Inner Terrestrials - Tales of Terror CD

Some of my first delvings in to punk music were via the punk/ska/dub scene which has always been bubbling just under the surface of the UK’s musical landscape, and which seemed to finally explode in the early years of the millennium when I was just discovering music in any real manner. Often the music we cherish, overplay and inflict on others when we are young palls in later years, but it seems that with bands such as the Filaments, Capdown, Inner Terrestrials etc., the fire stays stoked and withstands repeated listens over the years – and in the case of Inner T at least, the creative spark is still there, with their third full length studio album released in the last month and following hot on the heels of the first release by side project the Firepit Collective. In comparison to the previous records, with the new release the band seemed to have dropped some of their folk influences in favour of a more straightforward ska/punk/hardcore approach. Perhaps this is due to the previously mentioned Firepit Collective acting as an outlet for any folk leanings, but this is a noticeably harder, heavier record. This is not so much a pro or con but rather a mild shift in direction, because this album contains both the musical competency and passionate social anger of any of their other releases. Jay’s rough but tuneful vocals overly a musical landscape which can switch from a wall of metallic guitars and drums to chugging ska in an instant, and the lyrics are heavily focussed on current issues without being hectoring or pessimistic. Highlights include; ‘Just Say Neigh’, a song musing the dangers of the mind altering substances which sometime seem to be more a part of the scene than the music; ‘Run Tings’, which juxtaposes an upbeat ska tune with lyrics focusing on those in power who tread on those underneath them; ‘Heavens Wrath’, an exhortation to fight ‘with creativity’ (which seems to me a pretty good summation of what punk music is about); and ‘Dark Scar’, which is probably the darkest ska music has sounded since a bunch of NY squatters released ‘No Gods, No Managers’. These are just the standouts on my first listen, I can see this being a record in which more stands out with repeated hearings. It heartens me to see this band still going strong – and if you’re reading this, I’m assuming that your musical preferences mean that you should hear this too.

5/5

Punk Rock Hootenanny All Dayer @ The Brudenell Social Club

Working a full day shift on a sun drenched Saturday is never going to be fun, with the phantom smells of cider and BBQ smoke mere hallucinations caused by boredom and a deficiency of vitamin D. Of course, this can only be made worse by the presence of a punk rock all dayer in your local pub; as such, this is a fairly incomplete review of the gig as a whole, organised by Punks Against Prejudice and billed as an ‘All day punk rock hootenanny’. Fortunately I still managed to finish work in time to catch some sun and some bands, arriving at the Brudenell just as Jock Sparra took to the stage and immediately bearing witness to a move from the singer which is known amongst knowledgeable circles as the ‘reverse mangina’…in a kilt and all. As beautiful a sight as this was, the gig room was still sweltering from the UV onslaught outside, so after listening to a couple of Cock Sparrer covers played by Scottish people, which seemed well executed and fun, we headed back out to sit and drink in the car park. Heading back inside as the sun started to dip behind the pubs façade I think we were all fairly hyped to see China Shop Bull, whose schizophrenic musical blender is criminally underrated. Seriously, in what other situation are you likely to hear a ska/punk/hip hop cover of the Dead Kennedys’ ‘Holiday in Cambodia’? They were one of the few bands that I actually saw get the crowd moving during what was a fairly subdued gig crowd-wise, and definitely one of the high points of the evening. After a short break during which I attempted to catch up with the others, who had around 24 hours extra drinking time on me, we saw West Yorkshire favourites Acid Drop. This band get massive kudos in my book for stylistically emulating possibly one of the most unfashionable music genres possible (90s Californian style skate punk), not giving two flying shits, and playing well crafted, memorable tunes in the bargain. Whatever your preconceptions might be, check them out.

      Some last minute line-up changes meant that the place of Leatherface was taken by H.D.Q., whose 80s melodic UKHC sounded tight and fresh. At least, it did from what I heard from the other room – apparently my age is catching up with me, as my eardrums needed a break from the Brudenell’s impressively heavy sound. I recovered in time to head back in to see Neck, despite losing gig companions due to earlier excess while I had been at work. I was still fairly excited to see Neck, a band I hadn’t seen for years but whom I remember being pretty much the definition of the craic, and I was not disappointed. They blasted through a set of select cuts from their records interspersed with frenetic instrumental tracks which had the by know sparse crowd jumping/stumbling around in a drunken approximation of dancing…psycho-fucking-ceilidh indeed! It was impossible to be too disappointed by the lack of Leatherface when they were replaced by a headliner this good, but some people clearly had not considered this – the biggest downside to this gig was the poor turn-out. I’ve always thought that the scene in Leeds was oddly apathetic when it came to turning out to see bands, and unfortunately last Saturday seemed to support my fears. Despite this, it was still a top notch gig, the beer flowed, the sun shone, the music made my ears bleed, it was almost a perfect punk rock fairytale. Here’s to the next hootenanny, fingers crossed that people will pull their fingers out and get to these events; it’s your scene, fucking do something with it!

Snuff @ The Cockpit, Leeds

The omens were not looking good for last Saturday night, where I was seeing Snuff at the Cockpit in Leeds. Despite having wanted to see them play for as long as I can remember but never quite managing it, the stoke was dampened somewhat by the fact that it was at the Cockpit (one of my least favourite venues in the city) with support from two bands whose music was, with the best will in the world, not my cup of emo. Add in an afternoon nightmare trying to sort Megabus changing in my lunch break, impending man flu and spending the time between work and gig being shouted at by pissed up roiders who took umbrage at me having a skateboard, and I was not in the best of the moods by the time I got to the Cockpit. Luckily I only caught the last few minutes of the second support band, and it was warm enough to lurk outside while the DJ played the same Dead Kennedys song about 4 times (in between the Slipknot and Goldfinger, because it was a punk rock show and you have to know your audience as a DJ. Fucking cretin.) The vibes were turning nasty, and I didn’t know why – so thank fuck for Snuff, who took to the stage and gave two fingers to my negative attitude by moulding there frenetic, melodic punk rock into one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. When I tried to drum up a crew for this gig, I was met with a baffled reaction far more than I expected to be; the only reason I can think of being that the use of the term ‘pop punk’ from certain quarters puts people off from even trying. These people are mongoloids, as Snuff are now one of my favourite live bands, with the same energy I imagine they had 20 years ago, and an odd kind of shambolic tightness to their set (if that contradiction makes any sense). Highlights included ‘Chocs Away’, ‘Do Nothing’, ‘Now You Don’t Remember’, and their cover of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ as performed by the drunkest looking people in the crowd…musical genius. They bought the night to a close with ‘Arsehole’, also with heavy crowd participation. I have a feeling this encore was going to be followed by ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads’, but unfortunately those lovely Cockpit staff decided that one more song would completely ruin the evenings schedule, I’m assuming which mostly included a soul destroying club night full of first year students listening to Blink 182 and trying to cop off with each other. In the words of some philosopher cunt, if you stare too long at the Cockpit, the Cockpit will stare back at you. Reading this back I’ve realised how livid I sound – I would like to point out that I couldn’t be too livid, because Snuff were really, really good. Go see ‘em fools!

4/5

Jono

Slowcoaches - We're So Heavy EP

Living in Leeds seems to be a definite plus for someone reviewing new music, due to what seems to be a constant stream of new musical talent. True, it can seem oddly transient - due to a revolving door of students bringing their musical influences and abilities in, and taking them away just as suddenly - but scratch the surface and there’s a thriving scene of both long time Yorkshire heads, and people who turned up years ago and never left. Slowcoaches form part of this bedrock group of artists who have been lurking around the Hyde Park area for a few years, and their first EP ‘We’re So Heavy’ fuses scuzzy stoner rock with the nervy melodic hardcore of Husker Du. With 6 tracks at just under 15 minutes, it grabs attention from the start with the title tracks slow, booming guitar giving way to fast paced punk rock with a riff that will stick in your head for days. This lays the blueprint for the rest of the record; fuzzy hardcore punk with an oddly pop sensibility when it comes to a tune that makes this one of the most interesting records I’ve heard in a while. Highlights include the title track, ‘Get Ripped’ and ‘Gimme Fuck Ups’. A solid and exciting first release, I’m looking forward to seeing them live!

5/5

Jono

Autonomads/Black Star Dub Collective - From Rusholme With Dub

Unless you've been living under a large Manchester shaped rock of late, you will have heard of at least one of these excellent bands on the long-awaited (well, in my case anyway) split from Autonomads and Black Star Dub Collective. And let me tell you, the excellently titled 'From Rusholme With Dub' does not disappoint in the slightest.

The split kicks off with 5 tracks from Autonomads, the opening track 'Best of Both' gives a taste of savage riffs combined with ska-dub that fans of the band will recognise instantly, with a splash of saxophone too. Each track by the band gives as good as the one before it did, and it seems as the album goes on the band get angrier with the general state of things (and rightly so, might I add). My personal favourite track is probably 'Fight Dem Back', but the whole thing is so fucking good it changes each time I listen to it. You just need to buy, steal, download or get a copy of this.

Black Star Dub Collective are, erm...a collective of various folk from Manchester-based bands, including the former singer of the much missed Harijan. Their tracks on the split are longer, but don't let that put you off...their tracks are too filled with politically charged dub with a slightly more reggae vibe to it. Their excellent track 'Leviathan' also features on the crackin new comp from TNS Records (grab a copy of that too while you're at it). I still can't pick a favourite track from their 5 on the split, I think I'm probably going to get my arse into gear and get to the north to see them play a show, although hopefully with enough coverage they'll be able to play south too!

Well done Pumpkin Records and TNS Records, another amazing release! (I was so excited about getting this I accidentally ordered 2 copies...)

5/5

Kathy

X-Ray Cat Trio - Hail, Hail EP

Leeds’ finest psychobilly/rockabilly band X Ray Cat Trio have finally gotten round this month to putting out an EP after a long time spent gaining a strong fan base by dint of their frantic live performances – there’s a good chance if you frequent Leeds shows, that you’ll have seen them in a cramped  dive bar or sweatpit venue. As such, they have a fairly extensive back catalogue to choose from, but this record is short, sweet and none the worse for it – four tracks of surf tinged psychobilly and rock and roll that tips its hat to early Tiger Army (before the turn to sub-Morrissey drivel) alongside older stars in the rockabilly canon. The title track (which some of you may have heard accompanying one of the montages on the recent DVD that came with Sidewalk magazine) opens the record, with a big shout-a-long chorus and a breakneck pace, before slowing down towards the end into a chugging reprise which punctuates the song nicely. The rest of the EP does nothing to let up, and each song continues with well-crafted harmonies, talented musicianship and a swaggering, whiskey redolent air that makes you wish you were sitting in a bar with a shot and beer chaser. A strong opening shot from these lads, looking forward to hearing more!

4/5

Jono

Filaments, Jakal, Stand Out Riot and Skets @ Purple Turtle, 14/01/2012

For anyone who never got the chance to see The Filaments first time round, the fact that they're back with new material and as noisy as ever is excellent news. After seeing them with Capdown at the end of last year, this was their first London gig of 2012 and it was sold out as well. With the prospect of £2.50 pints in the air, things could only end well!

Of course, due to London transport being generally shite on weekends, we missed the Skets and most of Stand Out Riot. We caught a bit of the latter's set though, and they're definitely a band worth checking out. I'd wanted to get there to see their set but never mind. They've been described as "like watching Zebrahead if they were fronted by Spongebob", or Gogol Bordello meets Streetlight Manifesto. The Gogol Bordello comparisons are probably simply due to the fact there's a violin thrown into the mix, but due to the lack of violins in ska punk these days I've deemed that it can only be a good thing.

Jakal were up next and the place was getting fuller by the second. If anyone listened to the Shot in the Foot comp we put out a while back then you'll know that Jakal's track 'Junkyard' was on there. They didn't play that but played a good mix of punk-reggae tracks from their repertoire. They seemed to get a bit of a mixed reaction from the crowd which was a shame, although that could be down to the bouncers chucking someone out for lighting up a spliff and generally throwing their weight around. I liked their set though, so that's all that matters for the purpose of this review. They're regulars on the London gig scene so no doubt they'll pop up in another review soon.

Finally the Filaments took to the stage. They'd promised a mix of old and new songs and that's exactly what we got. The sound was spot on for them, and opening with BPC just set the tone for the rest of the set! They ripped through most of What's Next and Skulls and Trombones with the same amount if not more aggression than ever before. I don't remember a lot of the titles to their new tracks but they fit into the set perfectly and, apart from a couple of false starts, seemed as though they'd played them for years. One new track that especially stood out for me was 'Statistic' which will presumably be on their new album. The only track missing from their set was Bastard Coppers, but when all was said and done they played all you needed to jump around, spill your beer, and sing at the top of your lungs. They also brought up the point that we still need to fight the facists - check the link at the bottom of the review.

All in all an excellent night and hopefully with the release of a new album plenty more Filaments shows to come this year!

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/01/491006.html