THE HIP PRIESTS NEW SINGLE ‘JUST TO GET BY’

THE HIP PRIESTS NEW SINGLE ‘JUST TO GET BY’

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE:

The Hip Priests. Zero fucks n’ less success since 2006. The most prolific band you haven’t heard of. High energy sweaty sermons of misanthropy, disillusion (self) loathing and despair. Get ready to have your ears torn clean off.

After 16 years some bands would be taking it easy but in spite of a global pandemic, there was no let-up in The Hip Priests determination and activity. Their fifth, and by far their best full-length album – ‘Roden House Blues’ – was written, rehearsed, and recorded during this period and will be released May 5th, 2023, via The Sign Records.

Rehearsed, recorded and mixed between the numerous U.K lockdowns in Roden House, one of Nottingham’s former lace factories where the Priests have their own space, and which spawned the album title. This is no Mississippi Blues but perhaps it makes more sense than you think: Howling laments, loss, self-reflection and revelation – alongside some recurring Priests lyrical themes: negativity, nihilism, rage and revolution. After 2019’s ‘Stand for Nothing’ the band were unsure whether they’d do another album – However, global lockdown inadvertently led to a renewed passion and realisation that, like Jagger said, ‘’what can a poor boy do’ – especially when feeling more lost in a world that increasingly resembles a dumpster fire. A few dozen demos were scrutinised of which, through a stricter than ever group consensus, 14 were recorded but then honed down, razor sharp, into the tightest collection of 11 low-fat, lean and mean banging tunes that could fit into 30 minutes.

This week we get to feel another white-hot blast straight from the album’s furnace in new single ‘Just To Get By’, which finds the band in rare reflective form.

“Every day can be a struggle and happiness really is an inside job. None of us are perfect. Every day we’re pitted against each other and ourselves by a world that increasingly looks like a dumpster fire that wants to incinerate us. What can we do to just get by?

Perhaps just trying to improve, rise above and be a better person is an act of revenge nowadays. A number one single in an alternate universe with a guitar riff of such hook and beauty it was surely dropped from the Rock heavens.  

We don’t JUST do Nihilism, Negativity, Rage and Revolution you know…”

This month also sees The Hip Priests team up with Northern Ireland’s The Dangerfields for an Irish tour. Having known each other for years and toured together back in 2010, when the bands paths crossed again last year, the idea of finally sorting that long talked about Irish tour was set in stone. And so The Hip Priests first time in Ireland kicks off in Derry on Weds 22nd March followed by four other shows all across the country.


Come along for an evening (or in Dublin’s case, afternoon) of face-ripping, ball-crushing, ass-immolating rock ‘n’ roll played by a bunch of doozies far too old to know any better!
There will be loud guitars and rock poses, bad words and everything!

‘Roden House Blues’ is released May 5th via The Sign Records and available to pre-order HERE:

FIND THE HIP PRIESTS ONLINE AT:

WEBSITE /FACEBOOK / BANDCAMP / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

CATCH THE HIP PRIESTS LIVE AT THE FOLLOWING DATES:

March

Ireland (With The Dangerfields)

Wednesday 22nd Bennigans, Derry

Thursday 23rd Cellar Bar, Galway

Friday 24th Fred Zeppelin’s, Cork

Saturday 25th Hop House, Bangor

Sunday 26th Wild Duck, Dublin

April

Germany (With Lucifer Star Machine)

Thursday 27th Sonic Ballroom, Cologne

Friday 28th Freakshow, Essen

Saturday 29th Zollkantine, Bremen

Sunday 30th Indra Musikclub, Hamburg

May

UK (With Bitch Queens)

Thursday 25th The Pipeline, Brighton

Friday 26th Hope And Anchor, London

Saturday 27th Nice And Sleazy, Morecambe

Sunday 28th Old Angel, Notts

June

UK (With Zeke)

Tuesday 20th Exchange, Bristol

Wednesday 21st Parish, Huddersfield

Thursday 22nd New Cross Inn, London

September

UK

Thursday 28th Trillians, Newcastle

Friday 29th Bannermans, Edinburgh

Saturday 30th Waterloo, Blackpool

Levellers Collective – ‘Together All The Way’ (On The Fiddle)

Levellers Collective – ‘Together All The Way’ (On The Fiddle)

Following on from their 2018 release ‘We The Collective’, The Levellers have again teamed up with Hannah Miller and Ollie Austin from The Moulettes to reimagine songs from their 35-year career in a more stripped back, acoustic way.

Since that celebrated album, the ever-busy Brighton band have released a studio album (Peace), a live in the studio lockdown album (The Lockdown Sessions) and kept the band on the road with a string of live dates, festival appearances, as well as curating their own ‘Beautiful Days’ festival.

The band are currently taking the show on the road with an 18 date UK tour showcasing these new versions as well as more classics from their discography. This album also features the first official recordings of new member Dan Donelly on guitar.

Recorded live at the Levellers own Metway Studio in Brighton, and captured beautifully by producer Sean Lakeman, ‘Together All The Way’ takes a more folky approach to some classic Levellers favourites, adds their recent single ‘Down By The River ‘O’’, written by longtime collaborator Rev Hammer, and adds two brand new songs titled ‘Man O War’ and ‘Sitting In The Social’.

Anyone who has seen a Levellers acoustic show can testify that their foot-stomping, festival friendly anthems transfer well into laid back, acoustic goodness, and this album captures that vibe perfectly.

Opener ‘The Game’, from their classic ‘Levelling The Land’ album, is probably the most distinctive in terms of approach. A deconstructed version that couldn’t be further from the anthemic live favourite. Where the original relied on an urgency created by frantic fiddles, rock guitars and a rousing chorus that came on like a call to arms, this version creates a different atmosphere altogether, relying more on chilled beats, strings and melody. The fiddles are still there, understated, and more as an accompaniment to Mark Chadwick’s ever-powerful voice, the haunting backing vocals adding dramatic effect.

Next, the upbeat ‘Down By The River ‘O’’ is more in tune with classic Levellers and very similar to their take on ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’. A foot-stomping, fiddle frenzy ensues with a glorious melody guaranteed to make you swing your pint of cider as you sing-along. This captures the live feel of a Levellers show perfectly.

‘The Cholera Well’ is taken right down to almost a dub version, the instruments stripped right back yet Chadwick’s fiery vocals still maintain the passion and fire that is prevalent in the original.

The title track ‘Together All The Way’ doesn’t stray too far from the path, but the acoustic guitars, pumping bass line and that glorious fiddle refrain make this classic Levellers song sound…classic again. Even the absence of that cool harmonica riff isn’t really missed.

‘Wake The World’ and ‘Wheels’ both come from that period when the band lost their way a bit in the early 2000’s and both benefit from the new arrangements, but I wouldn’t call either of them highlights.

With Chadwick’s vocals replacing Simon Friend’s gruff delivery and stabbing strings replacing his dampened guitar riff, ‘Battle Of The Beanfield’ could not sound any different. But with mournful cello and fiddle sweeps, it still has that urgency and still carries the same stark message from all those years ago. This is an album highlight.

The two new songs sandwich a sweet reworking of the classic ‘Sell Out’. The reflective ‘Man O War’ with its beautiful vocal harmonies, Blackbird-like picked acoustic guitars and Celtic vibes, is a song you could say is stereotypical of a band in the twilight years of their career, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.

The same goes for album closer and fellow newbie ‘Sitting In The Social’. A powerful, rousing tune very similar in feel to ‘Subvert’ with tribal beats, handclaps and gang vocal harmonies. The stripped-back approach works well with this new song and the dramatic delivery makes it a killer closer for the album. Tenpole Tudor and Dexy’s are not two names I ever thought of referencing in respect to The Levellers but, there you go, I said it.

There is a good ebb and flow to this album. Breathing new life into old tunes and mixing up new ideas that show, while they may well have mellowed with age, they can still knock out a protest song or two and let’s face it, the Levellers social commentary is as relevant today as it was back during the 90’s.

A perfect companion to ‘We The Collective’ and a testament to the fact that whatever the production and arrangement, the Levellers have a fine set of tunes in their arsenal.

Buy Here

Author: Ben Hughes

The Bar Stool Preachers- ‘Above The Static’ (Pure Noise Records)

The Bar Stool Preachers- ‘Above The Static’ (Pure Noise Records)

“Try something, try something different.” So sings Tom McFaull lead singer of the Bar Stool Preachers during the intro to ‘Going Forward’ the final track on the band’s all-new album, ‘Above The Static’, and its almost like he’s breaking the musical fourth wall in doing so, because this the band’s third studio record (and first for new record label Pure Noise Records) is exactly that, different, in fact, it’s very different indeed.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. It’s been five (yup FIVE) years since the band released their sophomore record ‘Grazie Governo’ and began leaping rungs on the ladder of musical infamy as they started to climb their way to headliner status, building on the bedrock of their excellent 2016 debut ‘Blatant Propaganda’ they were seemingly willing to play anywhere and everywhere and in the process where developing a global fanbase/community quite like no other I’d witnessed for such a still (relatively) young band. It was in late 2019 that the band took me into their confidence and let me hear the demos for their soon-to-be-recorded third album, the intention for me (having been a follower of the band ever since the frontman told me all about the concept of his soon to be formed band outside a boozer one rainy night in Amsterdam back in 2014!!!!) to give some hopefully constructive feedback on the 22 songs they had written up to that point.

All I have left from that online listening party is my fast scribbled note on each track and some distant memories of what might have been, because just around the corner was of course a global pandemic the likes of which we hope will never see again, and something that along the way whilst potentially changing the shape of the music industry forever also cost The Bar Stool Preachers their (at the time) yet to be signed major record deal that was to be home for that all-new record.

A couple of those tracks did get released during the pandemic via the ‘Soundtrack To Your Apocalypse’ charity 12” picture disc (with all profits going to the NHS here in the UK), but the rest were seemingly lost forever.

That is until the band decided in April 2021 to get together with producer Ben Hannah, the guys setting up camp at The Waterloo (which was still closed at the time due to Covid restrictions) a three-story pub/venue in Blackpool, to begin the process of reshaping some of those songs for what would be the making of their third album, one they might even have to self-release. However, when they listened to ‘Flatlined’ (which was originally called ‘Heart Attack’ Preacher trivia fans), the first song they committed to tape there, it dawned on them that it sounded like the finished product, so why not just go for bloody broke.

Here, finally getting my chance to sit down and absorb the dozen tracks that the band decided to include on what would become known as ‘Above The Static’ what strikes me from the off is just how much of a leap sonically the now seven piece (frontman McFaull along with mainstays bassist Bungle, keyboardist Alex Hay and guitarist Gibbs, plus drummer Alex ‘Whibbs’ Whibley-Conway are now joined by Jaya The Cat guitarist Karl Smith and most recently Ray Waters on third guitar) have made since I initially heard those original demos.  This record contains all the excitement of a Wembley cup final and thanks to the stellar tunes none of the disappointment of seeing your team lose, although in saying that one set of fans might still be in for a bit of a penalty shoot-out kind of a shock to the system when they get to hear it. That’s because the ska-punk foundation over which the band have traditionally written their tunes, this time around is very much in the background. That’s not to say it’s not there, in fact, it’s very much to the fore on already live favourite ‘Don’t Die Today’ and underpins the skanking verses of ‘All Turned Blue’ before that tune sends its heavenly chorus off into the night sky. It’s just that this time around the Preacher’s influence gene pool has extended much wider than on their previous two records, like the name drop of The Streets during the mid-song spoken word/rapped segment of ‘Flatlined’ or the doo-wop introduction to the awesome ‘Love To Love’. Things I certainly didn’t recall hearing on the demos for these songs.  

Recent single ‘Doorstep’ (complete with its surreal video) is perhaps the yardstick by which I will always measure ‘Above The Static’. I’ll admit that on first hearing this song I wasn’t that overly impressed, and I longed for another “knees up” tune from my old mates from down Brighton-way, but in the context of the whole record it’s a glorious 2 minute 36-second singalong, albeit one for the next generation of music lovers, and if I can get excited about Kid Kapichi then the Bar Stool Preachers adding a touch of big production to their sound is all good in my book. Something that can also be said about the more overly rapped main vocal behind the state of the nation address that is ‘Never Gonna Happen’. We need bands as angry as this in our lives right now we really do.

Elsewhere, there’s the almost Cock Sparrer-esque ‘Laptop’  (I mean c’mon that’s always going to be possible isn’t it given who Tom’s father is) which builds on the likes of ‘Raced Through Berlin’ and ‘8.6 Days (All The Broken Hearts)’ from its predecessor, whilst ‘Prince Of Nothing’ and ‘Two Dog Night’ sit much more in the ‘Doorstep’ camp, both songs thundering along on huge singalong choruses with a brutal metallic edge to the guitars. Something that is certainly a world away from the band’s early material, just like the tender piano ballad that is ‘Lighthouse Keeper’ (this track certainly never sounded like this at demo stage) and the track that started this review, the epic album closer ‘Going Forward’. This track, from its gentle acoustic introduction through to its sublime chorus, complete with an almost Bacharach like key change that will melt even the hardest of heart is absolute genius, and indeed the sound of a band going somewhere very important indeed.

The Preachers have hit paydirt with ‘Above The Static’, it’s a magnificent celebration of British songwriting at its absolute best, now it’s over to you to go buy your copy when the album is released on 31st March 2023 (presale links are below folks) and make this record the HUGE hit it deserves to be. Plus get your musical family together and go see the band on their extensive UK tour when it kicks off in Bristol on April 19th. You’ll probably know most of the album off by heart by then too, because it’s simply one of the most exceptional records you’ll hear in 2023.

Buy Here

Author: Johnny Hayward

The band will be doing a headline tour around the UK to celebrate the release of the album. Full dates below and tickets on sale now – HERE

See The Bar Stool Preachers at the following dates:
 9th April – The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool
19th April – Lost Horizon Arts Centre & Bar, Bristol
20th April – The Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
21st April – Corporation, Sheffield
26th April – The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
27th April – Waterfront Studio, Norwich
28th April – The Engine Shed, Lincoln
29th April – Green Door Store, Brighton
30th April – Underworld, London
3rd May – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
5th May – Bannerman’s, Edinburgh
6th May – Riverside Newcastle, Newcastle

Heartbeeps – ‘Cum together’ (Slovenly Records)

Heartbeeps – ‘Cum together’ (Slovenly Records)

Sacre farkin’ bleu, Brother and sisters, What a glorious album cover this is. Certainly grabbed my attention and made me want to investigate further. Cum Together? tell me more… RIGHT NOW! Bordeaux, France’s HEARTBEEPS have emerged from the ashes of TV KILLERS (Estrus Records / Dead Beat Records), for a punked-up orgy of noise with current and ex-members of Swindlers, Wild Zeros and Holeshots, and this their debut “Cum Together” LP is a fuckin’ hoot, 100 mph of joyful, reckless punk rock. Like a whirlwind of clashing guitars, and drums. It’s frantic garage-based punk rock n roll. Straight out of the bag marked The Saints, Pagans, DMZ, MC5, Radio Birdman, Dead Moon and more than a dash of Cavemen and of course those early Damned records.

From the opening few bars, you get the impression that Heartbeeps are here for a good time not a long time and with their amps dialled in to 11 there isn’t time to fuck about its crash bang wallop and hey ho let’s go!

It’s the kind of music that got Elvis and Jerry Lee into trouble back in the day. Hip-shaking sweaty rock n roll and from the lead track ‘Criminals’ you know just what’s going down. ‘Sick In Your Head’ is a runaway train heading for the buffers but who ever cared about that? Guitars being rinsed for all they’re worth and you can feel the exhaustion from the drummer’s snare as it rings out. Great opener and a signal of intent.

That’s pretty much the MO of ‘Cum Together’ it’s a rush of blood to the head crash, Bang Wallop! To be fair the minute I saw that artwork I knew I had to hear what was committed to wax because those faces tell a thousand stories and all of them great. ‘Aint No Crime’ is a more measured, slower beast but with a cool riff and a solo that could cut through steel. Hold still kids because you should buckle up for we’re off again running red lights with ‘Nightmare’ and thats wiped out with the grooving ‘Never Stop’ that had me thinking of Garage Rock royalty – Gunfire Dance, from the hip-shaking tambourine through the howling good time vocals this is top notch.

There is the belligerent and snotty ‘I Don’t Care’ but you could pick out any of the songs for praise because this is an absolute Banger of a record from start to finish. ‘Sake Blast’ rings out the chords in true Brian James style before signing the record off with the wonderfully titled ‘Trust No One And Fuck Everybody’, drop the mic and burn the studio to the ground it’s only fair right?

Heartbeeps have smashed out a rip-snorting Garage Punk and Roll Banger and shame on you if you don’t let this light up your life. Ok, Turn it up and let’s take it from the top one more time 1-2-3-4 Go!

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

Pair Of Sweet Things release Bo Diddley cover

Pair Of Sweet Things release Bo Diddley cover

As a young rocker Sam Hariss (The Sweet Things) heard Izzy Stradlin doing “Crackin’ Up” and it stuck with him like an earworm.  He later discovered Izzy himself was doing a cover of “Crackin’ Up” by Bo Diddley (1959).  So he decided to get together with Tobin Dale (The Sweet Things), head into the studio and do their own version.  To round out the song, they enlisted an army of stars to play on their nod to Bo Diddley.

Appearances including
Taime Down (Faster Pussycat)
Danny Nordahl (Faster Pussycat, Motochrist, The Throbs)
Ricky Vodka (Motochrist)
Joey Huffman (Georgia Satellites, Drivin’N’Cryin, Soul Asylum)
Charlie Paxson (has recorded with James Blunt, Ricky Lee Jones and many more)

Spotify Link

The Shunkos, Only Fools And Corpses / Harbour Way – Afan Ales & Fine Wines, Port Talbot (04.03.23)

The Shunkos, Only Fools And Corpses / Harbour Way – Afan Ales & Fine Wines, Port Talbot (04.03.23)

Punk Rock at the Offie part ii. Oh what a night Russ Abbott sang but he couldn’t possibly have had The St Davids Showdown at Afan Ales & Fine Wines could he? By eleven O’Clock it might have resembled one of Russ’ parties – bodies everywhere inside and out. soaking wet bodies with beaming smiles and bear hugs. This was DIY punk rock at its finest, most primal and the kids were having a ball.

Heavy Groovers Harbour Way got proceedings off to a flier with their Helmet heavy style riff-a-drama. Warming up the audience is no mean feat on nights like this just relax sit back and let go. Sadly for them, the sound was like a hangover from the 80s Russ Abbotts madhouse – all snare drum and no vocals, lost in a wall of noise and feedback. It was tough to distinguish what was what, other than a barking groove – mixed with howling feedback that was threatening these boys’ efforts to kick out the jams. If you want to know what they played then good luck because by the end it they were sweaty, breathless and out of tune. I imagine none of the band could hear what the other was doing or playing and were running on memory which was a pity but nobody seemed detered or put off – things were just warming up.

By the time Only Fools And Corpses took to the floor people were indeed loosening up and the band jumped right in with their short, but sweet set of Hardcore, alternative, and post-punk. Mixing the likes of Idles with old-school Fugazi and Therapy? & a whole lot in between. They dished up songs off their, soon-to-be-released album, ‘Pissant’ and clicked into the vibe of what was happening around them. They used the energy that resulted in them going down a storm. The sound was a little better but still, the vocal was just about audible now either that or the Cider was taking effect and I wasn’t noticing anymore. This south Wales three-piece were coping well trying to tame the savage beast that was the PA but the overall feeling was incredible. I look forward to hearing more from these gents, They did well loosening up the already baying throng of drunken loons.

There is a growing local scene happening in South Wales where the kids are starting bands and playing at every available venue and it’s good to see. To be fair Afan Ales is a fuckin off license. Little more than a shop on a high street that’s crammed to bursting with people jostling for position in what was now a swirling pit of bodies loving life and loving some noisy punk rock.

To top off this evening, The Shunkos got down to business, again, frontman Mal was struggling to cut through with his vocals but he didn’t care in his St Davids Day costume of tight head prop he tried his best to compare and lead the avalanche of noise from the band who to be fair are getting tighter and more tuned in with each show it didn’t matter because this was what local punk rock should sound and look like – no poseurs, no dick swinging, no my bands better than yours it was all for one and one for all and everyone up for a good time.

With this being their home turf it was This St Davids’s Day Massacre that set the hills alive with the sound of The Shunkos. Bodies & Beer everywhere, it was a short but sweet set that had the band beating out their best performance of their short-lived lives, ‘Meal Deal’, ‘Chippy Tea’ the thunderous ‘Uni Mate’ and some of their other recorded tunes being punched out and ending with the anthemic ‘Beer & Gear’, they came they saw, they conquered.

Dare I suggest, next time they come back for the hattrick of Rock at the offie performances they get a PA big enough to cope with the power they want to push out – the PA they bloodywell deserved. Tonight the good people of Port Talbot wanted to hear Harbour Way, Only Fools & Corpses and The Shunkos who ultimatly delivered the goods The real deal or the meal deal you decide bacause this time next year boyos we could all be millionaires.

Top night out everything you want in a DIY punk Show. Cheap Beer, Great music, Great venue, and Great happy people. result!

Punk Rock is alive and kicking and I can’t wait for ‘Punk at the Offie III’ it has to happen – Bosh! ave’ it!

Author: Dom Daley

Shunkos

Only Fools & Corpses

Harbour Way

Two For Tuesday

Two For Tuesday

Get your deck out and get this pumping out of your boombox. Only Fools And Corpses get their decks out for the video of ‘SYLS II’ which gets its release next week (17th) and a review this week on RPM. Facebook

The second new video is from Bristol based noise bringers THE ST PIERRE SNAKE INVASION and ‘Submechano’ the first single off their new album ‘Galore’. It’s been quite a while since we crossed paths with the band bu ta new album will remedy that.

Grade 2/Clobber/Fatal Blow/Split Dogs – Newport, The Cab – 4th March 2023

Grade 2/Clobber/Fatal Blow/Split Dogs – Newport, The Cab – 4<sup>th</sup> March 2023

Situated just a stone’s throw from the city’s railway station, The Cab is Newport’s newest live music venue. Started as a community project it provides a whole lot more for the locals other than live music though, for example, the venue also acts as a warm hub/drop in providing hot meals for those needing them, something I loudly applaud them for doing. Tonight though it’s all about the second night of Grade 2’s tour in support of their recently released ‘Self Titled’ album, and what’s more it’s a sold-out show too.

Playing their second gig of the day it’s Bristol punks Split Dogs who I walk in on mid set (apologies, as I once again struggled to find a nearby parking space so ended up half way across town) and on finding a decent vantage spot in the already steaming hot venue it’s like I’m immediately transported back in time to when TJs was the go-to place in the local area. The atmosphere is friendly, the bar prices are sensible, and perhaps most importantly of all the bands are not about to be fleeced 25% of their merch money at the end of the night. Anyway, I digress (slightly) because Split Dogs are the kind of band that live off their takings on the merch table, and tonight whilst their shirts will set you back just £10, sadly there’s no music to physically buy as what I experience tonight would most certainly have had me parting with my hard earned for a CD or maybe even a piece of vinyl. The mix of gritty female vocals over hard edged old school punk rock reminding me at times of our old US buddies Chesty Malone & The Slice ‘Em Ups and in ‘Tear Down The House’ they have a mighty fine anthem in the making. A terrific start to the night.

Next up tonight are local oi!/streetpunks Fatal Blow, and the established name that they are on the local punk scene they immediately get the crowd moving en masse (in fact I suspect there’s quite a few in here tonight who’ve come to see Fatal Blow first and foremost). Proudly anti-fascist and working class, the likes of ‘Spirit of 69’ and ‘Tent City Reality’ are always going to resonate with anyone with a moral backbone and when they are delivered with the gusto of a Welsh Cock Sparrer what’s not to love? Fatal Blow are proudly old school and bloody brilliant at what they do, full stop.

If Fatal Blow are the keepers of the punk rock flame of old, then London combo (and Grade 2 tour support) Clobber are the punk rock inferno of the future. Singer Chris and his bandmates delivering short, sharp, blasts of hardcore punk that immediately see the younger members of the audience busting out their finest dancefloor moves. With The Cab all about community, Clobber are the venue’s natural house band as their songs deal head-on with subjects like toxic masculinity, capitalism, and the importance of society in the modern day, and you really aren’t going to argue with the ‘Hardcore Hive Mind’ when they are in full flow. Very much for fans of bands like The Chisel or indeed the old-school original lineup of Gallows. I’ll be looking out for what Clobber do next following this run of 17 shows as hopefully they’ll then get to capitalise on the upcoming release of their debut EP via their freshly inked deal with Venn Records (and there I was mentioning early Gallows).  Come ‘n’ ‘ave a go if you think you’re hard enough.

2023 marks the tenth anniversary of Grade 2 as a band, with the trio celebrating their special birthday by touring the arse off their recently released ‘Self Titled’ album (you can read the RPM review HERE), a record that will surely feature highly on everyone’s Albums of the Year lists come the year’s end. Sid, Jacob and Jack are not about to rest of their major label laurels though with headline club shows scheduled right across the UK and Ireland, and tonight is their very first time playing in Wales. It’s also the first time I’ve seen Grade 2 play a headline set, so the mix of old and new tunes is an instant recipe for me (along with around another hundred people) to instantly look to lose our voices singing along to the likes of ‘Brassic’ and ‘Under The Streelight’ from their awesome new record seamlessly blending with the likes of ‘Hearts Of Gold’, ‘Graveyard Island’ and ‘Bowling Green Lane’ to provide the perfect soundtrack to any discerning punk rocker’s night out.  I’ll admit that this time around in this extended headline format the band do remind me more than just a little of ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’ era Rancid than they have when I’ve seen them previously, and their feet are still well and truly planted on the ground. As evidenced when bassist/singer Sid Ryan mentions towards the end of the night that two dates into their six-week tour he’s already “feeling it”, he’s immediately put in his place with local scene legend and Drunken Marksman frontman Pig telling him to “quit moaning and get on with it”, Sid quick as a flash, joking in reply, that the job as his tour motivational coach is now Pig’s. Priceless stuff indeed.

As their first live date in Wales, I’m sure their night in The Cab will long be etched into the Grade 2 memory banks, and for all the right reasons too. That’s because Grade 2 are not only a great live band but also a great bunch of lads too, if you get the chance to see them on this tour or their upcoming UK summer shows with Rancid and The Bronx, do not hesitate to snap up the ticket.

Clobber and Split Dogs pics by Johnny Hayward

Thanks to Kevin “Scottie” Hunt for the use of his Fatal Blow and Grade 2 pics. You can catch Scottie’s excellent ‘This Ain’t No Disco Radio Show’ every Tuesday from 8 pm to 10 pm on Wolfman Radio by scanning the QR code below or going to http://www.wolfmanradio.co.uk/

Author: Johnny Hayward

Craggy Collyde sign to Mai Lei Bel for release new album + tour dates

<strong>Craggy Collyde sign to Mai Lei Bel for release new album + tour dates</strong>

The British/Slovak band Craggy Collyde have joined the Austrian record company Mai Lei Bel and will be lighting up 2023 with a brand-new album and spring tour. The trio are based primarily in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and spent much of 2022 taking their live show to clubs and festivals across central Europe. They are currently working on their debut long-player, which will be released early this year. The album will follow on from their most recent material – the 2020 six-track mini-album Wrapped up in Ribbons.

Mixing their love of various creative influences, Craggy Collyde explore the boundaries of alternative rock and roll music whilst always retaining an uncompromising and intense energy.

You can catch them on these dates, with more being added soon:

4 May – Vienna, Coco Bar

5 May – Bratislava, Garáže pod Prístavným mostom

9 May – Brno, Pub u Dvou Přátel

10 May – Prague, Modrá Vopice

27 May – Banská Bystrica, Bosorka

6 Oct – Berlin, Wild at Heart

Facebook Bandcamp

Bad Nerves – ‘Alive In London’ (Suburban Records)

Bad Nerves – ‘Alive In London’ (Suburban Records)

Whilst we wait for the follow up of the london five pieces debut album they’ve decided to pacify us with a hot pink 10″ recording of their hottest gig ever. Recorded live in London last year its eight slices of the hottest power poppin punk rock you could wish to hear. Sure its got a pocketful of The Briefs and The Strokes whilst The Ramones course through the bands DNA along with a whole host of other Garage rock bands that quite frankly we all should have flowing round our bloodstreams its clear from this recording that Bad Nerves do and it oozes out of every pour wheather they like it or not. the pace of these tunes dictates that it should have been a hot and sweaty show they were lifted from it bloodywell sounds like it. Capturing the energy every band recording a live record wants to capture (but quite often doesn’t) it got the coolness of Hanoi all those wasted years on a sped up gettaway car cassete deck and It’s Alive meets the trasiness of The Cramps as the band absolutely blitz through the set its breathtaking. So good.

We all still dream of attending one of those blissfully joyous shows where the audience and the band are as one and just let go and everything clicks in right. Well from the artwork to the set list and the bootleg feel of the tracks as Bad Nerves just smash through the set it all feels just right.