Album Review: You Didn't Doubt by Chartreux (by Chris Bishton)

You Didn't Doubt This is the debut from Leipzig's German punks Chartreux. Released on the always brilliant Gunner Records earlier this year, it's only seven songs long which, for me, makes it too stretched to be an EP, but a little short to be classed as a full album. Not that this is in anyway a problem and, as the saying goes, all killer, no filler. Mini album anyone? Further, given the band only played their first show in February last year just before everything stopped, it's obviously been a tricky time to record and release anything so I'm willing to go with the band's assertion this is their first full length record. And it's a great first full length too – DIY skate punk meets hardcore, but with a bit of gruff Gainesville influenced sing-a-long anthemic punk in the mix as well.

The opening track is Role Play. A raucous and blisteringly quick start, with lyrics that are gruff and shouted in English. The guitar playing reminds me of 90s/00s Pulley, although the vocals are definitely grittier. It slows a little towards the end, but at less than two minutes, it still flashes by.

The blink and you'll miss it MO continues with Harriet. Having listened to the (mini) album a few times now, I actually think this is probably my favourite track. It's also under two minutes, but the vocals are a little more jaunty and lend themselves to a sweaty room, gang sing-along.

The lengthy (just over two minutes, haha) Nods And Handshakes is the third track. By now as a listener, I know what to expect and it's obviously nothing particularly different or out of place, but it's still solid, shouty punk with a great swagger to it.

The rest of the album follows suit. Liberation Day is perhaps the most "hardcore" of the remaining songs. Screeched, sweary vocals remind me of a track that you might hear on a Pears album. It's fast, then slow, angry and passionate.

The album concludes with Repeat Rewind. At three minutes it's epic in duration compared to some of the other songs, which is mainly down to a 20 second intro. However, the pace and passion isn't compromised and there's no cutesy, whimsical finish to this record. As the title suggests, it simply leaves me wanting to put the whole thing on again right back at the start.

German punk is in a great place at the moment. Peers and contemporaries include Arterials, Hell & Back, Captain Asshole, Sidewalk Surfers, Primetime Failure (I could go on, but you get the idea) and I fully expect Chartreux to become a regular fixture on the Booze Cruise line-up. If I ever get to Hamburg, they'll be another of my "must see" German bands.

Stream and download You Didn't Doubt on Bandcamp here.

Like Chartreux on Facebook here.

This review was written by Chris Bishton.

Album Review: Heat by The High Times

Last year, the fine folk of Booze Cruise were putting on regular live streams every couple of weeks which were jam packed with amazing acts from all over the world. One of my highlights was when Swiss punks Überyou put together a full band show. Added on to the end of that video was a short set from a new band featuring members of Überyou. That band was The High Times and I was instantly a fan. Back in April the band finally released their debut album Heat through Gunner Records and Say-10 Records.

The first of the nine songs on the album is the title track, The Heat. The Heat is a melodic pop punk banger that does a super job of introducing you to The High Times. The guitars have a warmth to them that welcome you in and Dom’s vocals stand out immediately. The track is also super catchy so you’ll be singing along with the band in no time. I particularly enjoyed the “whoas” that build up towards each verse. Sometimes starts off at a slower pace and you can definitely hear soome Überyou in the style. It’s a sombre feeling song about missing and yearning for someone from a past relationship and how it will make you feel more right with the world. There’s a nice familiarity to the music that’s like putting on old shoes. This might be partly down to the “whoa-ohs” that quickly get stuck in your head. The third song, Good Company, is an uplifting song about making sure people know that they’re not alone even when they’re at their lowest. Of course it’s another big sing-along, this will give the listener a wonderful feeling of catharsis. A song that I’m sure will be a big hit when The High Times play it live.

Lose Control has a great energetic melody to it. It’s not super fast but is played at a tempo that really gets you pumped. This makes perfect sense as the song is about what its title suggests – Losing Control. This is another song that I can see going down really well live. On the fifth song, Nothing Matters, The High Times begin in quite a heavy fashion. When Dom’s vocals come in the song turns into a bit of an anthem for living life your own way, ignoring what other people say. I really liked the switch in tempos between chorus and verse and the addition of a male vocal during the song’s middles section gave the track a fresher feeling. Trouble Again sees The High Times move into an indie and, dare I say, pop territory. This is the song that I would play someone who wouldn’t normally listen to punk music as a way to introduce them to the sound. Seems like a good starting point for a new fan. Dom’s voice is perfectly suited to this style and shows off what an excellent singer she is.

In The End sees the band revert to a more familiar style. Dom’s vocals feel more muted than at any other point of the album, particularly in the verses. This really made me pay extra attention to the lyrics of the song. In The End is about finding your own special place where you feel safe and fit in. This is something we all appreciate and it makes you feel better. I would guess that we’ve all missed our special places enormously over the past 18 months. The penultimate song on Heat is titled Blew Up My Radio. This track has a bit of an old school rock ’n’ roll vibe as well as a country music twang in the vocals. Writing that sentence makes me think that this shouldn’t work as a punk rock song but it really really does. Blew Up My Radio is about the frustration in the fact that a lot of modern music doesn’t have the same passion that it used to. I really related to the track as I certainly feel the same with not really getting a lot of new, mainstream music. The final track is Figure Out Impossible. Really mixing things up, the track starts out with some male vocals, something that hasn’t happened at all on the album until this point. This really grabs the listener for this final song. The track starts out slowly with the vocals adding a load of emotion to the song. It builds to a more high tempo chorus where Dom takes over the lead vocals. The use of both vocalists on the song is superb and something I kind of wish the band had done more on the album. This is a big way to finish – a big fists in the air sing-along to complete a fine album.

Heat is an excellent debut from The High Times. I can see them being a regular at festivals throughout Europe and hopefully further afield in the future. Big things are surely on the horizon for this band.

Stream Heat in the usual places and buy physical copies here and here.

Like The High Times on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: The Spaces In Between by Arterials

One of my favourite discoveries of 2019 were Hamburg punk rockers Arterials. After catching them twice at Booze Cruise Festival, I knew that I wanted to feature them a lot on CPRW. The combination of raspy vocals, urgent melodies and powerful messages really resonated with me and I want everyone in the world to know about them. In February, the band announced they would be releasing a brand new album on Gunner Records titled The Spaces In Between on April 24th. The band’s previous album, Constructive Summer, was absolutely brilliant and I was super excited to get an early listen to The Spaces In Between.

The album’s opening track Friendship Is A Four-Letter Word was also one of two singles the band put out in the build up to The Spaces In Between's release. This is a great introduction to Arterials for first time listeners. Firstly, it's a super positive song about being there for your friends whenever they need you. Flo's raspy vocals give the song plenty of urgency and the track is stuffed with big hooks and moments that will get your fists high in the air as you sing along. This track sets the bar high for the rest of the album. Faith In Yourself begins with a fantastic building guitar part that lets you know big things are coming. Rather than really exploding into life we get a slower, more measured approach to the song. There are high moments, such as the chorus and the song’s big finale, but for the most part the song focuses on getting its message across. That message is that you don't need to have faith in any kind of religion, all you really need is to have faith in yourself. The third track, Savage Season, sees an angrier side of Arterials. This is a no thrills punk rock song about bad politicians who are only in it for the ego boost and power trip rather than actually wanting to help people. Something we in the UK can really relate to.

Storm The Fortress is another political track. The band tone down the anger and present a more thoughtful songwriting style. It's about the political and media desire to fear monger and make people feel like they need to create borders and put up walls. The song is full of great lyrics. Two of my favourites are "we stack and stack and stack, tuning out the cries for help" and "it’s easier to build a wall, than to open up your arms." Some really powerful and emotive stuff. Bitter Fruit For Broken Homes is about how things may look great from the outside but things aren't always as good as they seem. It's one of the album’s slower and more emotional tracks but still packs that punch that I've come to expect from Arterials. The gang vocals on the chorus make it seriously emphatic and impossible to ignore. The sixth song is the album's title track, The Spaces In Between. It was also another single the band released in preparation of the album's release. I can see this song becoming a big highlight of an Arterials live set and perhaps even being their big closer. It's about not being afraid to stray from the path and finding something that means something to you. The track starts in an explosive fashion as the band storm through the opening two verses, giving the song an urgent and passionate feel. Then things are slowed down and the band sing the big positive hook. I hope to one day be in a sweaty punk club singing along to this as loudly as I can. It'll be a goosebump moment for sure.

Jaded & Hated kicks off the second half of The Spaces In Between with a bang. This stripped back hardcore song is about getting older and still playing in punk rock bands despite the negative attitude people may have towards it. As long as people are still enjoying it, Arterials will keep going. They don't care what the naysayers think. Pump The Brakes looks at the older generation’s ignorance towards climate change and caring more about lining their pockets than helping to save the planet. I can't think of many bands that have approached this topic so it feels very refreshing to hear a band tackle it and do it so well. You might think that this would play out as one of the angrier songs on the album but it's actually pretty melodic and full of hooks. This is great as it makes it more accessible and might help to inspire everyone who listens to try and do more to help with this huge problem. Corpse Motel (despite its title) sees Arterials return to a more positive frame of mind. It's about realising that no matter how bad things seem to be on tour, you're doing something you love with your friends and you should celebrate that. Being in a DIY punk band is not a glamorous thing, yet thousands of people do it because they love it. I love the lyrics in the chorus – "colour in the grey, with dabs of sky". A cooler person than me would say "super posi vibes."

The tenth track, Shades Of Brown And Blue, starts out in a ferocious manner. Of all the tracks on The Spaces In Between, Shades Of Brown And Blue is certainly the most circle pit inciting song. Arterials sound seriously pissed off on this track and rightfully so. It's about hating someone because they're different to you and how racism shouldn't ever be used for a political agenda. This is something we hopefully all feel very strongly about. The final line of the track is so powerful, Flo hoarsely screams "we won't bow down to hate!" The penultimate track on the album is titled Break Your Bones. This song has a very impactful beginning with its short sentence structure. During the track, Arterials show that they are allies to the folks who are marginalised because they look or act differently to what is expected of them. The band continue to shout out powerful and meaningful lyrics, this time with "each body's beautiful, let hearts shine bright, your life is meaningful, fuck all that divides". The final track on the album is On Greener Hills. A song which we are lucky enough to feature on our new compilation in aid of Music Venue Trust (also out April 24th). It's about learning from your past mistakes and growing as a person because of them. I've always thought that self discovery and pushing yourself to become a better person is a big part of what modern day DIY punk is all about so I was very glad to hear Arterials pick this subject to write about. It allows The Spaces In Between to finish on an positive and inspiring note.

On my first listen through of The Spaces In Between, I knew this was a very special album. Not only is each song an absolute punk gem where you will be able to sing and dance to your heart's content, it's also full of powerful meaning that if you want to dig down into the lyrics will move you. This is that heart on your sleeve punk rock that really matters in this day and age. There are loads of great bands in Germany at the moment but I'm not sure any are currently more important that Arterials.

Pre-order The Spaces In Between on Bandcamp here.

Like Arterials on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: Still Golden by Wolf-Face (by Chris Bishton)

Every now and again a band that I'm aware of, but not familiar with, release a record that really grabs me. I don't mean a band that I discover and think 'wow… this band have been around for ages, they've released loads of records and they're brilliant… how come I'm only just hearing them now!?' I'm talking about bands that I've seen others talk about, write about and wear the t-shirt of but, for whatever reason, I've never checked them out.

The release of Wolf-Face's Still Golden marks one of those moments. Being Floridian, Fest stalwarts and a band that so many Festers seemingly always want to see, I've always kinda *known* about them; but it's taken this release to *discover* them. So, whilst I don't really know why I got this album, for whatever reason I ordered a copy and setback to determine if there was anything behind the (supposedly) gimmicky masks. It turns out that no, I don't know why this is, and yes, I didn't know what I've been missing.

At first, I'm nervous. A glance through the song titles reveals a lot have a 'wolf-style' theme. I wonder if I've missed the joke and the record is going to be 11 cringey songs performed by actual teen(wolf)agers. I'm old enough to remember Snuff playing punk versions of TV adverts which was hilarious at the time, but wouldn't and shouldn't have been for actual grown-ups! But, I needn't have worried. The nervousness is unfounded. It's eleven searing, fist-in-the-air, singalong, punk bangers. I love it.

The album's title track, Still Golden, is the first track and begins as if it's a delicate ballad, leading me to think it's the 'obligatory cutesy intro' (™Deforesters). But it's not quite. It builds quickly with heated guitars and gutsy vocals. It's a great start.

Next is With Or Without Boof. It's fast and Ramonesy (but not Ramonescore, if that makes sense?) and serves to set up Howl Alone and Dog Whistle. These are two of my favourites – fast, catchy, melodic, raucous, singalongs. Feel-good, ready-made crowd favourites. So good.

All Dogs Go to Hell will also be another nailed on, hooky, crowd favourite. Slightly slower, but when played live, there is no conceivable way it won't have the entire crowd belting out in unison the line 'there's no place in heaven for a wolf like me'. It's exactly the sort of song I want as an earworm.

Werewolf And Whiskey Blood is a bit different – an intro using a sample of bar noise and then a harmonica. The bar noise continues and the song has a simple, strong vocal with occasional guitar backing, before the full band come crashing in to finish the song. I love it.

I don't realise it, but The Wolf is actually a cover of a Mumford And Sons song. Why would I? I've never knowingly listened to Mumford And Sons (is that a good or a bad thing?). But this is a lot of fun. The werewolf howling as the song builds especially puts a smile on my face.

No Need To Thank Me is another banger, before the record concludes with Keep Your Chin Up Little Pup – a slower, lyrical song, with the bass and drums not kicking in until the song and album draws to an end. It finishes the record perfectly.

Having now had this album on constant rotation for a few days, I again wonder why it's taken so long for me to *get* Wolf Face. It's an absolute blast, but not in an ironic, goofy, gimmicky way.

It wasn't the pseudonyms that previously put me off – Michael J, The Good Wolf, Rain-Wolf and Wolf-Fart – as I wasn't that accustomed to the band. Perhaps, subconsciously, it was the Teen Wolf outfits, although that sort of thing was never a problem with, let's say, Masked Intruder. Or perhaps I should just put it down to there being so many good bands out there and only having so many hours in the day to listen to them all.

Whatever it was, one thing I've learnt… never judge a band by their werewolf masks.

Stream and download Still Golden on Bandcamp here.

Like Wolf-Face on Facebook here.

This review was written by Chris Bishton.