Gleeful garage-punk out of Cajamarca, a city in the Peruvian highlands, LAS RATAPUNKS have been a band since 2014. This, their second EP – the title translates as Failure, Year of the Rat 2020 – sounds like a garage-girl version of Brazil’s OLHO SECO, circa 1983, geographical proximity no doubt playing a part in that. Motor-mouthed, machine-gun femme vocals over a crash-bash punk racket is what you get and it’s a neat ride.
Of the four tracks on offer, only La Pieza falters due to its monotonous repetition, while Los Ladrones hits the top spot with a pounding punk beat, interspersed with brilliant thrash chorus sections. Ministerio closes the show with a minute and a half of fuck you punk rock with lashings of backing vocals. The production is powerful and clear, perhaps lacking some dirt but it’s a minor niggle. All in, this is a great little EP.
LAS RATAPUNKS aren’t about to change the world but it’s a cold heart that would resist their blithe spirit. The fact that there are enthusiastic young punks bashing out this shit in garages and spaces in far-flung corners of this deathstar is truly life affirming.
Hats off to Kibou, Amok and No Front Teeth Records for banding together and getting this out on vinyl. Released August 13th 2021, so available now, here
There is a saying that there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s true, of course. Those in search of such a thing will find only reimaginings, fresh takes and inventive quirks. In punk and hardcore music, most of us are less demanding: passion, grit and enthusiasm will usually serve to light our fires. Occasionally though, one of those exciting twists will enter the fray to knock you sideways. Take a bow, Italy’s ACTIONMEN.
Incredibly, the band have been playing melodic punk for over twenty years and Supa Baba! is the follow-up to 2019’s Defections, their split with Manchester’s DEAD NECK. They take the basic elements of melodic hardcore – galloping drums, multiple harmonies, melodic guitars – and ‘math’ it up with unexpected signature changes, play around with odd stylistic forays and, most notably, introduce light, sixties-tinged vocals.
Lead track Steam Throne is the most traditional in speed and melody, with eyebrow-raising harmonies and chiming guitars lending it a startling SNUFF-meets-BYRDS quality. Things get more interesting with Magic Me, as the vocals are rocked by judicious screaming and a widdly guitar solo. Papo Repo ushers in a brace of micro-songs to tantalize our short attention spans, with distorted vocals and a few seconds of screaming before a polka-beat ending. The 46 second Communita has instant classic slapped all over it, a brisk singalong a la the criminally underrated COBRA SKULLS. Following a brief but enjoyable instrumental, Flowers arrives, grinning like a mathcore-addled Fat Wreck gibbon. All too soon, the EP concludes with Domella, at nearly four minutes the longest song of the eight. With those majestic vocals, indiscriminate tempos and a few seconds of reggae, it sounds like SIMON & GARFUNKEL fronting HI-STANDARD. Nuts, in the best possible way.
ACTIONMEN sound like they’re having the time of their lives playing crazy, charismatic music, lending it a gratifyingly natural feel. With the sonorous vocals, mathy technical sections and musical style-hopping providing the quirks, Supa Baba! reveals a band to get all fired up about. You need this.
Released by Germany’s Mudcake Records on 7″ vinyl and streaming platforms on September 24th, order here. Listen to lead song Steam Thronehere
CROCODILE GOD & NOMARK dude returns with power-pop-punk project
Scouser Mark Murphy has done time in some fine bands, most notably provincial pop punks CROCODILE GOD and the melodic punk rock of THE NOMARKS, but like so many projects taken up under lockdown, THE MEDS sees him doing it all himself.
This four track taster for a soon-to-be-released physical album on Horn & Hoof Records, sets out its stall with Cider. Two minutes of breezy, upbeat pop-punk drenched in classy song-writing, it sounds like it’s been around forever. The same goes for Options, but with added rock n’ roll licks and simple, catchy solos. You have to love that rocky Summer vibe, energized chords and ‘Oi! Oi!’ interjection of Don’t, while grower Wishing closes the EP with a steadier pace and nagging insistence.
There are love songs here but thankfully, Murphy has a knack for writing a poignant, melancholy lyric, sidestepping any potential mawkishness. I have never subscribed to the notion that punk bands shouldn’t write songs about such a complex, bewildering and fundamentally human emotion – I love you (heh) anarcho-punk, but your prints are all over this malady.
You won’t be surprised to hear that Mark is a huge Lookout! Records fan and there are trace elements of the sunnier side of that label here. Shinier than CROCODILE GOD’s skuzzy take on the genre, it jostles for space with VAPORS/STARJETS power-pop and a dash of SENSELESS THINGS, particularly in the vocals. Pop punk is something of a crowded genre but the cool little guitar parts, unexpected chords and timeless songwriting make Crest Of A Different Wave a sweltering Summer hit. All we need now is a sweltering Summer…
GRAND COLLAPSE are giants of the DIY punk scene and I’m a huge fan, so reviewing their new record felt like a daunting, yet exciting prospect. This third album from the South Wales hardcore unit has big shoes to fill in 2014’s Far from The Callous Crowd and 2017’s Along The Dew, so how to follow up two such lauded albums? For starters, the band have pulled out all the stops on peripherals – next-level production, different coloured vinyl, concise, topical lyrics and stunning John Abell woodcut art (depicting last years toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol) – so far so eye-popping.
Musically, the critical shift from previous output is how much they have upped the metal ante. There are speed metal guitar riffs littered throughout that, within a hardcore framework, tempt comparisons with Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes-era PROPAGANDHI. SLAYER riffs abound too but the overarching sound is a blend of metal and hardcore that stands comparison with the more brutal songs of EVERY TIME I DIE. I’m also a fan of ETID so that’s cool but lest we forget, GRAND COLLAPSE are fundamentally a hardcore punk band. DIY is in their DNA and that passion still burns bright, not least in the uncompromising lyrical content.
While there are plenty of surprises, you wouldn’t expect Waves to be anything but a perfect opening gambit. Punchy, fast and tight, this is metalcore in full effect, with screaming, hoarse vocals, speed metal riffage and a beauty of a breakdown. As crushing as this album undoubtedly is, there’s melody to be gleaned, albeit hidden among a cacophony of bludgeoning riffs. Listen carefully and you’ll hear it in Waves as well as during Sullen Fever‘s ‘mosh’ section – which also showcases some chest-swelling bass – and Panic Room, with it’s pulverizing intro. Elsewhere, Pontificus, Claret Thirst and Pouring Scorn are prime examples of the bands brutally efficient short blasts, wielding scathing vocals, back-ups and lightening drum fills. Amygdala attempts to calm the pulse with a steady, chugging pace but fails gloriously due to a tense tone and panicked vocal delivery. National Detective Program and Dock offer up the only ‘less metal, more hardcore’ manifestos, with galloping drums and cunning chorus bits.
Without Let Or Hindrance is where the band finally unmoor for all-out SLAYER homage. Crunching intro, thrash metal speed and riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on Reign In Blood, all present and correct, leaving the nearly five minute long title song to bring the album to a shattering close. Taking their time with an intense build-up, you can feel the bass guitar vibrating your internal organs, before the band open the throttle one last time. Empty Plinths also features their best breakdown yet with more chugging, melody-tinged riffs, shades of PROPAGANDHI again.
Lyrically, the band are mostly skewering the zeitgeist. The title track takes on the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol while making a wider point about clinging to an Empire long gone. Pathetic symbols and statues the only remaining remnants of what was always a power-hungry and racist endeavour. Without Let Or Hindrance also touches on this subject, using a phrase from the British passport as a springboard. Singer Calvin is the son of Stig (RIP), vocalist of anarcho legends ICONS OF FILTH and it’s clear that he has taken up the baton, railing against animal and human injustices, whether age-old or emerging. Calvins lyrics are mature, hard-hitting and concise and read well without music, something I find immensely satisfying.
The blending of metal and hardcore has a long history of failure, particularly within the passion-over-musicianship of the DIY punk scene. GRAND COLLAPSE understand this delicate alchemy intuitively and have the skills to pull it off. They may play around with SLAYER guitar riffs and BLACK SABBATH bass but with Empty Plinths they have produced the blueprint for a novel style of metal, layered with ruthlessly taut hardcore punk. Brutal, relentless and thought-provoking, this is a deep-dive album whose sweet treats reveal themselves with each listen. Absolutely essential.
Released on 6th August 2021 in the following options: 300 Clear with Red & Black Splatter, 300 Blue Marble, 300 Black, 100 Yellow. Pre-order here
PERSONAL PUNK 