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

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

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

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.

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.

Singles Club – March

Singles Club – March

Half a dozen new entries into the Single Club Jukebox this month but there might well need to be another meeting in a few weeks. It’s never about quantity but always quality and boy have we got quality tunes from far and wie this month. Check em out…

Fights – ‘Serenity Now’ (Lie Laga Records) Let’s get this straight right out of the traps. Fights ‘Serenity Now’ is an absolute raging banger! no two ways about it this is a fuckin’ blast from the raging vocals to the apocalyptic guitar solo and frantic rhythm this is the mutt’s nuts!

The scream the preceeds the solo deserves a standing ovation on its own. Fights come raging from Norway (of course they do) and ply their harcore punk tip as well as any other band I’ve heard doing this genre this side of the first Bloodclot album. Its lifted from the upcoming debut album “Scampirock” that drops April 21st. And I fuckin’ loves it.  FOLLOW FIGHTS:  Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Bad Nerves – ‘Don’t Stop’ (Suburban Records) BAD NERVES the first single from their alive in London 10″ album is the epic ‘Don’t Stop’. Bad Nerves are a 5-piece Powerpop-Rock ‘n’ Roll band from Essex. The bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand, they play ferociously fast distorted pop songs, with melodies that hook so deep, even the most skilled lobotomist would struggle to scrape them out. As a follow up to their self-titled debut album (2020), they are now releasing a 10″ live album: Alive in London. It’s short, sharp and yet another banger. Of course it’s got a top melody and a buzzsaw riff and the kinda song you can’t get out of your head for ages and the first thing you want to hear when you wake up in the morning. Get some Bad Nerves in your life they’re cool as fuck and play great Rock n Roll.

Baby Schillaci – ‘Radical’ (Self Release) There seem to be things happening in the land of song and way out west especially. Baby Schillaci are making all the right noises on the alt scene and this new video backs that up. An attention-grabbing slice of post-punk ‘Radical’ is a right old earworm burrowing in and tickling your fancy excellent and proper. From the twisting riff to the smart lyrics this is a wonderful introduction to the band and with live shows already booked and an album the future looks bright and West is indeed best. they’ve already pencilled in the next single for April and that’s a right Banger but until then this will most certainly do. Baby Schillaci is the name remember it

Ferocious Dog – ‘Too Late’ (Graphite Records) To celebrate the forthcoming 10 year anniversary of their self titled debut album, Ferocious Dog unveil a brand new video – ‘Too Late’ 2022, an updated version of live favourite. Complete with bells and whistles (quite literally) Fans old and new will love it. It’s taken from the double album that features one CD remastered whilst the other disc is a live show recorded last year in Leeds. The band plan to make up for covid with over forty dates already booked for this year tickets can be picked up Here

Chuck Norris Experiment – ‘Tryin’ (Ghost Highway Records) One of our favourite scandi rockers Chuck Norris Experiment have always released great singles and this is no exception. Like a wall of noise that only Evil Knievil could get over so it makes sense theres a helmet of his on the cover art of this banger. Scream for me Sweden – You fuckers rock and the feeling most certainly comes through 100% bonafide rockers Chuck Norris deliver yet another top tune. Get on it kids have we ever let you down on our recommendations? of course not and neither have CNE or Ghost Highway.

Bad//Dreems – ‘See You Tomorrow’ (Farmer And The Owl/BMG) Lifted from their album ‘HOO HA!’ that hits the street in May this slab of jarring punk rock down under style will have you throwing your own G’day digger parties. Uncompromising and throughly infectious once it burrows in like the finest ear worms do May can’t come quick enough. Tour buddies with Amyl and the sniffers and The Chats its just another no brainer fo rus here at Singles Club HQ. Punk as fuck and none of em give a four xxxx just get a load of the video and throw yourself around – Banger!

The Stranglers – ‘Feline’ 40th Anniversery Edition (BMG)

The Stranglers – ‘Feline’ 40th Anniversery Edition (BMG)

With the release of this their seventh album on the then-new label Epic, The Stranglers wanted to shake things up a bit, veer off on a tangent and explore new sounds and push back those punk boundaries they never felt a part of anyway.

This expanded reissue on coloured vinyl and two-disc CD is celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary I thought that this day would even be of any significance in the band’s rich tapestry of a career.

With the synthesisers and electronic drums to the fore, ‘Feline’ delved into a much more diverse career path for the band, with a more European feel to proceedings. Recently departed David Greenfield is very prominent in the mix.

So that’s the early 80s with synths and acoustic guitars over electric, a new wave was certainly in the air. The press at the time was most unkind probably because it didn’t fit into any comfortable genre of convenience and we still know that that is never good. It did, however, follow on from the absolute monster crossover hit that was ‘Golden Brown’ which might have signalled the band’s shift into new more comfortable shoes perhaps?

The opener ‘Midnight Summer Dream’ with its mellow intro and snapping 80s synth the transformation was underway. The spoken vocals of Hugh Cornwell were also supported by Jean-Jacques Burnells lead vocals on the single ‘European Female’, via the acoustic-driven ‘Small World’. Maybe looking back and the power of hindsight it’s now no big deal to hear this twisted New Wave experimental Stranglers but back in the day it was a big deal and punk rock points were most certainly removed.

Whilst still very much a Stranglers album, with the power of hindsight there are a lot of chances taken by a brave band who didn’t follow convention nor pay lip service to the press its an experiment that clearly didn’t really hamper the band at all and looking back possibly with more grown-up eyes and ears there is a bigger appreciation for this brave new world the men in black stepped into.

The initial press of ‘Feline’ had ‘Aural Sculpture Manifesto’ single sided single which is part of the second disc along with a plethora of different mixes, like ‘Savage Breast’ and ‘Pawsher’ and the reggae-infused ‘Permission’ so there are no excuses not to get the full picture of where the band were at in 1983.

If you passed this by the first time around now is the chance to play it back and have a newfound appreciation for the band spreading its creative tentacles far and wide and not just churning out the thumping bass-driven alternative rock they were known for.

order here 👉https://stranglers.tmstor.es/

Author: Dom Daley

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – ‘SEE THROUGH YOU: REREALIZED’

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – <strong>‘SEE THROUGH YOU: REREALIZED’</strong>

21 REMIXES OF SONGS FROM THE BAND’S NEW ALBUM ‘SEE THROUGH YOU’ BY TRENTEMØLLER, ANDY BELL (RIDE), SONIC BOOM, XIU XIU, ANNIE HART (AU REVOIR SIMONE), bdrmm, TV PRIEST AND MORE

RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE 2XLP SET OUT ON 22 APRIL – OUT DIGITALLY ON 02 JUNE 2023

UK + EUROPEAN TOUR IN MAY/JUNE

INCLUDING LONDON’S WIDE AWAKE FESTIVAL ON 27 MAY WITH BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD & GILLA BAND AND MORE

After a very busy 2022, which saw the release of their critically acclaimed new album ‘See Through You’, as well as the re-release of their expanded and remastered seminal album ‘Exploding Head’, NYC-noise rock iconic band A Place To Bury Strangers announce the second leg of their Destroy Into The Future European Tour, which starts today in Germany. 

This Record Store Day, the Dedstrange Rogues’ Gallery of Remix Producers joins forces with renowned Danish Electronic Composer Trentmøller, Andy Bell of legendary shoegaze band Ride (as Glok)post-punk anti-heroes Xiu Xiu, the luminescent Annie Hart of hypnotic synth trio Au Revoir Simone (Twin Peaks: the Return), psychedelic guitar genius Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum, UK Post Punks TV Priest, Tampa’s Goth band Glove, UK emerging shoegazers bdrmm and many more to tear down the walls between Oliver Ackermann’s dreams on the remix album ‘See Through You: Rerealized‘, an RSD-exclusive 2xLP set on red and blue vinyl featuring twenty-one brand-new, spicy hot takes on songs from the sixth A Place To Bury Strangers album, ‘See Through You’.

SIDE A

1. I’m Hurt – (Trentmøller Remix)

2. Hold On Tight – Wah Together Acid Mix)

3. Love Reaches Out (GIFT Remix)

4. Broken (Data Animal Remix)

5. Let’s See Each Other (Grimoose Remix)

SIDE B

6. Love Reaches Out (Xiu Xii Remix)

7. So Low (Ceremony East Coast Remix)

8. Nice Of You To Be There For Me (Annie Hart Remix)

9. My Head Is Bleeding (The Pleasure Majenta Remix)

10. Anyone But You (TV Priest Remix)

11. I Don’t Know How You Do It (bdrmm Remix)

SIDE C

12. Love Reaches Out (Sonic Boom Rerealized)

13. My Head Is Lunacy (Lunacy Remix)

14. I’m Hurt – Glok Remix

15. I Don’t Know How You Do It (Dave Harrington Remix)

SIDE D

16. Dragged In A Hole (Glove Remix)

17. I’m Hurt (Melting Rust Opera Remix)

18. Love Reaches Out (Reality Delay remix)

19. I Disappear (When You’re Near) (The Bodies Obtained Remix)

20. Let’s See Each Other (Davy Drones Remix)

21. Anyone But You (Toflang Remix)

A Place to Bury Strangers will bring their legendary live shows – a shamanistic experience that bathes listeners in glorious sound, crazed left turns, transcendent vibrations, real-time experiments, and brilliant breakthroughs – to the UK and Europe in May and June 2023 for the second leg of their Destroy Into The Future Tour. See full dates below : Buy Tickets Here

www.instagram.com/aptbs

www.facebook.com/aplacetoburystrangers

www.twitter.com/aptbs

www.aplacetoburystrangers.bandcamp.com

Desperate Fun – ‘Do With Me What You Want’ (No Front Teeth Records)

Desperate Fun – ‘Do With Me What You Want’ (No Front Teeth Records)

It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of reviewing an album on the wonderful No Front Teeth Records label and when I got notice that London noise merchants Desperate Fun were putting out an album on the label I just had to hand over my money.

This three-piece of Noisesmiths kick up a right nasty noisy racket in the same DIY mode as Cavemen with a dash of Chisel thrown in for good measure. Formed in 2017 these peeps have been raised on a steady diet of Spar lager, cheap spirits even cheaper amphetamines and a whole infusion of original 77 punk from the Brian James school of great tone and a handful of sharp riffs and a longing for Radio Birdman, MC5, The Saints and Dead Boys plus a heap of other cool sound and style instigators.

‘Gangster Woman’ kicks off the shakedown sounding like buzzsaw UK Subs its in your face, aggressive, loose (In a Stooges Kinda way) all the ingredients I was looking for. I can’t imagine there were too many takes before this was committed to tape (just as it should be) Snotty as fuck!

There are a total of seven songs on the album with a live track (‘About Your Period’) and a pair of demos to sign this bad boy off with. ‘Goodbye’ is two minutes of letting it all out Brian James style with gang vocals that are rough as fuck as it slams into ‘Hollow’ Paolo Piras on vocals is barking out his words like a cross between Rotten and Persey when they were at their most pissed off. Theres no let up in the piss and poison pouring out of the tracks as the lethal ‘You’d Better Realize’ barks and snaps out of the speakers like a rabid dog.

Theres a swagger about ‘I Wish You Were Dead’ with its extended intro its a hoot and played loud is a real joy from the distorted licks to the drum thumping all holding up the howling vocals that are sneering out of your speakers it must have been a joy for the wonderfully talented  Ben Perrier to produce. No frills no tricks no bullshit just unadulterated raw rock and fuckin roll at its finest.

Theres on for the cancel culture crew ‘Born To Wank’ and ‘Speedfreak’ isn’t what I was expecting as Desperate Fun most definately fuck with the listener on the intro before kicking right off. To be fair the live track doesn’t sound much different to the studio tracks (ok so I’m streatching it a tiny bit) but it makes me jealous that I’ve not had the chance to see them live yet and have beer and sweat thrown at me from all quarters.

All thats left to say is what a rush, and if you’re still reading then you know you should alrady be opening their bandcamp page and picking up a copy. It’ll annoy your neighbours and give you a whole heap of punk points -Buy It!

Buy Here

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Author: Dom Daley