Calico Street Riots are a six-piece folk punk band from Gravesend, Kent. The band have been going since 2008 but, due to line-up changes and other commitments, they had been on somewhat of a hiatus until more recently. Earlier this month they released some brand new music in the form of a 2-track EP titled Through The Storm – their first new music for eight years. Three tracks is usually the minimum we like to review at CPRW but I enjoyed this so much that I had to make an exception. Plus it’s been ages since I’ve reviewed any proper folk punk!
The first of the the two tracks on Through The Storm is titled A Course For Home. Within seconds of hitting play, the accordion immediately grabbed my attention. There are definitely Baltic polka vibes on offer here which, obviously, I love. The accordion melodies ease you into the song relatively gently until, after 30 seconds or so, the rest of the band comes in and bring the punk to ‘folk punk’. Keeping the listener hooked in, it’s then almost a minute before the vocals come in. With a great amount of passion on show, it is definitely worth the wait – guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Irving has a brilliant voice, as well. A Course For Home tells the story, perhaps one set long ago, of travelling home on a ship. The theme reminds me of The Dreadnoughts which is no bad thing given that they’re arguably my favourite folk punk band.
Broken Bones is the second of the two songs on the EP and it doesn’t waste any time in getting going as we’re off after a quick drumroll. This track feels more in line with Irish folk music than Baltic, not too dissimilar to The Pogues. It’s great that each song here sounds distinctly different, despite both being ‘folk punk’. Calico Street Riots are clearly a talented bunch. Violinist Laura Felstead, in particular, shows some impressive musicianship part way through Broken Bones with a fine fiddle solo. My favourite part of the song – maybe even the EP – however has to be the gang vocals enthusiastically singing the lines ‘We won't always have to run, So catch your breath before it's gone, And when I fix these broken bones, I’ll walk with you to never be alone.’ It’s just dying to be sung along to by a live audience – hopefully I can do so myself someday soon.
Both of the songs on Through The Storm are examples of folk punk at its best. Hopefully Calico Street Riots are here to stay now with more new music for us in the near future – I’m certainly keen to hear more!
Check out Through The Storm on Bandcamp and be sure to like Calico Street Riots on Facebook as well.
This review was written by Emma Prew.
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