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Review: Still Bust – 77 For You (57 For Me) [EP]

It’s been a bit of a tough time for Still Bust recently. Just before heading into the studio to record this EP, long time drummer Sam Piper left the band. For a band that have pretty much been a whole for ten years, that’s a tough pill to swallow. However, they carried on, got four tracks laid down and stepped up to the plate. The result is a fast, frenetic and compelling record, spitting out modern-life vitriol as far as the eye can see to a backing of mathy-as-fuck hardcore.

It took about ten years for Still Bust to record a proper album. A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not) was absolutely cracking – we reviewed it when it came out last year. However, it was a sprawling affair in places, distracted in others. It was also a lot more cut-and-dry punk rock. 77 For You (57 For Me) shows that Still Bust have learned from past endeavours and instead, they’re back as a lean, mean, guitar-thrashing machine. The production’s a lot slicker, Matty’s vocals are a lot more vicious, and there’s a lot of tasty breakdowns. For a four-track EP, there’s some beastly tracks, like record closer ‘Twenty Foot (Broken Foot)’ which clocks in at 6:19, finishing on a round of blast beats that Immortal might be proud of. No track is under three minutes, which is a far cry from the last record, but it works in Still Bust’s favour – no track is easily forgettable.

Opener ‘It’s Your Fault And You’re Stupid (Kind Regards Barbaros Icoglu)’ shows that they haven’t lost their penchant for ridiculous song titles. It’s also got one of my favourite ‘call and response’ vocal bits in any song ever, stupid time signatures and a misleading ending – you think it’s all over, but it comes right back in for another assault. ‘TV On After Breakfast (Would You Like Your Haircut Today)’ is a damning attack on social media, with a fantastic chorus and wicked half-time bits threaded throughout. ‘I’ve Never Been More Happy To Have A Hypo (However This Could Mean I Have Irreparable Knee Damage)’ has a lot more melody than the previous songs, but is just as technically proficient, with a rock and roll riff between the first and second verses that’ll make you want to punch the air victoriously (protip: don’t do this while driving. You will hit the roof of your car. It will hurt) with joy. ‘Twenty Foot (Broken Foot)’ is a great closer – Matty’s pained screams across a slow, echoing backing are utterly absorbing and wholly devastating. It’s a really powerful ending to an ultimately brilliant record.

So Still Bust have come out swinging, and they’ve done it splendidly. Hardcore record of the year from the Gloucestershire boys? It just might be so.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

Still Bust – A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not)

A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not) is the debut full length from Gloucester hardcore punk lot Still Bust. Following their debut EP Pile O’ Knives, a full length record seems like it’s been a long time coming. Upon first listen, it’s not actually that hard to believe that Still Bust have been sitting on this one for about a decade. Debut full lengths, usually released far earlier within a band’s life cycle, are normally like the beginning of a long-term romantic relationship; it’s all still new and exciting and you still go and make out with each other in public places, but there’s nothing solid behind it. As time goes on, that begins to wane and you get the ‘sophomore slump’, that second record that sounds like you’re really trying but really, you’re together because it’s comfortable. No, the ridiculously long titled A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not) really sounds more like that third record, when you accept that you’re stuck with each other, but you know how to push each other’s buttons, and actually, it’s pretty great.

It starts out like every great hardcore record should – with a bang. ‘If You Don’t Like Video Games (You Probably Like Other Things)’ is bombastic but despite its frenzied nature, still has plenty of melody punctuating throughout before leading into a catastrophically discordant breakdown. There’s more gold to come, and Still Bust’s rough and ready approach is tempered with an intelligent, philosophical and sometimes downright mental approach to their lyrics, like in ‘Physicist At A Funeral (Godless Thoughts On Death)’. There’s enough gang vocals to satisfy the tuffest hardcore fan and plenty of frenetic riffs and wacky time signatures for the more discerning listener – tracks like ‘This Box Is For Standing On (But Look At How Big It Is!) have it all. There’s gloriously irreverent flashbacks to a simpler era in ‘Ball (Sac Magique)’, a 45 second blast of hardcore madness. It ends like every great hardcore record should as well. ‘Be Optimistic (Said The Mayfly)’ is a dramatic statement of intent, fading out into crackling static and a killer breakdown. If you weren’t into the record nine tracks deep, by the tenth, you’d be clamouring for more.

There’s times when it feels like Still Bust are apologising for something though. Self-deprecating song titles comparing themselves to Rise Against aside, there’s moments in the album that undermine their otherwise brilliant approach. Tracks like ‘First World (Band) Problems’ go on for far too long and prevent the band from achieving a clarity and fury that they’re more than capable of. However, even moments that fall flat, like the extended vocal-only tirade in ‘Physicist At A Funeral’ that doesn’t know quite when to finish, are brave attempts at transcending the stereotypical punk formula. Lest we forget, fortune favours the bold. For every tiny failure, there’s at least two massive triumphs. Quite simply, A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not) was worth the wait.

4 out of 5 high fives!