled red top The Daily Mail, boxing icon Muhammad Ali, sexy people with guns and fast cars on American tv etc. They even make a good fist of the Bob Marley classic Redemption Song.

This is a fuck you to those greedy, grasping twats that are doing their best to keep most of us in poverty. It's called Critique Of Everyday Life...  

 

 

Crackups - White Fruit

Another Belgium band, Crackups are a quartet featuring Thomas, Niels, Toon & Siebe from Antwerp who play some great Garage Punk. They have been around for a number of years but early 2020 saw them return with a 7" (Floor) and now a mini LP titled Greetings From Earth dropped another bomb on Flanders' fields.

This is White Fruit from said mini LP.

Bruce - Next Time

Bruce are another cool Belgian garage punk band and have members from Aarschot and Bilzen. I am going with Next Time to introduce the band as this song has a bit of history. The track appeared for the first time on a compilation of Belgian 60's inspired bands back in 1987, when some members of BRUCE were in a band called the Leftovers. This version gave it the fantastic Bruce makeover, however this time without the ever present wah wah guitar lead, reminiscent of their inspirators, the mighty Cosmic Psychos.

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The Scoffs - Little Blue Tyrants

The Scoffs are old school punk rockers from Seattle who have a long list of influences including the likes of Cock Sparrer, Sham 69 and Dead Boys etc etc etc. They line up with Steve "Knuck" Bostick (vocals/guitar), Gabor Szakacsi (guitar/vocals), Nate Manning (bass/vocals) and Rob Olsen (drums).  

Earlier this year they released a debut 5 track EP titled Talk Is Cheap. It's anthemic punk n roll with songs about not trying to force your point of view on others, spreading lies till they become accepted as truths, murder, police violence and how you should own up to your own mistakes. It's good stuff and you can get the cd and digital download on their Bandcamp.

Everyone likes a good cop song and The Scoffs have recently released a video to go with theirs. This is Little Blue Tyrants.

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Beans On Toast - Album Of The Day

Beans always jokes that he doesn't understand how MDM Amazing is his most popular songs as they all sound the same. I guess what he means is that they all use the same few chords and to answer his questions it is probably because it is about taking MDMA at a festival and having a jolly good time.

One other predictability from Beans is that he will release an album on his birthdays on 1st December. He has done this every year since 2009 and as this year is his 40th he is releasing 2. Knee Deep In Nostalgia, which has a host of musicians participating and The Unfotseebale Future which is a collection of songs written during and inspired by the 2020 happens and Recorded at home, solo. As with anything these days a number of songs have already been released in the build up to the release.

Titled Album Of The Day, it is on the Knee Deep In Nostalgia album and is about listening to music with his daughter. It's a cute little song and a needed escape. Simple but effective and always a place for another Beans song.

The Chats - ACϟDC CD

The Chats are a punk band from Australia's Sunshine Coast who play "shed rock". I'm not totally sure what shed rock is (I assume they don't have a garage)? ike many punk bands they write songs about stuff that's important to them. Unlike most other bands though, rather than writing about politics, gender issues or the environment, Josh Price, Eamon Sandwith and Matt Boggis are more concerned with the stuff that affects their daily lives. Like getting stranded with no bus money, their mum stealing their stuff or getting bothered whilst on a smoke break.


They are back with a new single and it's great. It's fun, catchy and rocks like a motherf---er.  It's titled AC/DC CD and it extols the virtues of "the 2nd greatest band in history." The accompanying video will bring a smile to your face with Josh, Eamon & Matt rocking out in a way that would make their heroes proud. According to our fresh faced trio, there's only one band better!

The b side is a cover of AC/DC's Rocker and it's only available on the 7"

You can get the single on Bandcamp

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Kingsway Flyers - Don't Let It Go

Kingsway Flyers are a new 3 piece melodic punk band from Stockport featuring Antony Walsh, Anthony Morrison and Ben Relton. Anthony "Morry" Morrison played bass in Epic Problem whilst Anthony Walsh was vocalist/guitarist with The Vox Dolomites and has also been in D.F.A. and One Man Stand.

They've a debut album on the way which was produced at their local Pressure Drop Studio by Will Farley and to whet our appetites they've put 3 of the tracks on Bandcamp as a free download.

Fans of the members' previous output will feel at home with some gritty, melodic punk rock. Driving guitars and strong vocals added to catchy tunes is always going to go down well and the teaser songs leave us eagerly awaiting the full length. They're a band to keep an eye on.

This is Don't Let It Go.

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NOFX - Happy Birthday You're Not Special

The Fallout - Same Old Shit

The Fallout are a Toronto based punk band who have just released an updated version of a song which was written by bass player Patty O'Lantern many years ago whilst he was a member of The Embarrassments. It was inspired "by Basquiat artwork. I wrote it just after Bush won his 2nd term." There's a new sheriff in town but he's very much a part of the old order.

You can get the song, name your price on Bandcamp.

This is Same Old Shit.

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Reverse - Broken Windows

Reverse formed in Stoke On Trent in 1990 and released a fair few splits and singles before splitting in 2003. Japanese label SP Records put out a collection of their work in the form of 2011's Chasing Ghosts album.

A couple of years ago they got back together and have recently released a brilliant new album titled Empty Spaces. With a line up featuring Paul Beard (drums), Dan Rowley (guitar/backing vocals), Mick Flock (guitar/backing vocals) and Nick Sharratt (bass/vocals), they're better than ever. It's a dozen catchy as hell songs that'll have you singing along.

I'm going to go with one of the tracks that isn't streaming on Bandcamp as my choice tday. This is Broken Windows...

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SLALOM D - Final Girl

Slalom D are a politico-punk outfit from Sunderland and this is what they have to say about themselves -

SLALOM D burst on to the NE punk scene in 2017 with their incendiary mix of explosive guitars, juggernaut drums and politically-fuelled lyrics. Early gigs quickly generated a loyal fan base which has been growing steadily since: a refreshing mix of young upstarts, original rockers and everything in between, all drawn to the band's obvious respect of what's gone before combined with a boldness to forge something new. A non-stop onslaught of controlled chaos and sinew-stretching harmonies, Slalom D capture the essence of 77, chew it up and spit it out in the face of complacency, bigotry and intolerance: Slalom D are a punk rock band.

They've got a new ep that features 3 tracks, Final Girl, Step Out Of Line and an extended Final Girl dance/dub version. Copies are available for £4 from the Slalom D Facebook page, Hot Rats record store and the Ivy House pub. Virtual copies will be available via Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.

This is about survival. You know in horror movies, there's always someone who eludes the killer, there's always someone who makes it through to the end. Just like in real life, no matter how grim things look, there's always hope. Hang on in there and you can make it. This is Final Girl...

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toyGuitar - Human Hyenas

ToyGuitar are a punk rock band from San Francisco, California, United States formed by Jack Dalrymple who is known for numerous other bands included One Man Army and Dead To Me. In 2015 ToyGuitar released In This Mess on Fat Wreck Chords.

I am sharing Human Hyenas which has a Bowie-esque twinge and sounds more 90's than 2015 and not in a bad way. It is a great tune from a great record.

Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards - Little Rude Girl

Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards was an American street punk band formed to release the songs that Lars had written that didn't fall under the Rancid banner. Their songs include subject matter consisting of drinking, fighting, drugs, sex, prostitutes, gangs, and street life.

The band members were Lars Frederiksen (vocals and lead guitar), Gordy Carbone (also credited as "Unknown Bastard") (vocals), Jason Woods, aka Big Jay Bastard, (bass), Craig Leg (rhythm guitar) and Scott Abels (also credited as "Skatty Punk Rock") (drums). While Craig did not appear on the first album, he was always been a touring member of the band.

The band was formed after Lars' friend and bandmate in Rancid, Tim Armstrong suggested writing songs about Lars and his friend Ben growing up in Campbell, California. The band was then put together as an outlet to release these songs, as well as covers of Billy Bragg's "To Have and to Have Not", Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Leaving Here" (which was also covered by Motörhead). This first album was named Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards.

Lars and Tim then got together to write the second Bastards album, Viking, this time the focus being more on Lars' recent life (with the exception of the songs "1%", "The Kids Are Quiet on Sharmon Palms" and "The Viking".) after having "got outta Campbell". The album also included cover versions of The Blasters' "Marie, Marie" and the Anti-Nowhere League's "For You". Unfortunately Lars has no intention of creating another "Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards" album.

I am going with the song "Little Rude Girl" was originally intended to be used as a Rancid song, slated to appear on an aborted split 7" with Rancid and Richmond, VA punk band Avail on Lookout! Records.

Banquets - Call It A Comeback

Banquets are a punk rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey. They deliver a collection of strong, catchy, tuneful anthems. Were it not for the obvious heart and emotion in the songs, the band might seem almost calculating in how perfectly crafted their songs are for fist pumping sing alongs in sweaty clubs. From the first notes of opener "Little Shallow," to album highlights like "Call it a Comeback" and "March 19th," Banquets deliver hook after hook after hook. The band haven't changed dramatically in the years since Top Button, Bottom Shelf but they've refined their attack, resulting in perhaps a more consistent, focused set of songs.

Singer Travis Omilian is in top form here; his distinctive vocals sound the better than ever and the production is clean and crisp, allowing every line to be heard, understood, absorbed, and shouted back at the next show. The band have stepped up the game as well: the drums sound huge and powerful, but not to the detriment of the rest of the fellas, with furious riffs driving along the songs.

This is one of the standouts for me and it is Call It A Comeback.

Slick Shoes - Whispers

Slick Shoes is an American punk rock band from Antelope Valley, California, United States. Their name comes from the hit 1985 movie, The Goonies, 'slick shoes' being one of the character Data's many gadgets. The band formed in 1994 and made their first release as a self-titled EP in 1997. They released six full-length CDs, four of them on Seattle-based Tooth & Nail Records. They also released an EP, a split with Autopilot Off and a greatest hits CD entitled The Biggest & The Best, featuring three previously unreleased songs.

The band had gone through numerous line-up changes over the years, but singer Ryan Kepke and Joe Nixon (drums) performed on every release, while Jeremiah Brown (bass) played on all except their final album, Far From Nowhere. This was their first release without Tooth and Nail Records. Far From Nowhere was released on SideOneDummy Records in the summer of 2003.

The band was particularly successful in the Christian punk scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s and toured alongside their peers, both secular and Christian (most notably bands such as Face to Face and MxPx, respectively). They also played certain legs of the Vans Warped Tour in 2003.

They have had numerous hiatuses and quiet periods, before reforming properly again in 2015. On October 24, 2019, Slick Shoes announced they were rejoining Tooth and Nail Records with "Broadcasting Live" and a new album, "Rotation & Frequency", released in September 2020.

There couldn’t have been a better single picked to announce their return than in “Whispers.” It comes seventeen years since their last studio album, and reintroduces Slick Shoes back like they never missed a double time beat. The chords are crisp and tight with speeds shifting from a cruising state to accelerated, and Ryan Kepke’s drag-along vocal cadence flows over the top in a true revitalization of their form. Fittingly, “Whispers” is the opening haymaker that catches you off-guard and welcomes you back to the early-2000s with a sucker punch impact on Rotation & Frequency.

In their original run, Slick Shoes lived on the poppier and safer side of the skate-punk fence, always peaking over at the darker edge loaded with metal-inspiration and a swift, technical focus. You never really thought of them as the stop-and-go, thrash-infused type of band in the genre, but now, decades later, they’re packing in power with slick intricacies and heavier riffs. Quick and smooth transitions are common on most of the tracks, but what’s most noticeable is the creativity behind the new intensity in their sound. It is the albums opening track and it is a ripper.

 

Lithuania - 2009

Hailing from Philadelphia, Lithuania (AKA Eric Slick and Dominic Angelella) have been knocking around for 15 or so years. That ‘Hardcore Friends’ is their debut full-length is quite remarkable, yet while it may have taken them a decade to get it done, they don’t hang around once they get started.

I am going with e neurotic ‘2009’ is even better. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s one of the best punk songs you’ll hear all year, blessed with a chorus that should be banned in public places due to its infectiousness. It’s another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. It's raw, it's catchy and it is great.

Jawbreaker - Accident Prone

Jawbreaker is an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996, and again since 2017. The band is considered to be influential to the 1990s emo genre, and has also been credited (along with California punk bands Green Day, The Offspring, Rancid and NOFX) for being part of the punk rock revival scene that decade.

I am sharing Accident Prone which is the fourth track from Jawbreaker's fourth full-length studio album Dear You. It was released on September 12, 1995. It is their only album on the major label DGC Records, and was Jawbreaker's final album before their 21-year breakup from 1996 to 2017.

Singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach underwent surgery on his vocal cords shortly before the recording of Dear You. Containing much less raspy vocals, the record had higher production values compared to the band's previous albums.

Considering this change in perception, along with the album's influence on the next wave of emo and pop-punk music, it has appeared on various best-of emo album lists by NME. Similarly, "Accident Prone" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by Vulture.

The song has a very 90's feel rock feel for me, similar to that of bands like Sunny Day Real Eastate and the like. It is such a great song, with some brilliant lyrics.

C2H60 - We Don't Care

C2H60 is the name of the formula for ethanol (which you may know is the intoxicating ingredient of many alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits). It's also the name of a 100% diy hardcore punk band from Varberg, Sweden.

They formed in 2017 and line up with Fredrik Olsson (vocals), Victor S (bass), Andreas Petersson (electric guitar) and Jonatan Bengtsson (drums). Earlier this month they released their debut ep, it's titled We Don't Care and though the physical version is still pending you can check it out on Spotify.
 
It features 6 fast and furious tracks about misanthropy, warfare & drinking. It's a 10 minute blitzkrieg of shouting, banging and bashing in which the energy levels don't dip and the pummelling doesn't ease off. As far as debuts go it's very promising indeed.

This is the title track, it's called We Don't Care...

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Travoltas - Tokyo

The Travoltas are a Dutch pop punk band from the Netherlands. With a sound that combines an energetic mix of the Beach Boys and the Ramones, the band is often referred to as 'The Beach Boys of punk rock'.

They formed in 1990 and I am sharing a track from their latest release Until We Hit The Shore which came out in 2017. Tokoyo shows off their catchy pop punk influecing with some great vocal melodies. After all of these years, they are as good as they ever were.

The Lippies - 302

The Lippies are a feminist punk rock/pop punk band from Grand Rapids, MI formed in the fall of 2014. Influenced by the '90s riot grrrl punk movement and bands like The Avengers, Tilt, and The Gits. While the band sadly broke up in April 2016, they reunited in 2018.

I am going with the second track from their 2016 self-titled album, 302. They were snapped up by Red Scare Industries for the release and whilst catchy and for the most part high tempo also deals in more serious subject matter than many of the bands who play this type of music. Tonia's punchy, urgent vocals espouse feminist lyrics that'll engage your brain as you bounce around your bedroom.

The Drowns - Wolves on the Throne

The Drowns are an Oi! band from Seattle, USA who formed in 2016. They have recorded two albums plus five EP's. Their Oi! music is influenced by classic rock and roll and their sound has influenced spanning from The Clash, Angelic Upstarts, Red London to Johnny Cash.

I am sharing their song Wolves on the Throne which is from their latest album Under Tension which was released at the start of this year. For me this is  where the band really shines. The vocals also really remind me of Pete Shelley, but that could just be me.

The Teskey Brothers - Pain And Misery

The Teskey Brothers are an Australian blues rock band from Melbourne, named after the two brothers who formed the group in 2008: Josh Teskey (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Sam Teskey (lead guitar). The band also includes Brendon Love (bass guitar) and Liam Gough (drums). In 2019 they signed with Glassnote Records and Ivy League Records. They have released two albums, Half Mile Harvest (2017) and Run Home Slow (2019). At the 2019 ARIA Music Awards, The Teskey Brothers were nominated for seven awards. They won three categories for the album, Run Home Slow, Best Group, Best Blues and Roots Album and Engineer of the Year (Sam Teskey).

Pain and Misery was the first single from the debut album 'Half Mile Harvest'.  Think Percy Sledge, Otis Redding, Wilson Picket etc the vocals are that good. They’re outstanding at what they do.