Always a pleasure and never a chore to hear bands break through the underground and continue to grow organically and get better and better. One of those bands has to be Bruise Control from the North West of England. This self-titled EP is a jagged, physical, Emotional document of modern punk rock and counter culture born of who and what they are and channelled perfectly through the music and songwriting. It can be exhilarating, joyful and angry all at the same time, but above all its the quality of the songs that these guys create that carries them through.

Bruise Control explore give zero fucks and conveys perfectly their feelings on what’s going on in the world they live in, which translates well across many cities, countries and no doubt continents. In a world where everything is for sale at a price that seems relatively cheap, and what you get for your small investment is a band who are currently on fire and making some of the best music around, that is a fact.

Opener ‘Be Like You‘ is the perfect opener, full of excitement, no easing you in more, blowing off steam with your mates and kicking the living shit out of your speakers like it’s going out of fashion. The song mourns the erosion of creative communities as cities are stripped of character and sold to the highest bidder, driven by explosive rhythms and biting urgency. A super strong opener that sets the tone perfectly.

Not wanting to be a Debbie Downer, but the sense of hopelessness in some of the subject matter is juxtaposed with the brightness of the energy spilling out of the instruments being hit. ‘Gone To Ground’, ‘If You’re Not Mine’, and ‘Spinners Mill’ channel the grinding frustration of daily life, rising rents, stretched relationships, emotional labour and the quiet guilt of struggling to stay afloat while wanting to help others. The energy and excitement captured cannot be overstated. The band are in the moment and on superb form.

The Eps final offering, ‘Jumping Ship’, feels like the release of all that pent up anxst and emotion, and the fact you’re playing this is that very release from real life you need. Recharge and go again whilst disappearing in some awesome music that we all need in life and something very hard for bands to capture, but Bruise Control seem to have hit the pocket where they just get ‘it’ and are that very release with the tunes to back it all up. Live, they manage to deliver the energy these songs demand. It can be brutal, physical and relentless at times, but boy does it feel good and perfectly displayed on side C with th epair of live tracks.

Get hold of this before they’re all gone, and you have to sell a kidney to pick one up and catch them live if you can. Oh, and the vinyl has a whopping extra five songs on side C (yeah, I know side B for Bruise and C for Control, do keep up). Less “produced”, it’s more of the same, like standing in on a live rehersal ‘Nostalgia’ is like a barking rabid dog. A couple of live tracks that give you a flavour of what they deliver live. ‘Bruise Control’ and ‘Dead On Arrival’ (both off their first EP), No More’ sounds like a row in a kebab shop at midnight, and those guitars sound sharp as fuck, it’s all about the energy and pace that delivers in spades. Then we get ‘Left Behind’, the single version, not the EP version off side B, to see us out for what might just be the independent release of the year right here, right now. Bruise Control! Bosh! ave it, buy or be left behind.

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Dinked edition with signed poster from here