Art of Punk: Devan Power

I bought my first proper full-sized, screen printed gig poster at a Chuck Ragan show last year. I bought it because the design and colours really caught my eye. So, when I got home and got it all framed up for my bedroom wall, I took to Google and Tineye (reverse image search) in an attempt to find out who the designer of the poster was. The Internet wasn’t very helpful in giving me names so in the end I just tweeted Chuck Ragan and asked. If I remember rightly, he replied pretty promptly and soon I had my answer – Devan Power, a graphic designer based in Ontario, Canada.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Devan’s design portfolio – and Instagram account – since then and, although he does a lot of work for more Americana or folk-based musicians (Jason Isbell and Ivan Rivers), I was pleasantly surprised he’s recently done some designs for The Menzingers as well.

The Menzingers, if you didn’t know, are one of my absolute favourite punk bands. Devan’s T-shirt designs for the band were produced for their North American tour this year – here’s hoping they’ll be available for the UK tour this month as well. I particularly like the hourglass T-shirt but the grim reaper Milo tribute is just brilliant – not sure if it was for a T-shirt as his website doesn’t show it as such.

Devan also plays in a punk band himself, called No Hands, and works a tour manager therefore he has a certain insight into the world of bands and artists he designs for – always good to understand your clients. His designs have a very North American feel to them which is reflected in the typography and imagery – bringing to mind national park decals and tattoo art. This style of design is right up my street and I would happily wear all of these T-shirts (I like the artists too).

Album Review: The Cardiac Hotel by The Lion And The Wolf (by Emma Prew)

The Lion And The Wolf is the name by which solo artist Tom George is better known by in the musical world. I’ve known about him, and been a fan of his, since 2014 when I saw him supporting Billy The Kid on her UK tour. I’ve seen him a couple of times since then and am always mesmerised by his beautiful yet heartbreakingly melancholic songs. He’s also a super lovely chap – I once had a conversation with him at a Restorations gig about how his glasses had broken and being semi-blind was pretty rubbish – because I can relate. The Lion And The Wolf has recently signed to Xtra Mile – something that I personally saw coming a long time ago – and they are releasing his second album, The Cardiac Hotel, on 7th October. I got to take an early listen.

The album opens with Don’t Fail Me Now. After a quiet first few seconds, there is something that sounds an awful lot like a church organ (it probably is an organ of some kind) setting a somewhat haunting tone. There is reverb on Tom’s vocals which  pairs well with the organ and is somewhat of a style for him. It’s a hugely atmospheric song and an excellent album opener with the beautiful lyrics. ‘Love, Don’t fail me now. This time around, Don’t fail me now.’ And it feels like something special is about to happen…

I’ve always said that Tom sounds a lot like the late great Elliott Smith – although this is usually towards people who unfortunately (for them) don’t know who he is (or was). The second track on The Cardiac Hotel, Heaven Forbid, instantly brought to  

mind Mr Smith for me – both musically and vocally. Lyrically the song speaks of contrasts between light and dark, heaven and hell (‘shake hands with the devil’). ‘I had light in my soul, Through the darkest of love truth be told.’ 

For My Father’s Eyes, the volume and tempo are cranked up a bit. This is a song that I have heard live before and so I know the story behind it. Tom’s dad was very sick and was in hospital for a while and this song, as well as much of the album, was inspired by that time. There’s so much emotion and personal feelings packed into My Father’s Eyes that you almost feel like you’re intruding a little – or perhaps being allowed privileged access into Tom’s world. ‘Eyes, I’ve got my father’s eyes. Blind, Blind from time to time.’

Musically, the tone shifts slightly for The Hospital Floor but the theme of sickness remains. Despite this subject matter, the song has a positive feel to it – ‘Well I'll see you on the other side.’ is sung as the music gets louder. The 3 minute mark sees the music quieten for a time while Tom repeats the phrase ‘breathe in, breathe out’ and incidentally when I was listening to the album for the first time I was lying on my bed blissfully watching the clouds out of the window – almost meditating. So you heard it here first, The Lion And The Wolf is perfect meditation music!

The pace picks up a bit with Walk On The Moon, a track in which the piano playing really stands out. There are quite a few different instruments on The Cardiac Hotel which is really great to hear, especially as I’ve only ever seen The Lion And The Wolf with an acoustic guitar. The lyrics are excellent as ever – ‘You're the thorn in my side, You're the reason the rocks roll away with the tide.’ There’s also a clip of a train announcement followed by a neat little piano solo towards the end of song – lovely.

Then, just when I mention all the instruments on the album, Tom strips things back again for The Pinching Point. This song is all about the acoustic guitar and Tom’s reverberated vocals. Again, this is a very Elliott Smith-sounding song but with a hint of Death Cab For Cutie too – think I Will Follow You Into The Dark. However it is Tom's distinct vocals and lyrics that really stand out. The song is about dealing with sickness, and potentially death, of someone close to you. ‘Now she doesn’t have to grieve at the finish line.’

Barstools is another track that I've heard live before but, of course, the recorded version is quite different. Barstools is a slow burner of a track, gradually building and building. There are some gentle vocal harmonies in the background at one point and elongated chords on an organ. The middle of the song even features a brass section – a lot more of an orchestral sound than the live version I’m familiar with. The song ends with probably my favourite lyrics of the album – ‘So go, go be the lion I know you can be. Because you got what you wanted, You got what you wanted, You got what you wanted, You wanted from me.’

Starting off as a fairly melancholic and calm track, December is one of the quieter tracks of the album with some gentle melodic guitar playing from the outset. The heartfelt lyrics are excellent as ever – ‘Trying to speak and screaming aloud, My hands are weak and now, The body I have is a ghost town. I want to be right back there in the middle, I want to let the light back in.’

The lovely melodic guitar then continues for the start of Past The Point Of Fair but, just when you thought it was going to stay this way, the volume gets turned up a notch. The song is an affirmative one with positive lyrics – ‘We make the rules up when we’re there, We don’t need them, We don’t have the time to spare, But we've got the time to care so deal with it.’

As the album begins to draw to a close, the penultimate track, Witness, brings a particularly soulful feel to The Cardiac Hotel – ‘I’m a glorified sinner.’. Singing of being a ‘hopeless romantic’ and ‘falling down again’, Tom has a way of speaking about his own feelings as well as those of many of the listeners at the same time. Soft piano, guitars and Tom’s poignant vocals definitely bring a sense of the album coming to an end. 

And as all good things must, The Cardiac Hotel comes to an end with Find The Time – and an ending in style at that. Don’t Fail Me Now started off the album, setting an atmospheric tone and so does Find The Time finish the album. The song comes complete with some of the most relatable lyrics on The Cardiac Hotel, speaking of how we never seem to have enough time to see friends and do the things we want to in our busy lives, this is definitely one of the standout tracks. ‘How can we ever find the time? Clocks on walls are never right, Through the looking glass, Time not on your side. You know where I am.’ Around 3 minutes into the song the music gets louder, faster and more intense with seemingly a small orchestra thrown in for good measure… and then it ends. A perfect ending.

It might not be the sort of album for everyone, and it’s far from some of the more typically punk-sounding artists that are more often featured on this blog, but I loved The Cardiac Hotel. It is beautiful and atmospheric, with a great sense of hope throughout. I bought tickets to see Will Varley at Union Chapel in November as soon as I heard The Lion And The Wolf would be supporting – I like Will anyway but the addition of Tom really sold it for me. His songs played in a magnificent old London church is going to be magical.

You can find The Lion And The Wolf on Facebook here and buy the album here.

Colin's Punk Rock World Playlist: September 2016

This is the September edition of the Colin's Punk Rock World Playlist featuring tracks that Dan, Emma, Omar and myself have been listening to this month.

Top Tens: Emma's Top Ten Acoustic Artists

Sam Russo

One of the graveliest voices of acoustic punk rock, Sam Russo is one of the very best – hence why he made the list! Russo is a musician best experienced live with an eager audience singing – or yelling – along at the top of their lungs. He just gets better and better each time too, which isn’t something you can say about all artists ‘Soooometimes!’

Patrick Craig
Patrick Craig has fast become one of my favourite UK solo musicians. Ever since I saw him play with Joe McCorriston and John Allen, who are also solo acoustic artists (sorry you didn’t make the list, guys), I’ve been a fan. His debut album, True Story, released earlier this year is packed full of honest, heartfelt and highly relatable songs. There’s hints of Frank Turner, Wil Wagner and Ducking Punches in Patrick’s music but the stories within the songs are definitely his own.

Billy The Kid

I’m a little bit ashamed to say that Billy The Kid is the only female artist that has made this list. This is mostly because I’ve grown up listening to far more male musicians than female – despite being female myself! – and because I’m generally a fan of gravelly vocals (see Sam Russo, above). Billy Pettinger’s voice is certainly more grace than gravel, but she writes some really amazing songs. She’s punk at heart though – if you saw Against Me! at the Electric Ballroom in 2014 then you may recall Billy’s awesome duet with Laura for Borne On The FM Waves Of A Heart, complete with stage dive.

Gaz Brookfield

‘Gaz Brookfield’ was a name I'd heard of but not actually listened to until around this time last year, when I saw him as support act for Ferocious Dog at my local music venue (and I probably enjoyed his set even more than theirs). His down-to-earth, honest and hardworking ethic – touring non-stop, as heard in the song ‘Land Pirate's Life’ – instantly made me a fan.

Andrew Cream

Andrew Cream has released one of my favourite albums of the year so far, Self-Portrait. The album is a bit more of a full-band affair than his previous releases but it still contains the same sincere and inspiring lyricism. His song ‘Forever, In A Good Way’, from an earlier release, has been special to me since the first time I heard it.

Tim Vantol

I first came across Dutchman Tim Vantol due to his involvement in European legs of The Revival Tour, Chuck Ragan's live music camaraderie, and it was alongside Chuck that I saw him for the first time. He was brilliant and totally won me and the crowd over. Trust me, you can't listen to ‘If We Go Down, We Will Go Together’ and resist the urge to sing along.

Dave Hause
Punks, don’t hate me… but I’ve listened to Dave Hause’s solo material far more than I have The Loved Ones. I have Chuck Ragan’s Revival Tour to thank, again, for giving me the chance to see Mr Hause live for the first time. His debut album, Resolutions, was and still is one of my favourite albums – ‘Prague (Revive Me)’ is my favourite song, although it has quite a different sound. I’m also really excited for his third album that I believe is in the making.

PJ Bond

My most played artist of 2015 was without a doubt PJ Bond. I discovered him after he signed to Xtra Mile for the release of Where Were You?, an album that I thought was brilliant, but it was some of his earlier more raw-sounding tracks that really made me fall in love. He’s an excellent live performer and also a really lovely chap – he dedicated a song to myself and my parents (also acoustic punk fans) when we saw him last summer.

Chuck Ragan
I wasn’t going to include Chuck Ragan on this list (other than the previous two times I have alluded to him already!) as he’s not really a typically ‘acoustic’ artist, certainly not on his last album, Til Midnight, where he played full-band Americana-style music. He’s usually accompanied by at least double bass and violin as well. However, after talking to Colin, I was persuaded to put him on the list. Chuck is after all one of my favourite musicians, acoustic or otherwise, with one of my favourite voices of all time.

Frank Turner
I know some of you reading this may think that it is a bit of a cop out to put Frank Turner on this list, as he’s not really a solo acoustic artist anymore but there’s no denying that it’s where he started out… well, after Million Dead. If you know me then you’ll probably know how much I love Frank’s music and it was his 2006 Campfire Punkrock EP that I first heard – although not actually in 2006. Nashville Tennessee is still one of my favourite Frank Turner tracks, even if the lyric ‘And the only person in my band is me’ is not so true anymore.

You can listen to my ‘Top Ten Acoustic Artists’ playlist here:

Album Review: Pour Out by These Minds (by Dan Peters)

I’ve come to relish receiving promos in the (e)mail from Disconnect Disconnect Records. They’ve been putting some really quality music into the world with the likes of Bottler and Larrakia and also putting on killer touring bands like The Decline. A promo from them, even if I haven’t heard of the band before is like a Nintendo seal of Quality.

So it came to be that I found myself listening to Pour Out by These Minds. I popped that bad boy in fired up In My Way which in it’s own way started with riffs, rhythm and vocals that instantly told me “you’re gonna be listening to some pop punk here”. Take that as you will, and if you’re not a fan of gruff pop punk then you will instantly know you’ve come to the wrong place and you can move on, no harm, no foul. If like me you live and breath pop punk then you’ll probably find this to be a solid fun opener which is well crafted and while it holds to genre staples stands out enough to be interesting.

After that, much to my delight, things speed up. I’m a sucker for fast punk rock and this has a breakneck opening before falling back into what after a few minutes I’ve picked out as the These Minds signature sound. Things continue on much in this same way for the rest of the EP. These Minds have nailed their formula down and they know what works. Nothing here is over produced or sickly but at the same time it is lovingly crafted and expertly delivered. Sometimes I don’t want to hear something blazingly original, I want to hear a genre I know and love played as well as it can be. This is what you get here.

If you like gruff pop punk then this will definitely be for you, as it is for me. Once again Disconnect Disconnect have added a fearsome good record onto their books and helped cement themselves as a label much worth paying attention to.

Pre-order Pour Out here: http://disconnectdisconnectrecords.bigcartel.com/product/these-minds-pour-out

Like These Minds here: https://www.facebook.com/thesemindsuk/

Gig Review: ONSIND at DIY Space For London (Last Ever 176 Show) 23/9/16

Friday the 23rd of September was going to be a very bittersweet night for me. On one hand, one of my favourite bands ONSIND were playing a headline show at DIY Space For London. On the other, it was the last ever 176 Records show. This made me sad as Angela has been putting on the best punk shows in London for a number of years. For me 176 has been a huge part in not only discovering so many amazing bands but also quite inspirational in supporting the punk scene. But more on that later - ON WITH THE SHOW!

We were running a little late to get to the show but we managed to catch a few songs of the opening band, Apartments. The duo from Belfast, via Leeds, make one hell of a fantastic racket. With just an electric guitar and drums, vocals are shared between the two members and I was amazed by the raw emotion that is poured out of every song. A great start to the night.

Following Apartments were a four piece band named Molar. This London band feature two different vocalists, one of the guitar players and the drummer. This was my first time hearing Molar and I was pleasantly surprised by their sound. It was much harder than I expected and was a sound I don't really hear much of. There was a great rawness to it which really caught my attention.

Next up was a band named Break-Ups that both Emma and I feel like we should have seen a lot but have never managed it. Despite this between us we have seen guitarist Luke and bass player Alfie play solo on separate occasions. Basically seeing Break-Ups was well over do and it was definitely worth the wait. This three piece play some fantastic heart on their sleeve sing-a-long punk rock. Alfie and Luke take turns with lead vocals and both sound great, even better when they are singing together. Sadly, because the night was running slightly late Break-Ups had to hurry through their set but that didn't stop them putting on a great performance. I can't wait to see them again.

The final support act were Kamikaze Girls, who have recently released a new EP named Sad. I reviewed Sad and loved it and I had heard so many good things about Kamikaze Girls live so was very much looking forward to experiencing it for myself. WOW! What a performance it was - Lucinda and Conor are both incredible performers and write some of the most powerful and emotional songs out there at the moment. It always pleases me when a band who are great on record completely blow me away with their live performance. Lucinda is a special talent, an incredible guitarist with a voice that effortlessly switches from a clean soft vocal to a raw, snarling howl that will knock your socks off. There set was moving. Make sure to catch Kamikaze Girls live!

Finally it was time for the evening’s headline act and the final band to play a 176 show, the amazing ONSIND. The acoustic punk duo from Pity Me in Durham have long been a favourite of mine and I always get so excited to see them play. It seems like ages since ONSIND played in London as well so it felt well over do. Starting with the opening track of last album, Anaesthesiology (spelt correctly first time - hooray for me!), the crowd at DIY Space sang along instantly for Pokémon City Limits and continued to sing as loud as possible throughout the entirety of ONSIND’s set. Something I really love about an ONSIND set is that it feels like every person in the crowd is as much a part of the band are as Daniel and Nathan are. Obvious set highlights were Mildred, Dissatisfactions and of course the "hit" Heterosexuality Is A Construct. The song that really stood out to me though was BA77. BA77 has the lyrics "I'm Sick Of Border, Sick Of Nations, Sick Of Racist Immigration." Hearing a room full of people belting out those lyrics amidst the currently political climate in the UK gives me hope that there are still plenty of people out there who believe in doing the right thing - despite all of the atrocities that are happening. ONSIND are just an incredible band who really should be heard by everyone. Not only do they write really important songs about mental health, social and gender politics and racism that not only entertain but really educate. They're also a pretty kick-ass punk rock band.

ONSIND brought an end to somewhat of an era of punk rock shows in London. 176 shows are sadly no more. Over the years, Angela has put on the best shows featuring some of the best in UK bands (Muncie Girls, Bangers, Great Cynics, Above Them, Zatopeks, Crazy Arm, Caves, Bear Trade, Martha, ONSIND and Apologies, I Have None to name a few) and some of the best in international bands (Direct Hit, RVIVR, Iron Chic, Smoke Or Fire, Dear Landlord, Nothington, Arms Aloft, Red City Radio, Timeshares, Tender Defender and Mikey Erg to name a few more). Every single 176 show I've attended has been just a wonderful time. As good as the bands always have been, something that has always stood out to me is how welcoming and friendly the shows are. For years I went to shows by myself and never once did I feel out of place or like I didn't belong at a 176 show. Angela deserves a lot of credit and should be immensely proud the wonderful atmosphere and community that was made at her shows. DIY Space For London mentions the term "safe space" a lot in their manifesto, for me every 176 show I ever went to felt like a safe space. The role of a promoter is often overlooked at a show and I can't begin to imagine the amount of energy, time and work goes into putting on a show. So for anyone to do so, especially when it's not their full time job, must be a great strain on their lives. I fully respect Angela's decision to move on to something new. Thank you Angela and 176 Records, your shows will be really missed.

Album Review: The Decay by Colder Bones (by Emma Prew)

Matt Awbery is a musician from Cheshire, previously performing under his own name and now using the name Colder Bones. He describes his sound as sad, punk-influenced acoustic music and has just released his first EP, under the new guise, titled The Decay and recorded by Steve Millar, AKA Arms & Hearts. The EP is out on Local Colour Records  and is available now from Bandcamp – pay what you want.

The first of three tracks on The Decay is titled I Still Believe (and is not a cover of the Frank Turner song of the same name). The first thing that initially stood out to me when listening to I Still Believe was just how distinct Matt’s voice is. His vocals reminded me a lot of The National’s Matt Barninger – and probably a few other musicians that I can’t quite put my finger on – but either way, great voice. Vocally and musically there is certainly a sad tone to it but the lyrics hint at optimism a little – ‘Well I still believe that best friends succeed while people like you tear through, Til the end.’

I’m Sorry, the second track, opens with a stop-start repeated acoustic guitar riff. I must admit I had to check that the song hadn’t just stopped playing but it certainly builds a sense of atmosphere. The stop-start style continues throughout the majority of the song with the melancholic vocals joining the guitar, between pauses – ‘I’m sorry, That I was not enough, I’m sorry, That I am not enough.’ Towards the end of the song there is a stretch of acoustic guitar and vocals without the disjointed feel – sort of what the rest of the song was building towards.

The last track on The Decay is a track of the same name… Decay. It’s probably the most stripped back of the three songs on the EP – if you can call a song on an acoustic EP stripped back! What I mean is that the acoustic guitar is fairly quiet and gentle with Matt’s vocals being the main emphasis of the song. There’s no denying that, as the man states himself, he is a writer of distinctly sad sounding songs but they are so full of emotion. ‘Tell me that it hurts, Tell me you’ve be crying, So that I can close my eyes…’

If sad acoustic music is your sort of thing then I suggest you check out Colder Bones on Facebook here.