Robyn Writes

Live: Crucial Section/Geriatric Unit/King of Pigs, The Firefly Worcester, 25/9/13

Old. It’s the new young (some say). Like some deranged sequel to the 80’s classic Cocoon, this collective paroxysm of undimmed rage from a couple of bands who really should know better by now was something to behold. And that was just the undercard… The main event (Crucial Section) had travelled halfway around the globe to play above this pub in Worcestershire. And deserve their own special attention. More on that later.

King of Pigs are as simple and as direct a proposition as their name implies. “We’ve got three songs left, so reckon that’ll be about five minutes” says the vocalist as the set claw-hammered towards a close. And that’s about the length of it – fast, nuts-tight gobbets of saw-edged noise that left nothing at the door. Get in, do the thing, get out. Having just got back from playing across Europe with some truly horrific Croatian Hard / Grind core outfits, this was probably a quiet day at the office for these boys. But a gig’s a gig – and they played hard.

Geriatric Unit have a combined age greater than the occupants of a GP’s waiting room on a wet Thursday morning. But the intensity of their collective and individual existential fury belies the fact that they have been plying this trade in various bands – not least Heresy and X-Rays – for well over quarter of a century. “Fookin hell…” goaded their grizzled front guy after the second track or so, “back in the day we’d be four bars in and people would be going fookin mental…” This challenge was naturally enthusiastically taken up. Surprising it is how much heat and bodily fluids a relatively small number of people can generate in a relatively small space.

There was even a bit of politics. Railing in between songs against societal corrosion by social media, rentier capitalist PR and mass delusion – this lot gave out everything you’d kind of want from old school H-core. Remember Napalm Death’s Scum era? Or anything from the good god almighty Dead Kennedys (remember them too, people?) This scene was always about counterculture, thinking for yourself and speaking out – and these boys haven’t forgotten that. Power to your thick, arthritic elbows, gents. Rage on.

And while all this was kicking off, a crew of unassuming and extremely polite Japanese dudes in bandanas and skate wear were quietly limbering up in the background… Crucial Section take this seriously – and purvey some of the finest, sharpest and most spirited skatecore punk you will ever hear. Being of around the right age to be doing this daft sort of thing in the first place, the sheer wall of energy these guys threw out could knock out the power grid in a medium-sized city. There was a whole lot of leaping into mid-air. The lead guitarist repeatedly charged the punters, axe first. The drummer played hard and angry. The line between band and audience pretty much blurred away to nothing, and most people in the room had a bit of a dance. Neither audience nor the band fully understood what was going on – cue flurries of sign language between the band and the promoters on basic things like set start times and the encore. But the music – razor sharp edged, and struck through with an honesty and a poke that makes many current UK bands – young or old – look slovenly and insincere by comparison – blasted clear across any language or cultural barriers… and unified the whole damn room in a sweaty mass of rough love.

Or something. Domo Arigato, lads. I hope you smashed Bristol as thoroughly as you did this one.

Review: Reservoir – I Heard You As I Walked Away

Before emo was hijacked by a swarm of walking fringes spurting MTV friendly pap, emo was a curious and awfully passionate sub-genre. Intense and consuming, it required a substantial amount of emotional investment – donning a pair of black skinny jeans and smattering of ill-advised piercings just wasn’t enough. Channelling nineties emo and post-hardcore into a mixing bowl of fraught emotionality, Reservoir are certainly not a band susceptible to bouts of crippling self-awareness. Hearts are worn firmly upon sleeves, emotional vitriol bleeds from every orifice, uninhibited passion leaks from every pore.

The line between faintly melodic aural chaos and pure cataclysmic meltdown is straddled repeatedly to consistently brilliant effect, the band threatening to collapse in on itself in a fit of angst-ridden rage. Whilst these moments of potential implosion may initially grab attention like a full on slap to the face, the majority of the record consists of a more measured and grounded emo that centres on distortion-free guitars and some rather sumptuous jangly chord progressions. Mid album instrumental ‘I Heard You As I Walked Away’ is arguably as affecting in its delicate melodic nature as any of the band’s more explosive tendencies.

Vocally, Reservoir are all over the gaff. Often several members will be wailing in unison in what isn’t exactly the most tuneful vocal performance ever committed to tape, yet the inner tumult behind their cries and pained vocals is all too palpable and easily recognisable to those familiar with the trappings of the original, ‘pure’ brand of emo.
On opener ‘Before I Leave’, Reservoir exhibit two settings: fragile ultra-sensitive American Football types and freak out explosive catharsis. It’s a startling juxtaposition – emotional frailty and intense despair co-existing, delicate emo giving way to a terrific furore.

Violins appear for the downbeat ‘Samantha’, gifting their despondent and forlorn tones in a somewhat cliché manner to a song that is already inexorably gloomy. ‘Bedfellow’ and ‘Sleeping Away The Storm’ are two mesmerising five minute masterpieces bearing similar structural and aural makeup that exist as the standout tracks. Originating in melodic arpeggios, the songs sway and shift from fragile verse to exultant chorus, building alternatively to an exhilarating and cataclysmic crescendo on ‘Sleeping Away The Storm’ and a twinkling coda on ‘Bedfellows’.

Reservoir’s brand of alternately chaotic and delicate emo may have been purported in several guises by many a troupe of ultra-sensitive Rites Of Spring worshipers, yet these pensive lads take on the emo archetype is for the most part a efficacious exercise. I Heard You As I Walked Away is a studious exploration of the everlasting loud/quiet dynamic technique and a tumultuous foray into tortured emotion. In short, an original emo kid’s wet dream.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: You’ll Live – Lost. Forgotten. Abandoned. Buried. [EP]

US screamo outfit You’ll Live are back on the scene with their new four track EP Lost. Forgotten. Abandoned. Buried.. To be released on the 7th of October, the US three-piece recorded and mastered the EP while touring across the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.

The four tracks each make up part of the EP’s name, showing how it is meant to be listened to as a complete package, a unified production, rather than a mere collection of songs. First track, ‘Lost.’, is a short and sharp assault. Clocking in below the two minute mark, it still has time to overflow with raw emotion, provided primarily by the raspy vocals of … and pushed further by the driving guitars.

In this sense, the second and third tracks, ‘Forgotten.’ and ‘Abandoned.’, continue in a similar vein. The similarity resonates back through their previous catalogue as well, with the exception of the vocals which have deepened into more of a growl than the more shriek-y sound on debut EP Things Would Change If You Heard This and their full length Above The Weather. However the screamed vocals and lightly distorted guitars are still features of each release.

Final track ‘Buried.’ is the odd one out on the EP, with its 7 minute run time showcasing the slowest and most epic sound from You’ll Live to date. These seven minutes, about the same length as the rest of the EP combined, show the real progression and maturing of the band. It is as if you’re transported into the studio with the three of them, just listening to them jam and losing yourself in the music. However, what the EP gains in its methodical and contemplative style, it risks losing in its appeal to first time listeners, with far fewer riffs that tend to stick in the listener’s head and draw fans in.

3 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Will Tun And The Wasters/MC Amalgam – Unite and Charge

Will Tun And The Wasters, that folk punk lot from Reading, have decided to do something that is wholly different. A complete departure from their outstanding Time Is A Bastard EP, the band have gone down the route of reggae-ska-hiphop with French MC Amalgam along for the ride. It’s disorienting, completely off the wall and pretty much totally unexpected. But it’s so damn good.

There’s still plenty of accordion embedded throughout, but now, it’s tangled up in tasty beats and full on rapping. Opener ‘Raggamuffin MC’ is wonderfully catchy, self-deprecating and completely charming. Even as MC Amalgam comes in swinging with a totally different language, it still feels stupidly fun and blends in perfectly – and watch out for that ska breakdown towards the end! ‘Red Is Not Dead’ starts off as a faced paced ska jam with some sweet folky picking and wonderfully Parisian feeling accordion. After the fun-filled ‘Ragamuffin MC’, it shows that the boys are still as politically driven as ever and is guaranteed to get you moving. ‘Slice Slice Slice’ is a bouncing trip-hop inspired affair with some banging references to sandwiches and cheese. It’s utterly mental, but lacks no attention to detail. It also marks the last of the new material for the EP, as the rest is filled with remixes of both old tracks, like ‘Community’, the first Wasters song to feature MC Amalgam, and of ‘Raggamuffin MC’ and ‘Red Is Not Dead’. The ‘Community’ remix, courtesy of Cryzo-P, stands out amongst the rest. A little bit dubsteppy, a little bit 8-bit and with some brilliant Autotune to boot, it’s a completely fresh take onto the otherwise punk-as-fuck anthem.

However, there’s just too many remixes, and although they’re all fun in their own right (the Slamboree remix of ‘Raggamuffin MC’ feels like it could be in LittleBigPlanet), you do feel a little overwhelmed by the end of it, especially with two mixes of Red Is Not Dead right next to each other. Nevertheless, the new tracks are so fantastic that you’ll barely notice. You can always count on the Wasters to do something completely off the wall, and this time, they’ve certainly delivered.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Laughing In The Face Of – The Governor [EP]

Puns can be challenging. Used to work with a guy who made it his mission in life to purvey and promote the art of punnism in every possible context. Emails, meetings, server names. It never ended. Used to have to fight the daily urge to drag him by the hair into the gents and drown him. This lot also like a bit of that sort of thing. All four track titles are plays on words, with some kind of cryptic fish and chip shop conceit going on.

However.

This metallic, thrashy little Birmingham outfit, also known as Laughing In The Face Of, have also hidden four tight as a gnat’s proverbial, pacey, old school HC-spirited tracks under a smokescreen of these knowingly dumb song titles. In all, this is a bit of a DIY belter. I can completely forgive song titles like “Cod Stewart” and “There’s Something Fishy About this Plaice” when a band nails out simple-as-fook bounce-along classic ‘core fare like this. Think Jailcell Recipes – only a lot younger and prettier – nudging into Gorilla Biscuits territory. With the odd gang chorus and guitar squeal, crisp lyrical content and clean delivery, this is nine minutes of shot in the arm positivism that gets in, does its business with a minimum of fuss and just says bye bye. And leaves. Job being done.

Nice.

4 out of 5 high fives!