Top Tens: Thibaut Hox from The Octopussys Top Ten Punk Rock Influences

Thibaut Hox, lead singer of Belgian punk rockers The Octopussys shares his top ten punk rock influences.

Nirvana: This was the first band that got me in the alternative scene and I was so obsessed with them around the age of 12. I remember even doing a few gigs back then together with my current guitar teacher singing and playing Nirvana covers, that was my first real stage experience.

blink-182:  There are a lot of discussions about blink-182 going on and opinions how good they used to be or are now or how they sold out, etc. But still, this was a band that for me, just as for many others, served as a gateway band to other punk rock bands that weren’t really covered by the main stream channels.

Lagwagon: I didn’t know many punk rock bands yet and got my hands on a demo of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, with May 16 as one of the featured songs. I played this demo over and over just to enjoy this song and knew that this was the kind of music I wanted to create some day, fast and melodic. Let’s Talk About Feelings remains one of my favorite albums to date.

No Use For A Name: I always had lots of admiration for Tony Sly’s very melodic vocals; you feel that the music is written based on them. I was also always a big fan ofhow their drums sounded, when recording new songs I often referred to some parts of NUFAN songs to explain how I feel it should sound. To date it’s still the band I felt most lucky to share stage with. International You Day was also the opening dance of my wedding sung by Hans of F.O.D., that was very epic.

Five Days Off: I do not mention them just to mention a Belgian band, but because in my opinion they’re still the best Belgian punk rock band ever. This was the first local band I checked and they instantly convinced me that Belgium has a lot of good quality punk rock bands to offer.

Allister: About 10 years ago I went to England for a few months and I forgot my CD collection, I only had “Last Stop, Suburbia” from Allister still in my Discman, which I did pack. This album quickly became my all-time favorite punk rock album ever, a soundtrack to a part of my life and a major influence.

Rufio: Ishare my great love for Rufio with our lead guitarist, who really likes the technical guitar stuff and tappings they provide. This combined with the very high, but awesome vocals they make a perfect mix. 

MxPx: Even though MxPx have also released a number of bad records, I still love them. Mike Hererra may not be the greatest singer, but throughout the years you canreally hear a lot of progress, but live as on album. That’s why he always was great example for me, even if you’re not that great of a singer, keep doing it and you will improve.

Ten Foot Pole: This might be my favorite punk rock band (it’s hard to pick just one). I’m especially a fan of the Ten Foot Pole since Dennis Jaggard took over from Scott Radinsky. I just love the unique sound of the vocals and it showed me that you don’t need to have a typical clean or punk rock voice to be awesome as hell.

Pulley: I love all the Pulley stuff; this is punk rock how it is supposed to sound. The combination of fast punk rock and catchy mid-tempo songs is how any punk rock album should sound in my opinion.

Stream and download music from The Octopussys here: https://theoctopussys.bandcamp.com/

Like The Octopussys on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/octopunkrock

Album Review: MakeWar by MakeWar

At the end of November I am making the really long journey north to Dundee for Book Yer Ane Fest IX, an annual DIY punk rock festival put together every year by Make-That-A-Take Records. This year's line up includes The Murderburgers, Billy Liar, The Kimberley Steaks, Uniforms, Great Cynics and Above Them. One band that stood out on the line up for me was Friday's headliners, MakeWar from New York. I've never listened to this band before so I figured I should check them out before the festival and so I reviewed their self-titled album released in August of this year.

Bloody Faces is the opening track and it starts with a short audio clip about starting things over. Probably a reference to the change that MakeWar have made, transforming from acoustic act Sand And French into the full electric band they are today. After the clip the song gets started properly and I immediately loved its raw, folk pop punk sound, which they play at a faster tempo and never slow down. This song moves seamlessly into the second - Just Listen To The Songs. The drumming really stands out on this song as it relentlessly pounds throughout the song while the vocalists sings about giving someone your heart through the medium of song. Against The Rules is a song about trying to get over a love. This song is a little more restrained musically, really relying on the vocals and lyrics to carry the song. The pacing of the song is superb; it never goes into full speed but has a great degree of urgency about it.

Shorter Days And Longer Nights starts out slowly before bursting into a full band rocker. The song does a great job at building things up and bringing them back down again. It’s about the stupid things people do when they are hurting from a break up, namely having a one night stand. The lyrics "It's just all about the sex, no I don't want your phone number, I don't even remember your name, I'm sorry I'm being this cold to you, The thing is someone stole my heart, And to be honest with you, I don't want her to give it back" are brilliant. The fifth song is named When The Poison Flows and is a song about turning to alcohol to help cope with somebody leaving. Apart from the final thirty seconds or so the song is played at a slower pace but the vocals are done with so much emotion. The change to a fast tempo at the end of the track is fantastic, sort of makes you feel like he's finally lost control and just explodes with emotion. Second Floor is a very fast paced song that is again about a break up. I'm starting to feel quite sorry for the chaps in MakeWar, they seem to have had a very bad break-up! This is the song that would get a live crowd really amped up during a set, it's a foot-stomping, fist-in-the-air sing-along.

Another Way To Let Go sees MakeWar slow things down a bit. This song really builds fantastically towards an emotional chorus. Again the vocals are full of passion and emotion and really remind me of Vinnie Caruana from Long Island bands The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche. The penultimate song Sweet Little Nightmares has even more emotional vocals; these really pull on your heartstrings and actually made me slightly teary. As they get more heartfelt throughout the song they seem rawer and this adds an element of honesty to the song. You feel like he's going through every emotion as he sings the song. The album finishes with a big bang with the song Cheers To You. This is a rambunctious folk punk storm of a song that really holds absolutely nothing back. Cheers To You is definitely one of my favourite songs of the year. It takes the listener on a massive ride of ups and downs and plays with so many of your emotions throughout the song but still manages to leave you wanting more and more. It's exhausting but it's so much fun. This is a song I'm really looking to hearing live at BYAF, there is no doubt in my mind it will be favourite with the punks in Dundee.

This is a thoughtful, honest, emotional and passionate album from MakeWar. After making the transition from an acoustic act named Sad And French, MakeWar's new full-band sound showcases a band that are really on the rise.

Stream and download MakeWar here: https://makewarmusic.bandcamp.com/releases

Like MakeWar on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MakeWarNYC

Art of Punk: Born to Run

I almost don’t know where to start when it comes to talking about Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run. The Boss is one of the most influential musicians in the world… ever. And although his music has little of the punk rock sound to it, he has certainly had a massive impact to the world of punk music. If you’re a punk fan and you don’t own a copy of Born to Run then you need to stop reading this, get off your butt and go buy it now – I recommend the vinyl version and you’re about to find out why.

As with many artists, it was Springsteen’s third album that was a bit of a make or break for his career (why is it that third album have that stigma anyway?). Born to Run, released in 1975 and featuring songs that are now classic such as Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and Jungleland as well as the title track, helped to propel the Boss into ‘the mainstream’. But it’s not just the musical content of Born to Run that has received high claim over over the last 40 years (can you believe it’s 40 years old?! Timeless!). The album cover and overall record sleeve design too is often thought of as one of the greatest of all time – it’s quite possibly my favourite record sleeve of all time anyway.

The famous photograph was taken by Eric Meola and was picked from some 600 shots that were taken in a single two hour photoshoot. Many of the images consisted of the same key elements – Bruce and his Fender Telecaster and Clarence Clemons and his saxophone, though some photographs were of solely Bruce. In a blog post, Deconstructing the Cover of Born to Run, Meola explains how the image that ended up on the cover was not set up or planned as some might think.

The final image that was chosen for the record sleeve features Clarence facing towards the camera with Bruce leaning on his friend’s shoulder and smiling at him. It’s this connection between the two musicians that really makes Born to Run such an iconic album visually, as well as musically. Plus the fact that Bruce chose to include another person (and, as some people like to point out, the fact that Clarence was black as well) on his album cover at all! But, after all, Born to Run is an album filled with saxophone solos so, race aside, it makes perfect sense.

‘I did not envision what [John Berg, art director] saw instantly … the most important part of the image was the space between their two faces, because it provided the perfect place to split the image. Folded open so that both the front and back show, Clarence becomes the centre of a riveting line of body movement along with the line-of-sight of Bruce’s magnetic gaze. Yes, Clarence was right, he is on the back; but for Berg he provided the link to the album’s front.’ – Eric Meola

And that’s what makes Born to Run such a great album to own on vinyl. Not only is the front-on image of Bruce and his Telecaster stunning on its own but when you open the gatefold sleeve up it reveals the other side of the image – and I think that’s very clever design work. The photograph is combined with ultra light typography, which today seems very current and modern but at the time was very unusual.

If there’s just one Bruce Springsteen album that you should own, I highly recommend that it is Born to Run. (Although, I recommend having more than one – The River is my second favourite, if anyone was wondering.)

Album Review: The Anachronist's Cookbook by Will Tun & The Wasters

Sometimes awesome bands and fantastic albums come right out of the blue and smack you across the face. That happened to me a week or so ago when, randomly clicking around Bandcamp, I discovered the awesome Plan-It-X Records had released a new album by a band by the name of Will Tun & The Wasters. I'd never heard of this band but was attracted by the album artwork (see below) and knew what a strong back catalogue Plan-It-X Records have. I clicked and was amazed by the sound I heard so I looked them up and discovered that Will Tun & The Wasters are a folk/ska/punk band from Bristol. Here is my review of the band’s brand new debut album The Anachronist's Cookbook.

The first song - Falling Into A Sleep - begins with a short violin solo before some lyrics are rapped in a mixture of French and English. This really threw me on my first listen but it's great fun. I really enjoyed the vast array of instruments used on the track that show just what a unique band Will Tun & The Wasters are. Along with the normal guitars and drums I heard a violin and an accordion. How often have you heard an accordion combined with somebody rapping? Up second is a Celtic punk track called Immigrants & Dissidents that really makes me want to skank. This song is about finding somewhere to belong and the journey that you go through to get there. It's a fast paced track that doesn't really ever slow down. There's a great part in the middle of the track where the main vocalists asks a question and another pops up with an answer. Third track Hit The Wall switches to more of a bouncy ska punk style; the vocals are sung with a high tempo and are story-like in delivery. The song is about living life to its fullest and then hitting the wall and dealing with the consequences. The chorus is full of positivity and joy and really puts a smile on my face. Move Your Mind, which again features a mix of French and English lyrics, mixes folk and ska to create a very unique and interesting sound. You'll just have to listen to the song because there is no way I can explain it that will make the slightest bit of sense! It's great fun though and the chorus is so catchy you'll be singing it for a long time.

Dead Fishes is a fast paced track that speaks about how we are ruining the planet and how we can make the important changes that our planet needs. I like that it’s an important message but in such fun and danceable music. The song has really long musical outro, perhaps this to let the message of the song really sink in. The sixth track is titled Red & Black and is a pirate punk rock song. It's a sing-along about the accepting nature of the punk rock community in general and particularly a squatters house in Cardiff. Showcasing another musical style and doing an excellent job of it, this eight-piece are a talented group of musicians. A Criminals Waltz is a slower paced folk punk song and is somewhat of a ballad. It's about living the life of a criminal and the twists and turns that that lifestyle presents. This is the type of track I can imagine being played in a big arena show and getting a big reaction, the type of track that gets strangers arm-in-arm singing as loudly as they possibly can. Thunder sees Will Tun & The Wasters dabble in a bit of Balkan music and do you know what, they do that excellently as well! This six-minute-long song really allows the band to show off some more of their amazing musicianship with a story about having an inner power within you.

Track number ninth is a big summer anthem. Nobody Knows starts with a slow paced chorus before jumping into a fast-paced ska song, using more traditional folk instruments. Will Tun & The Wasters have excelled at every genre music they have played on the album but I really think that this style is where they are at their absolute best. The positioning of the song on the album is genius, after a couple of slower tracks this really picks the pace back up as we embark on the final part of the musical rollercoaster that is The Anachronists Cookbook. The Otherside continues the fast- paced skank-fest. The vocals are delivered with a rapid fire one-two punch with male and female vocalists trading lines. The production on these vocals sounds much rawer than anything else on the album, which creates an interesting sound and really got my heart pumping. The song finsihes with some more French vocals, I had no idea what was going on by this point but I was having so much fun I didn’t even care. The penultimate song is named Lunar Light and is six minutes and thirty-five seconds long; this could be the longest song I've reviewed since I started Colin's Punk Rock World. Lunar Light is another song with a Balkan feel to it and is another chance for the band to show how well they play their instruments. The crazy ride that is The Anachronists Cookbook is finished by Downtime. Obviously the band finished with a reggae tune, we all saw that coming… This song is a really fitting end to the album, it feels like a song that winds the party down gently but will still have you dancing. It's about friendship and being together through the good times and the bad. 

I can't remember a time reviewing an album where I've had quite this much fun. Even after a few listens to it I can never quite predict what's coming next, other than something brilliant. If this album isn't on everyone's top ten list at the end of the year it'll be a travesty. I may be on a slight high from all the excitement of the album so this might be some mighty bold words but for me this is the album of the year, anything released in the next two months will have to be perfect to top this. And just to think, I found it by luck! Go and get this album right now!

Stream and download The Anachronist's Cookbook here: https://chrisclavin.bandcamp.com/album/the-anachronists-cookbook

Like Will Tun & The Wasters here: https://www.facebook.com/willtunandthewasters

Album Review: Song for Josh (7" vinyl release) by Frank Turner (by Emma Prew)

Song for Josh is the closing song on Frank Turner’s recent (excellent) sixth album, Positive Songs for Negative People. The song is a beautiful, heart-felt tribute to the late Josh Burdette who was the long-time manager and security guy at Washington’s famous 9:30 Club. For whatever reasons, Josh tragically took his own life in 2013, leaving a hole in the North American punk rock world and lot of very sad music fans. Frank Turner was one of those music fans, but not only that he was a friend to Josh too.

On the 4th of June 2014, on stage at the 9:30 Club, Frank Turner performed his song in tribute to Josh. It was new and at the time untitled, but despite this the song was recorded there and then to be included on his forthcoming album. You can see video footage of the song here with a bit more of an introduction than the record version. It really shows just how much Josh meant to everyone, not just Frank.

Xtra Mile Recordings have just released a limited number of Song for Josh 7” vinyl records, previously only available on the US tour but now available to buy online. You can pay whatever you like for the record (starting at £5/$6) and all the proceeds go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention charity (AFSP). I got my copy a few days before its official release, 9th November, and tearfully gave it a couple of spins immediately. There’s something about hearing a song on vinyl that makes it have even more of an impact on the listener.

The B-side to Song for Josh is a more upbeat song featuring label mate Billy The Kid, called Old Flames. I love Billy so it’s great to hear her and Frank perform another song together. If you didn’t know, Frank produced her 2014 album, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, as well as duetting on the song This Sure As Hell Ain’t My Life. Old Flames had previously only been available with the iTunes pre-order of PSFNP but if you didn’t get that, and you don’t have a record player for this 7”, there is a video of the song online.

‘It was so hard to make sense of the news – then and now. Josh Burdette was a rock of a man, both physically and personally. … Everyone on the North American punk rock touring circuit knew him; he was both an imposing physical presence – massive, tattooed and pierced – and a generous, kind soul, a man who'd help out the visiting itinerants in his town with whatever they needed. I first met him at a radio session in DC the morning before a show. He walked into the studio, towering over me, and simply informed me that he was my guy in town.’ – taken from Frank’s piece for The Big Issue and re-posted on AFSP, you can read the full article here (and I highly recommend that you do).

Song for Josh is a beautiful tribute to a man who I can only imagine was as awesome as this song and other people’s stories make out. Suicide is one of the most horrible things in the world and it, cliché as it sounds, breaks my heart to think that anyone would find things so bad that they want to end their life. No one should feel like that. No one.

If you don’t have a record player or you happen to miss out on buying this 7”, you can still donate to AFSP regardless.

Gig Review: Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room at Dingwalls, Camden 10/11/15

Recently I made a bit of an oversight. Emma and I were heading to Dingwalls in the heart of Camden Market to see Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room with support from Sam Russo and Bro. The oversight was the surprise at turning up to Dingwalls and having to queue to get in! We're so used to turning up and just being able to walk in to the gig that it felt strange having to wait. Then we thought about it and realised this was Dan Andriano. Dan Andriano! Who plays bass for one of the most popular punk bands in the world! Of course it was going to be a busy gig!

First up was London's two piece rockers Bro. Before talking about their set, I need to offer an apology. Earlier this year Jules from the band spoke to me about reviewing Bro's music. I happily said I would but then I completely forgot. Sorry Bro! Despite the fact that this was Bro’s first ever tour this was actually my second time seeing them, having previously seen them with Ducking Punches and River Jumpers at the Brixton Windmill last year. I remember enjoying that set but it was easily surpassed at this gig. Guitarist and singer Jules and drummer Garth really seem to have found their sound, which I would describe as a ‘punk rock Muse’, and drew a great response from an already sizeable crowd. 

As we waited for Sam Russo I looked around Dingwalls and decided that I like the place; it's much bigger than it looks from the outside and the inside is perfect for watching live music. The floor is plenty spacious for people wanting to get as close to the stage as possible and there are also some fairly close, raised areas for getting a decent view of the action without getting too squashed or having short people problems. I look forward to attending more gigs at Dingwalls. Funny little side story - when we arrived at Dingwalls we weren't sure if were actually queuing at the right building, Google Maps wasn't very helpful and the sign at the front is very difficult to see. 

Sam Russo is one of the most popular singer-songwriter types to emerge from the UK's underground scene. During the past year he has toured with the likes of The Lawrence Arms, Masked Intruder, Restorations and Tim Barry and has picked up more and more fans along the way. Recently he released a brand new album on Specialist Subject and Red Scare Industries titled Greyhound Dreams, which continues the story-telling theme of his debut album Storm. I always enjoy his records but Sam Russo is at his very best playing live. His songs and presence onstage really captivate a crowd and his voice live is something else. It's just fantastic. It's hard for me to really explain what it is about it but it just works so wonderfully well and really grabs me whenever I hear it. The crowd at Dingwalls adored Russo as well, singing along and giving him huge amounts of applause between songs. If you haven't checked out Sam Russo yet do it as soon as you finish reading this review.

Finally it was time for Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room. This is Dan's solo project for when he's not with Alkaline Trio. I say solo project, he's actually backed by a full band - which for this tour featured Garth from Bro on the keyboard, Sam Russo on guitar and Andrew and Hamish from Bangers on bass and drums respectively. After getting over the weirdness of seeing Sam, Andrew and Hamish playing on stage together with Dan after seeing them so often with their own bands, I really enjoyed Dan's set. I had listened to the new album Party Adjacent earlier in the day and enjoyed it but hearing songs from it live was even better. I've always enjoyed Dan's songs with Alkaline Trio so seeing him perform a collection of his own songs live was an absolute pleasure. He put so much energy and passion into his performance but still manages to remain the coolest man in the room. He seemed more animated playing these songs as well than he did playing Trio songs at the Brixton Academy back in July. Naturally the crowd loved him and as I looked around the room I noticed lots of people singing as loud as possible to every single word. It was truly a great set.