For me Bomber Music is one of the finest independent record
labels in the country. Started in 2002 as a hobby they have worked closely with
some of the very best bands in the underground scene to help release and
distribute their music. On the 12th of January they released a
compilation album named It’s A Bomber showcasing some of the very best bands
who have released music under the Bomber Music name. I just had to review it.
The opening track comes from American/Dutch reggae punks
Jaya The Cat. The song Here Comes The Drums from their International Sound Of
Hedonism is a real crowd pleaser. It’s instantly recognisable intro always
brings a smile to my face and like seeming every Jaya The Cat song it’s
incredibly catchy. Expect to be singing the outro’s na na na, na na na na na na
na na na for days to come. Keighley’s skacore heroes Random Hand contribute the
second song, Anger Management from the album Inhale/Exhale. The opening blasts
of Robin Leitch’s trombone will get you tapping your toes before his distinctively
Northern vocals sing about keeping you’re cool when you really want to lose
your temper. This really is an anthem and features some great harmonies and
moments for crowd participation. The track itself is played at quite a slow
tempo before building towards a massive breakdown and the song gets heavy. The Roughneck Riot provide some Celtic punk rock with the track Ignorance Is Easy
from the album This Is Our Day. Incorporating a mandolin, banjo and accordion to
a more traditional punk rock sound, Ignorance Is Easy is a song about looking
for answers yourself and not just believing what you are told. The music world
needs bands like The Roughneck Riot who are happy to stand up and fight for
what they believe in. The Celtic punk sound is continued by Readings Smokey Bastard. The song Wasteland from the album Tales From The Wasteland is an
upbeat sounding song with a more than a feel of Flogging Molly to it. It’s
great fun and if you can’t enjoy this band you need to stop and take a look at yourself.
I’ve still not had the opportunity to see Smokey Bastard live yet but they are
at the top of my must see list.
Versus You are the first band on the compilation that I wasn’t
already familiar with. A little research and I’ve discovered that they are a
punk band from Luxembourg. Their song When It All Goes Down features on their
album Moving On. The sure is pure melodic punk rock, featuring catchy and
thoughtful lyrics, gang vocals and harmonies and some first class guitar work.
The next song comes from Sorry And The Sinatras, who are another band I’m not
overly familiar with. The song Valencia from the EP The Kings Of Shambles
Street and is a straight up punk rock jam. Starting up with some great bass and
drum work before two guitars join the fun and then front man Scott Sorry’s
vocal takes the song to another level. Fantastic song from a band I will
definitely be checking out some more. Punk rock and roll with horns is the name
of the game for the next band, one of my all time favourites – Jesse James. The
song Wake Up features on the bands final album, The Assassination Of Jesse
James. The horns at the beginning of Wake Up are signature to the band’s sound
but that’s not to say that they carry the song. The level of musicianship throughout
the song is first class. I really enjoyed how the song seemingly stops toward
about a third of the way through the song before building up slowly to one last
massive chorus. Having played a handful of shows last year, their first since 2007
I am hoping for some more soon. Legends among the UK underground punk scene.
From some legends to one of the bright lights in the current
underground scene, London’s Great Cynics. The song Back To Hackney was one of
many highlights from 2013s Like I Belong. Mixing elements of punk, pop and
indie music with fantastic song writing and musicianship Great Cynics are a
band who should be on everyone’s radar. Up next is a punk rock band from Brazil
named End Of Pipe. Punk rock from Brazil! Who knew? The song Jack is from the
release Keep Running Clearly influenced by 90s punk such as Samiam and Hot
Water Music. The Skints are far and away the biggest success story to come out
of the reggae and ska scene. The song Up Against The Wall from 2012s excellent
Part and Parcel is a great showcase of what The Skints are all about. Mixing
reggae, dub and a bit of hip hop it’s easy to see why these four Londoners are
getting bigger and bigger. This year see’s the band release their third full
length album FM and it will no doubt push The Skints on to even more well
deserved success. The sound of Jamaica is continued by the best band ever to
come out of my home town Colchester, it’s of course the New Town Kings. The
song Luna Rosa comes from 2014s EP Pull Up and Rewind, the first release featuring
new vocalist Dabs. As a group of musicians I don’t think any band can hold a
candle to these guys and since the arrival of Dabs the song writing has got up
from an already high level.
The Smoking Hearts turn up the volume on the next song,
Seatbelts from the album Victory! This is high octane, 100mph, in your face
punk rock. Featuring a huge amount of gang vocals which makes the song feel
like you’re at a massive, if slightly aggressive punk rock party. The Smoking
Hearts don’t hold back on anything here, you just know they’ve put ounce of
energy and passion they have in this track and every other song they have
written. The Forum Walters are one of the most interesting bands I have heard
in a long while. Formed in Austria in 2006 they play fun, upbeat punk rock and
roll. The song Rightswing features a split 7” with Jaya The Cat. Another band I
really wat to see live! When I began listening to the final track by 7 Day Conspiracy I felt like I was at a carnival. Then it quickly became a punk rock
carnival (probably the best kind of carnival). I had to listen to some more of
their songs and discovered they don’t all sound like this. 7 Day Conspiracy flick
between all manner on punk rock genres and are another fantastically unique
act. The song Berkshire Hunt features on a split with Goober Patrol.
It’s A Bomber is a fantastic celebration of some of the
fantastic music they have put out over the years. Long may it continue.
You can buy it here for a great price: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-Bomber-Various-artists/dp/B00P7Y6W4W
You can buy it here for a great price: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-Bomber-Various-artists/dp/B00P7Y6W4W
Now listen to You Will Never Want For Love by Floating Bear
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