Cubs are a five piece punk band from Newcastle, England. I luckily stumbled across their debut a few days ago and instantly fell in love with this band. In December they released what I believe is their debut self titled EP. It features three tracks of melodic gruff punk rock in a similar vein to Iron Chic, Red City Radio and Bear Trade. Three of my favourite bands so of course I was going to love it.
The EP begins with Curse Of The Colonel. After reading the list of bands I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I'm sure you can imagine what we have here – mid-tempo, hook filled sing-along punk rock. It's not reinventing any wheels but it does give the genre a bit of a shot in the arm. From the outset I had the urge to sing along with the band and there were plenty of opportunities. I loved the harmonies and the gang vocals. The song feels like it moves in stages, from the pounding opening, to the melodic chorus, the breakdown and the build towards its finale. The second of the three songs on the EP is named Bone Float. This shorter song really raises the tempo of the EP. At just under two minutes long, it manages to squeeze a lot in. The simple drum beat really drives the song forward and Cubs’ lead singer shows some good skill in delivering the lyrics clearly despite the speed of the track. You still want to sing along even if you can't keep up. The song’s highlight is obviously the gang vocals at the end of the track, getting everyone involved for the big ending. Last up is Haway Man. This song seems to combine a bit of everything I've enjoyed from the previous two songs on the EP. There's melody, there's tempo, the different stages stand out but also interlace with each other perfectly and, of course, there are more gang vocals and harmonies. Anyone who has been a regular reader of CPRW over the past few years must know how much of a sucker I am for gang vocals and harmonies. From the start of Haway Man I'm filled with a unstoppable energy that keeps me pumped up for the entire song. If a track does this, you know it's a pretty special song.
This is some debut from a band I stumbled upon by dumb luck. I was a very lucky boy to discover them. If you're a fan of gruff punk then Cubs are seriously a band you need to be listening to!
Stream and download Cubs here: https://cubsbandne.bandcamp.com/releases
Like Cubs here: https://www.facebook.com/CubsbandNE/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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