On May 4th, Reading four piece Tape It Shut released their brand new EP Dinosaurs Vs Robots. The band have been going for a few years now but this was my first chance to check them out. Not really knowing what to expect from their sound but reading "Tape It Shut are a surprise dubstep punk rock band with the surprise being a lack of dubstep" left me very intrigued.
The EP begins with the just over one minute long Normalisation, beginning with an incredible bass line and a crunching guitar before leading into a melodic skate punk track. It partly harks back to the 90s skate punk scene but there's also a freshness about it. Like Tape It Shut are showing their influence but not just ripping it off. Infinite Arguments is up next and is where the dubstep punk seems to come in. For the opening verse it is very much bass and drum lead with singer Dan delivering the vocal in a kind of spoken work almost rap-like fashion. This really dragged me into the song. Soon enough things really get heavy with a blistering second half that swings into hardcore territory and really got my blood pumping. The song is about the stupidity of arguing on the Internet. I liked that the band covered this topic as these arguments seem to becoming more and more of a thing and it's so unnecessary. The lyric "freedom of speech does not mean you can say what the fuck you like" really stood out. Up next is the EP's title track, Dinosaurs Vs Robots. Taking a satirical look at the future when AI, drones and robots take over and the human race becomes extinct, the song is originally presented as a straight punk rock song but Tape It Shut throw in a big surprise and throw in a grime-like verse that does a excellent job of breaking the song up.
Self Deprecating Humour is a song that's fully in this dubpunkstep sound. The bass fills the song in a way I'm not really used to but it really grows on me – am I a dubstep fan without realising? The vocals on the verse are again delivered in a spoken word/rap-like style that really allows you to connect with the song before things really kick off towards the song’s conclusion. Super Rapid Fire Free Game is a thirty-six second banger that, like its title suggests. is played at rapid fire. The speed at which the song goes is tremendous but I did find it hard to really connect with this song as I did the previous tracks. The penultimate song on the EP is Pandora's Box Of Sex Toys. This, as you might have guessed from the title, isn't the most serious of tracks. It's a song that talks about sex toys, costumes and all manner of kinky things spicing up your life in the bedroom. Lyrically it's kind of blue but it's well written and does show off Dan's skill at crafting words together. It's a fun song that will put smiles on many a punks face. Dinosaurs Vs Robots is completed with Honest Politics. This is a high energy and hard hitting way to complete the EP. From the start it fills you with beans and has you wanting to shout every word back at the band. This is a punk release so any song that's fighting against politicians is going to go down well. It's about how politicians lie (as the title suggests) and how they're only out for themselves. This was probably my favourite track on the EP, Tape It Shut finish strongly.
I have to admit I wasn't sure how into this EP I would be when I first read the word "dubstep" and after my first listen I still wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It's a real grower though, it shoots out a lot of energy and Dan is quite the wordsmith. If you fancy taking a chance on a band that do things a bit different then definitely seek out Tape It Shut.
Stream and download Dinosaurs Vs Robots here: https://tapeitshut.bandcamp.com/
Like Tape It Shut here: https://www.facebook.com/TapeItShut/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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