Album Review: New Lungs by Burnt Tapes

It’s been three years since I attempted to do an album review but if there is one band that will get me to sit down behind my laptop and do one it’s my friends Burnt Tapes. On August the 8th they will release their long awaited second album, the follow up to 2019’s incredible Never Better (one of my all time favourite albums). The new album is titled New Lungs and being released once again by Lockjaw Records (UK) and Wiretap Records (USA), as well as a tape from Nasty Cut Records (Denmark). Tapes on tape – it’s about time, right?

I feel like I need to address the fact that this review might come across as incredibly biased. These guys have been friends of mine for a long time now, they started out as Burnt Tapes around the same time as I started doing CPRW and we’ve reviewed every EP and album they’ve released, along with countless live shows. I’ve never made it a secret how highly I think of Phil, Pan, Jordan and Tone not just as musicians but as people, so yeah this will probably come across as a really biased review. I’m saying nice things about my friends’ new album, but rest assured that every word I type in this review I really mean and I’m not just buttering up my mates. I’ve had New Lungs on repeat in a dark room where I usually sleep for a couple of months now and I’m excited to share my views on it with you. Let’s take a deep breath and jump right in.

New Lungs begins with the song Crisis Actor. The song starts with a familiar Burnt Tapes tone that has me thinking of Lost In Transit, the final track from Never Better. It almost feels like a continuation or at least a call back, something the band are known for doing. I love this. Crisis Actor eases you into the album with Pan’s vocals over that welcoming riff. Before long the whole band comes in. This song sets the tone for the whole album with its big, emotional build. We then launch into a stretch of the four singles the band released in the run up to the album. Up first is MOTHERSGUILT. The very first line features a common Burnt Tapes trope – grinding teeth. I immediately got a kick out of this. The song explores the theme of feeling like you’re not meeting other people’s expectations of you and using the guilt that gives you as fuel to keep on going. I feel like that’s something that most of us has gone through at times, making the song hugely relatable. The chorus will no doubt earn some big sing-alongs and feel cathartic for many. 

Little Sister was originally released way back in 2023 and gave us a glimpse as to what was coming from the band. Phil takes over lead vocals for this deep and emotional song about a particularly hard and dark time with his mental health that he went through. He tells a story about the journey of reaching a low point and reaching out for help before things get even lower. This is a mid-tempo track with a catchy chorus. The stand out moment on the track however is the guest vocal appearance from Hannah Hermione Greenwood from Creeper on the bridge. This really adds to the emotion of the song. As of yet, Hannah hasn’t joined the band to do this live – maybe at the album launch at the Black Heart in Camden on the 19th of September? That would be cool. Next is the brilliantly titled You Only YOLO Once. This is one of the higher tempo tracks on New Lungs and really showcases the band’s trademark sad boy pop punk moniker. Sonically it’s an upbeat, almost summery-sounding song but when you dig down into Pan’s lyrics you discover a song about his own mental health struggles. The line “every now and then, it hits me like a bullet train” is one I imagine a lot of people listening will find extremely relatable. I know I certainly do. Of course there is another broken teeth reference in the song, because of course there is. I’ve heard that they’re trying to get a dentist sponsorship.

The album’s title track, New Lungs is the fourth and final single from the album. Continuing the more poppy version of their sound, New Lungs once again talks about mental health. The song actually starts out feeling quite hopeful as Pan sings “new lungs set to breathe new seasons, held breath and an unsure sweaty brow, I’m better now, I’m better.” This mood soon changes though as Pan sings about having a toxic relationship with either another person or their own brain and that person/brain and being brought down once again, not knowing who you are anymore. This song features another great chorus and some big hooks that will really pull a live crowd in. Shelf Life Of The Party is another fantastic song title. Phil is back on lead vocal duties and the energy remains. On my first listen to New Lungs this is one of the songs that really stood out to me. It’s about getting older and feeling burnt out, lost, like you’re finished and you’re not the person you used to be. Phil’s vocals bring an intensity to the song that I love and I really hope it becomes a regular in their live set going forward. 

Track seven is titled Office On Repeat. On my first listen of New Lungs, my first thought was that this was the album closer as it has a huge, epic ending. There’s still three more bangers to come though and trust me, the closer is an incredible ending for the album. Office On Repeat starts out as a mid-tempo pop punk song talking about the end of a relationship. As we reach the final third of the song, the tempo and melody changes and we get a big emo ending that will get a big reaction from a live crowd. There’s a few moments on this album that do make me think that this has been specifically written with a live crowd reaction in mind and I’m a big fan of when bands do that. The pace is brought right back up on Future Strangers. Have you ever come to a point in your life where it feels like something has hit a road block, you don’t know what comes next and you begin to question everything? That’s what this song is about. I enjoyed the sliver of hope that track gives you as Pan sings “it’ll all make sense in time.” It’s a simple and powerful lyric that works so well in the song.

The penultimate song is named OnlyFriends. The song starts slowly, similar in style to the classic Things Get Weird. Pan sings softly as the song gradually builds up to its big finale. This slow start really adds to the emotion of the song and really pulls you in. There’s no slow start and then bang, you’re in, OnlyFriends builds and builds and takes you with it. When that big moment does finally come in and it hits you, you feel ready to be hit. Fantastic songwriting. There is also a moment in the song when the band becomes the big stadium rock band they deserve to be when they implement a crowd participation clapping section. The tenth and final song is So Long, Sundays. This might be the most ambitious piece of songwriting that Burnt Tapes have ever attempted and of course they pulled it off. A perfect choice to bring the album to an end. This song is about going through all the hard times that happen in your life and eventually finding your way out of the other side. New Lungs is an album that has plenty of down moments, so having this moment of hope at the end is really refreshing. It serves as a great reminder that no matter how hard things can get, sometimes it will get better and it’s always great to be reminded of that. There’s a moment at the end of the song that I won’t spoil for you but it’s something that I never, ever expected to hear on a Burnt Tapes album. I guess they’ve been hanging out at the New Cross Inn for too long now. 

It’s been six years since the Burnt Tapes released Never Better and you can really hear the progression the band have made as a band on New Lungs. You can hear a change in their sound but everything you ever loved about the band remains. Daly George from The Ranch once again did a phenomenal job with the production on the album, he did a fantastic job bring all of these songs to life. New Lungs has been my most anticipated album of the year since the band released Never Better and it did not disappoint. I’m not even that sad that the reworked version of Go Drunk didn’t make the cut, as each song brings something different but it all flows nicely together. It’s an album that can be listened to as an album or as singles. I do feel like each one of these songs could’ve been used as a single. As I said at the start of this, Burnt Tapes are my friends and this could come across as biased, but I truly believe that this is a fantastic album. I would say that if you loved Never Better then this might be a bit of a grower but you’ll soon come to love it just as much, if not more. Well done friends, loving your work.

Burnt Tapes play an album release show with Modern Shakes and Making Friends at the Black Heart in Camden on Friday the 19th of September. You should come to the party. Get your ticket here.

Album Review: feels by Trophy Jump

Trophy Jump are a band we’ve been keeping a keen eye on since discovering their album Depression Club in 2018. Since then, we’ve really enjoyed the band’s progression with each subsequent release. In February the band released their second album, feels, on JeboTon (Croatia), Horn & Hoof Records (UK), We’re Trying Records (US) and Nasty Cut Records (EU). I listened to it immediately but then life got in the way and that’s delayed my review/love letter to the band until now! Let’s get on with it.

Feels begins with It’s Not A Race!!! This track serves as an introduction for the album. Beginning with some phone feedback before we get some electronic music along with Antun Aleksa’s recognisable vocals. During the forty-eight seconds, Antun sings about taking your time with whatever you’re doing in life. This then leads into the first proper song on feels – Business Trip. Starting with some building guitars and a simple drum beat, Antun’s vocals soar during this opening section. The song is about quitting your job that you hate and going out and experiencing life. Something I’m sure that most of us wish we had the courage to do. Maybe this song will give you the encouragement to do so. When I first listened to the third song, Neon Light, there was a very familiar voice coming through my speakers. The track features the brilliant Phil of our friends Burnt Tapes on guest vocals. Starting out in a sombre fashion, the song has an element of Alkaline Trio to it in sound as well as the way they tell a story. It’s one of those times where you can get a sense of what the music video would look like just from the lyrics. The track is about the come down you often get after a good night out and that horrible feeling of depression that can come from that. Phil’s vocals add some real emotion to the song. I hope that when they play Bristol Booze together in May Phil joins the band on stage to provide vocals.

Leather Couch is a song that Trophy Jump originally released as a single back in 2019. I’m very glad that they decided to put it on the album as, at the time, I stated that I think it’s the best song they had written to date. I’ve listened to the song so much, whenever that opening guitar riff comes in I get excited. It’s a familiar feeling when I hear the opening of Gainesville Rock City by Less Than Jake. I get pumped. I’m a big fan of gang vocals and harmonies and Leather Couch is chock full of them. This works especially well as the song is about friendship, those beautiful times of doing nothing and having the best time in the process. This feels like a show closer. Next is I Don’t Wanna Live In A Fitness Ad. After a short audio clip featuring a phone call between two chaps talking about going for a run, the song kicks in. There’s a paunchiness to things that changes things up a bit. The song is a fun one about not wanting to exercise and enjoying the things that are bad for you. Probably not something I would recommend but, also, life is too short so sometimes you have to go nuts. The highlight for me is the chorus and the gang vocals which I imagine getting a great reaction. The sixth song is titled Brkn Values. Trophy Jump really bring the pace down here with an introduction that will get your head banging. This is Trophy Jump at perhaps their moodiest and I feel like they have perhaps taken inspiration from UK legends Apologies, I Have None with the atmospheric sound they have going on. Brkn Values takes digs at musicians who sell out, lose the passion for their music and keep recycling the same old stuff to cash in on their fans. I’m sure everyone reading this will have experienced frustration at how the mainstream ignores a band we love and feel like should be huge for a safe and risk-free choice who sold their souls many moons ago.

Interdimensional Cable 420 acts as a short interlude that leads into the eighth song FOMO. FOMO brings the mood back up with a fast and upbeat song about not knowing how to be by yourself and always wanting to be out doing things with friends. Fear Of Missing Out is a real thing that people can experience and I’m glad to see Trophy Jump write a song about it. Once again there are plenty of moments to sing-along with the band, this gives the track a cathartic feeling, especially to anyone who does suffer with FOMO. Hugs And Drugs was the first single released in the build up to the album’s release and it was the very best choice. I think this is the best Trophy Jump song to date. The chorus is absolutely huge here as the band belt out “well I guess that it kinda sucks, that the only love we ever had, was hugs on drugs.” The track is about using drugs, or I guess alcohol, as a way to get over your shyness and how friendships can feel empty because of this. This is not something I can really relate to as I’ve always been sober but I’m sure I know plenty of people who will. I look forward to the day I can be surrounded by friends, arms locked and shouting this back at the band. It seems like that will be special. The penultimate track is Beer Pressure. Once again, this is a hard one for me to relate to as I don’t drink but it’s about the pressure to continue consuming alcohol to keep up with your friends even if you’re not sure that you want to. I really enjoyed the switches in melody and how the band effortlessly switches between pop and skate punk throughout the track. Finally we have Sharing Is Scary. This is an epic acoustic track to close things off. I enjoyed the stripped back approach to the song, it makes it feel more intimate and there is an element of campfire punk rock about it, particularly in the final moments. The track is about exactly what the title suggests, sharing your feelings with anyone and the fear that that brings. Something every human struggles with at some point but it’s important and healthy to talk about your feelings and I’d encourage everyone to take the brave steps to do it.

Trophy Jump always take things to another level with every release and they’ve continued to do that on feels. If you’re a fan of melodic pop punk with raspy and gruff vocals and great lyricism then definitely do not sleep on Trophy Jump! They will be in the UK in the middle of June. Get out to a show and support them.

Stream and download feels on Bandcamp. Like Trophy Jump on Facebook.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: Best by Forever Unclean

We’ve been following the work of Danish indie skate punk trio Forever Unclean since the release of their first EP, Shreds, back in 2015. Since then, it’s been absolutely amazing seeing the band grow with each release. Not only has each release been better than the last, they’ve also continued to build a following each time they’ve made their way to the UK to play some shows. Seeing them play to a packed New Cross Inn for Do It Together Fest in early 2020 was one of my highlights of the entire weekend. Something has been missing though and that was a full length release from the band. On New Year’s Day that was finally remedied when the band, with the support of Disconnect Disconnect Records, Hidden Home Records and Nasty Cut Records, released Best. I’d been eagerly awaiting the release for months after drummer Leo mentioned a full length was coming when he appeared on the CPRW Podcast. It then took me forever to get around to reviewing it because sometimes I’m slow. Here it is though, my review of Best.

Looking at the tracklist before hitting play, it’s nice to see Forever Unclean sticking with their tradition of short, one word track names. Best begins with Dream. Dream starts with just some guitar and Lasse’s familiar vocals before the entire band comes in. The song is about the realities of going on tour and how, despite it seeming like you’re living out on your dreams, it can be very hard on you mentally. A solid start to the album. Persona was one of the songs that was released as a single before Best’s release. Persona is about learning that it’s okay to be the person you are and not feeling like you have to be somebody else. I really liked the crunch that the opening guitars had before flowing into the usual Forever Unclean sound. There are moments during the song where Lasse’s vocals sound at their most strained which adds a lot of anguish to the song. Rules is just thirty-three seconds – which is short even by Forever Unclean standards. During the track, Lasse asks many questions about dealing with a social situation and not knowing how to act. Despite the short song length the band manage to pack a lot in, which is impressive.

The fourth song is named Crowds. The song continues with the theme of struggling to be yourself and not knowing how to conduct yourself in a social situation. I really liked the line “and it seems like such a waste of breath, to berate my ceiling.” This creates such a good image of laying in your bed with your mind running through your day and over-thinking all the things you should have done or said. I also enjoyed the “ba ba ba ba” section which will unite a crowd in singing along. Woods was another song that was picked as a single. The track starts slowly before the vocals come in and the song explodes into life. This slower moment is great, giving you a short rest after what, so far, has been a pretty relentless album. Once again, the lyrics do a wonderful job of painting a picture. On this occasion it’s the band and their friends when they were younger going off into the woods with their guitars and having a wonderful time. As the song goes on, there becomes a bit of a divide between the friends with one half wanting to have fun forever and the others thinking that they can’t live like that forever. This is a thing that happens in most friendship groups, so a lot of people will be able to relate to the song. The sixth song, Mandy, sadly isn’t a Barry Manilow cover. It is, however, a nice love song about how spending time with that special someone is a great escape from the horror that can be life. This is a super catchy song that you’ll pick up in no time – I’m certain it will get great reactions from live crowds whenever the band play it. Scars, another single released in the album’s build up, is another short song that manages to pack a lot into its duration. It’s a song of two halves. The first is just Lasse and his guitar and the second is the full band. I like the effect that is seemingly created by Lasse standing a bit further away from the microphone in the recording. It has the great live feeling to it.

Kold is the first song that the band have released where the band use their mother tongue, Danish. As handy as it is that bands sing in English, I do always enjoy when foreign bands put out songs in their own language as well. After a quick Google translate, I deduced that the Kold is about feeling emotionless, cold and soulless and just not caring about anything anymore. Anyone who’s suffered with depression at any point will no doubt understand the feelings in this song, assuming they speak Danish or use Google translate (probably quite hard to do if you’re watching the band live though). Kold also has a really cool guitar riff at the start that pulls you in and will get stuck in your head. Lasse delivers a stunning vocal performance on the ninth song, Broken. The emotion in their voice, particular during intro of the song is quite something to experience. At a lengthy two minutes and thirty seconds, this is the longest song on Best. I think they needed that extended time to achieve everything they wanted to with the song. There’s a slow bit, a big sing-along, melody changes and even some backing vocals (I think they’re drummer Leo’s) during the track. There’s absolutely loads going on. Listen for yourself to experience it all. The penultimate song on Best is titled Smile. Leo puts in one hell of a performance behind the drums on this song. He powers the band through the first half of the track before the band slow things back down for a more emotional ending to the song and it’s completed with some gang vocals. I do love gang vocals. Best is completed with the song Change. To me, this is Forever Unclean’s attempt at a country song and I love it. The opening of the song invites another big sing-along and it’s not too long before the band revert to the indie skate punk sound that they’ve become so well known for and then they switch to a huge sounding segment to finish the album off in the Best way possible.

I always think of Forever Unclean as a UK band despite the fact that they’re based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and are Danish. The reason being is that they’ve become a big part of the UK punk community during the last few years and, like I said in the intro, it always feels as if they play to bigger and bigger crowds whenever they return to the UK. With the release of Best I feel like they’ll be playing to their biggest UK crowds ever. We shouldn’t have to wait long to see them again either as they’re due in the UK for Manchester Punk Festival in April. I cannot wait to see them again.

Stream and download Best on Bandcamp here.

Like Forever Unclean on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: Sain't Adorable by Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind

I first became aware of Greek punk rock band Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind when I saw that my friends in Forever Unclean were due to tour with them in the summer. Then they kindly got in touch about giving us a song to use on CPRW Records compilation supporting Music Venue Trust. After that Leo from The Overjoyed sent me a message asking me if I could review their new album Sain't Adorable which was released on their label Nasty Cut Records. So here I am, reviewing that album.

Sain't Adorable begins with Mal Ad Just. If you're unfamiliar with the band’s sound then this track is a great introduction. The band’s signature post-hardcore sound shines through on the track and gets the album heading in the right direction from the start. The track starts off with a rapid-fire drum roll accompanied by some guitar twangs before the song really gets going. Hoi-Poi combine two vocalists, a dreamier clean style along with a hardcore singer. That's probably not the best description but think Alexisonfire and you get the point. The song is about thinking about how you treat people and becoming a better person because of that. Busybody/Lazybones is a more conventional melodic hardcore track. The intensity is lowered, giving the song a more accessible feel if you're more interested in straight forward punk rock. There is such a sad and emotional tone to the track that it will really tug on your heart strings. The guitar solo at the beginning of Chief End really brings the energy back up and leads wonderfully into a high tempo opening verse. There are moments where the guitars get a little twiddly and slow things down, but this helps build up to the big dramatic moments littered throughout the song.

The fourth song, Life Wind, immediately stood out on my first listen through of the album. Opening with some great, powerful gang vocals which are accompanied by a subtle harmony. This was such a brilliant way to start the song. This technique continues through the opening two verses and had me itching to sing along. The middle section of the song is a dramatic instrumental which is then joined by a spoken word segment before building back up to the track’s big finale. This leads into Lude, which is an interlude for Sain't Adorable. This adds to the overall drama of the entire album and makes it essential that you listen to it as a whole rather than just select tracks. It leads into the song Whelming – another stand out song on the album that fits perfectly after Lude. Reverting back to a more straightforward style, the vocals are gruffer and more aggressive. This really helps you get invested in the track. It wasn't long before I found myself nodding my head along. It's about believing that you're invincible and that you shouldn't always try your best.

Rycorice is the seventh song on the album. Here's another song that gets off to an aggressive start. The song storms through its first half before we get to another longer instrumental moment. On previous tracks where Hoi-Poi have done this they've slowed things down. On Rycorice, they keep the tempo and energy up, creating an incredible ending to the song. It was built up into a ball of energy wanting to explode, ready and waiting for the penultimate song – Rest Embarrassed. The need to explode was soon granted as Hoi-Poi keep the aggression up for the opening of this track. They gradually bring things down to a calmer and more dream-like pace as the song progresses giving you a chance to catch your breath before another long and wonderful instrumental that leads you to the outro. I was not in the least bit surprised that Sain't Adorable is finished with a six and a half minute long song. This was the only way to finish this kind of journey. Titled For Now, Equanimity. So Long. this was actually my favourite song on the album. It's a moving piece of music that takes you on many highs and lows and keeps you captivated throughout. The song feels so deeply personal that I struggled not to get emotional whilst listening to it. The song is about getting cancer, struggling to deal with it and pushing people away. It's a sad way to finish the album but they also couldn't have picked a better song for it.

There's no getting around the fact that Sain't Adorable is a heavy listen. It will get you feeling all kinds of emotions throughout its duration. This is why I think it’s such an impressive body of work from Hoi-Poi. This is one of those albums that you need to listen to in full to really get the full picture but there are also a couple of tracks that really stand out and could work as stand alone songs.

Stream and download Sain't Adorable on Bandcamp here.

Like Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.