Robyn Writes

Will Tun and the Wasters – Time Is A Bastard [EP]

Will Tun and the Wasters are a bunch of folk-punk reprobates from Reading, ready to set the world on fire with their new EP. Time Is A Bastard is a frenetic five-track offering from the band and is bound to set them apart as one of the most individual bands coming out of the folk-punk scene today. First track, Community, is a politically charged promise to stand by… well, everyone, and is rampant with fantastic solos and a truly fantastic ska-based sound with the inclusion of DJ Amalgam. The EP as a whole showcases a variety which is extremely hard to achieve in folk-punk and although influences from bands like Gogol Bordello and World/Inferno Friendship Society are clear, Will Tun and the Wasters have a distinctly English voice while sticking true to their ideals of unity, as is shown best in ending track, Cracks In The Wall, a call to arms against fascism, homophobia and racism.

Lyrically, the band range from politics to romance to fantastical jaunts on a ship. While at times, the band are extremely current and relevant, nods towards the Irish ballad (and some great tin whistle) in songs such as Four Leaf Chambers and Gypsy Road keep the EP from becoming a total ranting assault. And surely, every song on the release is bound to get everyone up and dancing with a sense of reckless abandon. The EP displays a vast show of confidence in their own abilities which is rightly deserved and their musical swagger is sure to impress even the most sceptical of punks. Vocalist Will, for who the band is named, spits out his tales with a wonderful rasp that should usually only be reserved for the saltiest of sea dogs (or Tim Armstrong) while being backed up beautifully by “The Donkey Jacketed Demon on the Tin Whistle”, according to Facebook. Every song is catchy, exciting and perfect for a hot summer’s day. With a truly ambitious vision combined with a DIY spirit, it’s only a matter of time before Will Tun and the Wasters are the new prophets of the punk rock scene.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

Artist Spotlight: Even Flowers Kill

Even Flowers Kill is a Coventry based post-hardcore band, with many members originally coming from different bands in the local scene. Sat in front of me is their 2009 EP, Smile For The Camera and a more recent split with Birmingham lot The Fall, The Rise which was released in February this year. I’m going to crack open both and find out what EFK are all about.

Smile For The Camera is an assault. Opening track, ‘Ruth Has Information That Will Destroy You’ is deceptive (apparently like the Ruth it’s named for) – it starts off slowly and atmospherically before the monitor flatlines and some crushing guitars and vocals enter in. Probably the least heavy and most melodic song on the EP, it lulls you into a false sense of security before the rest destroy all of your preconceptions. An electronic presence is first felt in this track, but it doesn’t overwhelm here or in the rest of the EP. Nevertheless, the electronics add a completely new and interesting element to the sound. This carries through especially to the next track, ‘I Love You Kerry McKenna, Please Come Home (And Bring The Kids) with some incredible clean vocals and a sneaky electronic breakdown before an intense middle section. There’s a clear The Fall Of Troy influence in the guitar tone and frenetic riffs throughout the EP and it’s probably the most noticeable in this track, but the spoken word sections and great musicianship stop it from straying into copycat territory.

The third track, ‘Dick Wang Is A Dirty Stinking Liar (What Octopus)’ is full of cheeky Goonies references, from its title to some great gang cries along the lines of “HEY YOU GUYS!” Despite cranking the amps up to 11 for the most part, the song ends with an incredible melodic sequence – for those who think that the ‘mathcore’ tendencies might be a bit inaccessible, this proves it all wrong. While it’s obvious that EFK can play well, this is proof that they can certainly write well. Track number four, ‘Machiavelli vs. The Little Prince’ is again, deceptive. It starts off calm with a slight jazzy tone before moving right into a punishing chugging riff and some seriously throaty growls. The breakdown towards the middle of this is absolutely incredible and one of the most intense moments on the EP. Final track, ‘I Am Jack’s Smirking Revenge’ holds true to its name and is utterly relentless the whole way through. The screams towards the end are utterly harrowing and EFK take all the risks in this, interjecting moments with harmonica and messing about with some crazy time signatures. It all pays off though to create an increasingly intense experience. In a way, the inclusion of a bonus track seems off – the EP itself is well rounded without it. The bonus track itself is a great song, with the same kind of melodic thread running through it as the rest of the songs but perhaps should have been included amongst the rest as opposed to being put at the end.

The split with The Fall, The Rise is equally as impressive as the EP. The Fall, The Rise’s half of the split counterbalances EFK’s perfectly – it’s far less heavy but equally as well crafted and is reminiscent of At The Drive In’s softer moment with some Foo Fighters thrown in for good measure. The second track, ‘A Selfish Man’, in particular has a great chorus and some catchy moments in the bridge. Perfect driving music. Nevertheless, EFK’s half of the split has more of an edge and just takes the spotlight. ‘Song For Brad Svoboda’ is the most atmospheric song on offer here, opening with some dark Western style guitars and a heartfelt spoken word goodbye to a good friend. The sudden shift from this to pounding guitars and gut-wrenching screams is incredible, fully demonstrating the pain of grief that the song is desperate to portray alongside an honest and touching eulogy. ‘By The Jaw Of St Jerome’ is the most technically impressive song from the EFK collection as they pull out all the stops in an aggressive attack on your ears. ‘Play For The Angels’ features yet another incredible breakdown and rounds off an excellent collection of tracks. Only one complaint – the whole EP has been mixed far too quietly!

Even Flowers Kill are an impressive band. If you like your music to be challenging yet melodic, aggressive yet heartfelt and beautifully written to boot, then EFK are the band for you. Perfect for both the darkest depths of winter and the height of summer, the two releases here are more than relevant right now. Pick it up if you’re a fan of good music.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Check out the split between The Fall, The Rise and Even Flowers Kill at Damage Limitation Records

The Skints – Part and Parcel

The Skints are back with their second, Pledgemusic funded album, Part and Parcel. The band have been firmly establishing themselves as one of the most exciting live acts that the UK ska scene has to offer, but is Part and Parcel an album for the fans to be proud of?

The short answer is a resounding yes. Part and Parcel is quite simply, magnificent. Opening track, Rise Up, is surprisingly downbeat for the first track upon first listen but provides a call to arms for their fans alongside a ridiculously catchy reggae beat. Right from the start, an element of experimentation begins to show as a clear hip-hop influence starts to rear its head, which is weaves its way throughout the album and creates a really unique sound. The Skints have always stood apart from their contemporaries but Part and Parcel truly celebrates those differences as well as showcasing some great songwriting and musicianship. While the album is significantly less influenced by punk than previous offerings, this is by no means a weakness and the band present an intricately crafted record that is no doubt will become one of the most important albums of the year.

One of the most noticeable traits throughout is the soulful vocals from Josh Water Rudge and Marcia Richards in contrast to their impressive rapping. The track that probably showcases this most is Ratatat, which is potentially one of the best songs The Skints have ever written. Ever. Vocals aside, Ratatat has an insanely dirty bassline and is guaranteed to tear the dancefloor apart. While Part and Parcel is, at times, fairly understated, almost every track makes you take notice. Marcia makes a much greater appearance in this album and takes their sound up a level, from some subtle vocals in Up Against The Wall Riddim to a much wider range of instruments penetrating through. It’s not to say that this wasn’t there before, but on Part and Parcel, it’s much more apparent and as a result, helps in crafting a much more impressive sound.

In this album, more so than perhaps their previous work, The Skints show themselves as true storytellers and the pictures they paint of lives and London throughout the album are incomparable. There’s cheeky romance in Lay You Down, poverty and struggle in Live East Die Young and self-doubt and relationship breakdowns in Sunny Sunny, as well as a number of other significant topics. Part and Parcel is simply so relevant – every song has a different message and while those messages are completely current, they’re also timeless.

Part and Parcel is absolutely sublime and a fantastic example of what can be achieved through Pledgemusic. Do yourself a favour and don’t miss out on what could well prove to be the best album of the year.

5 out of 5 high fives!

Stuart Newman – various tracks

Stuart Newman’s online discography is somewhat extensive and all free to download. Describing himself as “mellow-rock”, Newman is based in Brighton and currently working on his second album. I dive into the back catalogue to see what I can find.

With a lot of material on offer, I decided to start with latest single, Living In Another Dimension. Instantly, it begins with a beautifully layered vocal effect on top of some simple acoustic guitar. The lyrics are wonderfully haunting and lamenting, but the track really hammers home with the chorus and a swift switch to a heavier electric style. Continuing into the outro, the result is a key injection of energy which takes the track to another level. It reminds me of early Feeder, but more confident and secure. A strong, slightly tongue in cheek, commentary on our current era, Living In Another Dimension presented a good sign of what was to come.

The demo collection, if nothing else, is excellently produced. It’s really debateable as to how ‘mellow’ Newman’s music is, but this is in no way a bad thing – each track has so much life and is so excellently crafted. Through the demos collection, Newman moves from relentless guitar tracks, like Temperature Rising to slow burning, melancholic offerings with ease. Head Hurts, in particular, demonstrates a certain macabre touch as he analyses the everyday with ethereal tones. The Decade, with its country influence, has a swagger like no other track in the collection is my favourite of the whole collection; a truly heartfelt dedication to the 60s.

The first album, Single But Defective, was therefore a little bit strange to go back to. Far more acoustically driven than the rest of the tracks, it still features a lot of the experimentation that the later tracks have and it’s clear to see the trajectory that Newman has taken when it comes to songwriting. The heavier elements included in the later tracks work really well and add a completely new dimension to Newman’s sound, but the predominately acoustic tracks of the first record are no less effective. For a start, these aren’t stripped down, simple songs. Tracks like Cry Wolf have a lot of humour, aided by the sarcastic spoken samples but in Oil, the samples give a chilling tale of American exploitation over a dark, low key loop. However, some of the more minimalist tracks are the most impressive. Summer Messin’ is a little reminiscent of Elliott Smith in its pretty but down beat chord structure but with much more tongue in cheek lyrics and If You Say captures doubt and frustration over some sublime picking. There are far more downbeat tracks in this early material and admittedly, several tracks start to overlap into each other, but there’s still a lot to fall in love with in this early collection.

I was quietly impressed with Stuart Newman. A truly skilled songwriter with a certain sense of humanity, his guitar driven anthems were a refreshing injection into my Sunday afternoon. Check out the whole discography at www.stuartnewmanmusic.com.

Why you should see New Found Glory before you die

I did begin to sit down and write a review of the Kerrang! Tour from a week or so ago. Every band that night was spectacular in one way or another – While She Sleeps are new, brash and have a confidence well beyond their field of experience; letlive. released my favourite album of last year, performed a Black Flag cover I didn’t hate (I have a serious issue with people doing Black Flag covers, it’s like trying to rewrite The Lord’s Prayer or something) and are one of the most exciting bands I’ve seen live in a long, long time; The Blackout had us in the palm of their hand once again and strutted through a great set, making the venue explode with the squeals of teenage girls and the shouts of boys who are no longer ashamed to like them. And then there were New Found Glory.

This is where I got stuck. I just can’t review a New Found Glory show. It feels far too obvious to me. It begins to get way too personal. So I decided I couldn’t review them and scrapped what I’d written previously. However, I will tell you why you should go see New Found Glory before you die. It just might be a bit more unconventional than I had planned.

The main reason that I can’t review an NFG show is because I can’t help but break into the personal anecdote. I have seen New Found Glory every year of my life since I was 13 except in 2005. From 2004 onwards, I have missed one tour, but I’ve seen them at almost every festival appearance they’ve made in the UK since that date. Seeing New Found Glory every year has near become ritual for me. I don’t need to sit down and learn all the words any more, even for the new albums, because the songs are so goddamn catchy – in a couple of listens, I’m set. That 2004 date was my second gig when I was just 13. In December 2006, they played on my birthday. But even when it wasn’t necessarily a “special” event, every NFG gig has always seemed momentous; they always come at certain important points of my life. Even the K! tour the other week struck gold, in the final year of my undergraduate life and in the last term where I’m allowed any fun. NFG have been there as I’ve grown up. Like so many others, they’ve led me through my awkward teenage years and shaped me into the person I’ve become.

A New Found Glory set is almost like therapy for me. I know (mostly) what’s coming up, and it’s one of the very few occasions that I will just completely lose my shit and go for it. The other week, I was surrounded by fifteen year old kids who barely recognised the older songs to hardened NFG veterans bellowing every word. Nobody stood still. Every time I see them, it is exactly the same as any other time – they come on, they play an incredible set, we all get worn out and sweaty, we lose our voices, we laugh and smile as we see the years of friendship that have tied this band together and we look at our friends and we realise that we would rather be nowhere else. I ended up separated from my friends the other night, but every now and again, I’d see a flash of them in the crowd or hear Mike yelling out the words (because he is the loudest person I know) and know they were having just as good a time as I was. Nobody had to get pulled out – even though there were crowd surfers – and nobody looked like they were having a bad time. It’s impossible to not smile at all during a New Found Glory set, it really is. Even if you’re not a pop-punk fan, the atmosphere is infectious.

Pop-punk is not dead. New Found Glory have proven that. They even named a tour after it. It is getting watered down though. In the early 2000s, don’t forget that we were previously swarmed by pop-punk bands . You couldn’t walk around the corner without being assaulted by a four-chord structure, the bass turned up and that drumline. Maybe I’m not being fair to the new kids on the block, but back then, it all seemed far catchier and while it wasn’t innovative, it didn’t all quite swim together. You could tell the difference between Mest, Good Charlotte and Millencolin. Fall Out Boy walked tall and proud in front of the whole lot. You can’t quite do the same today. Therefore, it’s worth going to see the masters. Forget your All Time Lows, who themselves take their name from New Found Glory, your You Me At Sixes and your We Are The In Crowds. See New Found Glory and you’ll see why pop-punk isn’t dead. You’ll see what pop-punk should be and what it can be – every NFG album has a different sound and a different feel to it. They’re much better live than Fall Out Boy ever were. They’ve still got the punk sensibilities they started with, even if they’ve grown up a bit. And rest assured, they will always, always play ‘My Friends Over You’. That’s worth it alone.