Album Review: The Anachronist's Cookbook by Will Tun & The Wasters

Sometimes awesome bands and fantastic albums come right out of the blue and smack you across the face. That happened to me a week or so ago when, randomly clicking around Bandcamp, I discovered the awesome Plan-It-X Records had released a new album by a band by the name of Will Tun & The Wasters. I'd never heard of this band but was attracted by the album artwork (see below) and knew what a strong back catalogue Plan-It-X Records have. I clicked and was amazed by the sound I heard so I looked them up and discovered that Will Tun & The Wasters are a folk/ska/punk band from Bristol. Here is my review of the band’s brand new debut album The Anachronist's Cookbook.

The first song - Falling Into A Sleep - begins with a short violin solo before some lyrics are rapped in a mixture of French and English. This really threw me on my first listen but it's great fun. I really enjoyed the vast array of instruments used on the track that show just what a unique band Will Tun & The Wasters are. Along with the normal guitars and drums I heard a violin and an accordion. How often have you heard an accordion combined with somebody rapping? Up second is a Celtic punk track called Immigrants & Dissidents that really makes me want to skank. This song is about finding somewhere to belong and the journey that you go through to get there. It's a fast paced track that doesn't really ever slow down. There's a great part in the middle of the track where the main vocalists asks a question and another pops up with an answer. Third track Hit The Wall switches to more of a bouncy ska punk style; the vocals are sung with a high tempo and are story-like in delivery. The song is about living life to its fullest and then hitting the wall and dealing with the consequences. The chorus is full of positivity and joy and really puts a smile on my face. Move Your Mind, which again features a mix of French and English lyrics, mixes folk and ska to create a very unique and interesting sound. You'll just have to listen to the song because there is no way I can explain it that will make the slightest bit of sense! It's great fun though and the chorus is so catchy you'll be singing it for a long time.

Dead Fishes is a fast paced track that speaks about how we are ruining the planet and how we can make the important changes that our planet needs. I like that it’s an important message but in such fun and danceable music. The song has really long musical outro, perhaps this to let the message of the song really sink in. The sixth track is titled Red & Black and is a pirate punk rock song. It's a sing-along about the accepting nature of the punk rock community in general and particularly a squatters house in Cardiff. Showcasing another musical style and doing an excellent job of it, this eight-piece are a talented group of musicians. A Criminals Waltz is a slower paced folk punk song and is somewhat of a ballad. It's about living the life of a criminal and the twists and turns that that lifestyle presents. This is the type of track I can imagine being played in a big arena show and getting a big reaction, the type of track that gets strangers arm-in-arm singing as loudly as they possibly can. Thunder sees Will Tun & The Wasters dabble in a bit of Balkan music and do you know what, they do that excellently as well! This six-minute-long song really allows the band to show off some more of their amazing musicianship with a story about having an inner power within you.

Track number ninth is a big summer anthem. Nobody Knows starts with a slow paced chorus before jumping into a fast-paced ska song, using more traditional folk instruments. Will Tun & The Wasters have excelled at every genre music they have played on the album but I really think that this style is where they are at their absolute best. The positioning of the song on the album is genius, after a couple of slower tracks this really picks the pace back up as we embark on the final part of the musical rollercoaster that is The Anachronists Cookbook. The Otherside continues the fast- paced skank-fest. The vocals are delivered with a rapid fire one-two punch with male and female vocalists trading lines. The production on these vocals sounds much rawer than anything else on the album, which creates an interesting sound and really got my heart pumping. The song finsihes with some more French vocals, I had no idea what was going on by this point but I was having so much fun I didn’t even care. The penultimate song is named Lunar Light and is six minutes and thirty-five seconds long; this could be the longest song I've reviewed since I started Colin's Punk Rock World. Lunar Light is another song with a Balkan feel to it and is another chance for the band to show how well they play their instruments. The crazy ride that is The Anachronists Cookbook is finished by Downtime. Obviously the band finished with a reggae tune, we all saw that coming… This song is a really fitting end to the album, it feels like a song that winds the party down gently but will still have you dancing. It's about friendship and being together through the good times and the bad. 

I can't remember a time reviewing an album where I've had quite this much fun. Even after a few listens to it I can never quite predict what's coming next, other than something brilliant. If this album isn't on everyone's top ten list at the end of the year it'll be a travesty. I may be on a slight high from all the excitement of the album so this might be some mighty bold words but for me this is the album of the year, anything released in the next two months will have to be perfect to top this. And just to think, I found it by luck! Go and get this album right now!

Stream and download The Anachronist's Cookbook here: https://chrisclavin.bandcamp.com/album/the-anachronists-cookbook

Like Will Tun & The Wasters here: https://www.facebook.com/willtunandthewasters