Album Review: Born & Bored by Guilhem (by Lee Morton)

Guilhem is a singer/songwriter hailing from Montreal in Canada who clearly doesn’t like sitting still. As well as this, his first full length solo album, he has also released a couple of solo EPs, albums with his band, the excellent Lost Love, and is one of the team behind the successful Pouzza punk festival held in Montreal every year. In fact, it was back at Pouzza 2016 that I first encountered Guilhem, playing his folksy punk during one of the many early acoustic shows that were the perfect pick me up from the debauchery of the previous night.

If you’re familiar with Lost Love then this solo record is exactly as you’d expect, a stripped-down version, with dollops of their darkly quirky humour, often downbeat themes over upbeat music. It’s a very simple format but that means that there’s nothing to hide behind and it has to stand on the strength of the songwriting which shines through, not always brightly but enough to illuminate the path over the journey of the album. When I say journey, that doesn’t mean to say this is a concept album but there are recurring themes that crop up across the record.

The album starts with the delicate intro of “Just A Little Bit Above The Bottom”, which has a simple nursery rhyme quality to it. At just over a minute, half of which is instrumental, it eases you into the album proper with “Jurasticly”, an upbeat folky punk number packed with an infectious charm that worms its way into your ear and gives your heart a massive hug.

One of the main themes of the record is the stress and reality of growing up and this is perfectly captured on “5tr3sss”. With hints of Weezer at their best, this is another catchy number that shines a light on the pressures of modern life and, whilst the subject matter can sound depressing, it’s delivered in such an upbeat, positive way that you are quickly humming along.

What makes this album so accessible is the simplicity to the songs, which is not to take anything away or meant in any derogatory way. “Sober Realism” is a great example of this, a simple song structure that is instantly familiar and captures your attention. “Downward Spiral” follows and has that easy-on-the-ear sound, although with a bit of the alt-folk-rock vibe of a band like The Eels.

One of my favourite tracks here, “Happy On Paper” is up next and addresses anxiety and depression and how although things look like you should be happy, if you scratch underneath the surface things aren’t always as they seem. Depressing? No, this quirky track will still manage to make you smile with some upbeat brass parping in.

The mining of dark and depressing topics, and turning them into musical gold continues on “Heart (Attack) Of Gold” which in the chorus asks “how will you die” and continues to list ways to die during the verses. It’s darkly comic but retains a sense of light relief, especially during the spoken word fade out where the voiceover talks about what a great life they had, until they died.

Penultimate song, “Slow Song”, is exactly what you would expect from the title – slowed down verses that once again are simple to sing along to but then increases in volume over the chorus. It’s another that has a real familiarity to it and the choir-like backing vocals provide an extra layer of depth to it.

The album ends with a real highlight for me. Slightly rockier than the rest of the album, “The Needs” hits the sweet spot between folk and rock. Almost the flip side to “Happy On Paper” this addresses what you need, or don’t need, to be happy and is more upbeat in both tempo and volume, although the extended fade out of weird ambient noises perhaps goes on for longer than necessary.

Overall, this is a well-made album that has its finger on the pulse of the modern world but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Catchy, melodic and relevant, this is a great listen that reveals more depth every time you listen to it.

Stream and download Born & Bored on Bandcamp here.

Like Guilhem on Facebook here.

This review was written by Lee Morton.

Album Review: Le Feu Et Le Sable by Airstream Futures (by Chris Bishton)

It doesn't seem very long since Chicago's alt-punks Airstream Futures released their debut album Spirale Inferale. In fact, it's been over two years. So, it's actually about right that they should release the follow up now, another with a French title – Le Feu Et Le Sable – and on one of my favourite labels, Sunderland's Little Rocket Records.

Unfortunately, language skills were not my strong point at school and having failed to pass GCSE French it means I'm forced to Google the translation – 'Fire and Sand.' I'm not sure why both their albums have these French titles, but hey, there were a lot of things at school that weren't my strong point. (Spirale Inferale translates to Infernal Spiral in case you're wondering – I'm sure you weren't.)

Cemetery Sparrow is the opening track and is also the lead single from the new album. A fast and seemingly upbeat track, the song actually addresses mental health, anxiety and depression, whilst set in an old cemetery.

It's a subject that we've written about and held dear at CPRW (if you haven't already, check out CPRW's release for the mental health charity MIND to discover some new favourite bands) and huge credit should go to Airstream Futures for opening the album with this song.

It's also a subject that the band have written about before. Their previous 7" single, If I & PR Nightmares, addressed depression but is a banger. I've listened to Cemetery Sparrow repeatedly now, and it too is a cracking track. It's my favourite on the album and is both a great way to kick off the record and set it up for the rest of the record.

The following 11 songs all knit together very neatly. Listened back to back, I do find they merge from one to another, but that isn't meant as a criticism; rather it feels as if the album flows really well.

The guitars are all fast and Devon's vocals are really strong throughout. I find they're kind of haunting, but extremely melodic. She's a great singer. Brighter Blue, the penultimate song on side one, is one of the tracks that really brings this home. Soaring vocals that fit majestically with the rhythm and guitars.

This new album is definitely a progression from their first. But that's not to say it's markedly *better* because Spirale Inferale was a fine debut. It does feel that the band members work together in a more coherent way though.

Even though Airstream Futures are relatively new as a band, the members have pedigree having been in some of my other favourites including The Methadones, The Bomb and the hugely underrated Noise By Numbers.

It's produced by Rodrigo Palma of Saves The Day and Derek Grant of Alkaline Trio and, to top it all, the godlike genius Frankie Stubbs even sings backing vocals… so let's face facts, I was always going to enjoy this album.

Stream and download Le Feu Et Le Sable on Bandcamp here.

Like Airstream Futures on Facebook here.

This review was written by Chris Bishton.

Making A Case For NOFX (by Lee Morton and Brett Coomer)

Here's part three of our new series – Making A Case For. In this series, two of the CPRW team take a classic punk rock band and put forward their argument as to why their choice of album is the band’s best. Today, Lee and Brett nominate the best NOFX album.

Making A Case For Punk In Drublic (Lee Morton)

Cast your mind back to 1994, the grunge era is on its last legs and nu-metal is just taking off. Both Green Day and The Offspring have broken punk into the mainstream conscious with the release of “Dookie” and “Smash” respectively and DIY punks NOFX released their fifth, and still their most successful album to date, “Punk In Drublic”.

Against the introverted grunge scene and toxic masculinity of nu-metal, the juvenile humour mixed with short, sharp hook laden tracks that make up “Punk In Drublic” was a much needed adrenaline shot in the arm of the DIY punk scene. Streamlining the more hardcore punk of their earlier releases, this album, more than any others since, truly captures the spirit of NOFX and laid the template for all their future albums.

With sales in excess of 1 million copies worldwide, despite limited radio play or music TV coverage, it is one of the most successful independent album releases of all-time and effectively saved Epitaph Records as well as ensuring the growth of Fat Wreak Chords, with both labels becoming synonymous with mid-90s punk.

If the numbers aren’t enough to justify this as their greatest release, then what about the songs? One look at the track-listing and it reads like a greatest hits set, which in effect is what it is. Fan favourites such as “Linoleum”, “Leave It Alone” and “The Brews” are live constants and almost perfect punk songs, but dig deeper and there’s plenty of meat to get your teeth into with racism in their sights on “Don’t Call Me White” and “The Brews” whilst politics get shot down too with “Perfect Government”.

In fact, “Perfect Government” paved the way for NOFX to become more political with future releases, such as “The Decline” which Brett will wax lyrically about but the fact is, would they have even made that record without the foundations laid down in “Punk In Drublic”?

The influence that this record has made on other bands is without question, having inspired many good, and not so good bands, to pick up instruments but by also incorporating ska and reggae into their sound they helped keep the flames of these genres burning during some lean years.

Now, if none of this helps convince you that this was their finest hour then I shall leave the last word to guitarist El Hefe, who told the Associated Press in 2014 that “to me, that was our best album” so if he thinks that then it must be true.

Making A Case For The Decline (Brett Coomer)

In 1999, NOFX was one of the biggest punk bands on the planet that wasn’t being played on mainstream radio or TV and had been together for over 15 years. So one would expect the band to release an album with more of the same short, fast, snotty punk songs that built their establishment. Instead, according to the band they had “done enough short songs, time for a long one” and at 18-and-a-bit minutes ‘The Decline’ is definitely the longest song in the band’s catalogue and one of the longest punk songs ever recorded.

‘The Decline’ is only one song, but it has more dynamics and musical nuance than a lot of albums made up of 9 or more 2-plus minute songs. The song starts off as any normal NOFX song would, with some bass chords ringing out over a fast hi-hat beat, and very quickly makes you think of a typical punk rock song. But, with the help of some seamless key and time signature changes throughout its 18 minutes, ‘The Decline’ takes the listener on a journey through what can only be described as movements, each with its own distinct feel, while still contributing to and staying consistent with the theme. It never shies too far away from the NOFX sound though, featuring all of the characteristics you’d expect on any NOFX album: blazingly fast drum beats, frantic but fluent bass lines, awesome yelling backing vocals from Eric Melvin, and a number of guitar solos from El Hefe. Much like the music, the lyrics tell a few different stories and offer a range of attacks, both metaphorical and blatant, on the state of the American government, policies and the general decline of society. All themes that are mostly still valid today.

Choosing a single favourite album from a band like NOFX with such a large catalogue of music is always going to be a challenge. I’m almost positive that if you surveyed everyone at a NOFX concert you’d get a bunch of votes for each of their albums (maybe with the exception of Liberal Animation) with perhaps two or three outliers like Punk In Drublic, Wolves in Wolves Clothing, and So Long And Thanks for All The Shoes, which are all really great albums and worthy of the praise but they all still have one flaw in common: filler.

The question may be asked: Is it a song? Is it a punk rock opera? Is it an EP? Is it an album? Who cares. Whichever label you’d like to place on ‘The Decline’ by NOFX, it takes nothing away from the fact that it is an impressive piece of music released by one of the most prolific, divisive, and infamous bands of modern punk rock and remains an achievement of epic proportions even 21 years after it was first released.

P.S. The vinyl is more than just one song, as the B-side features a demo version of a more traditional length and sounding NOFX song, perhaps to remind everyone that the band hadn’t completely lost touch with their short fast punk roots.

This feature was written by Lee Morton and Brett Coomer.

Album Review: Cause A Stir by Charmpit (by Emma Prew)

London via California DIY pop(star) punk band Charmpit are gearing up to release their much anticipated debut full-length on the 3rd of April. Titled Cause A Stir, the album is being released by the always excellent Specialist Subject Records and follows on from Charmpit’s previous releases on Keroleen Records and Everything Sucks. Since those releases, original members Anne Marie, Rhianydd and Alex have been joined by Estella (who also plays in Big Joanie) and have further perfected their sound.

We saw Charmpit support RVIVR in London a couple of years ago and I remember being impressed by their feisty yet, well, charming songs and live performance. So, when the wonderful Erica over at Specialist Subject sent over an early stream of Cause A Stir, I was understandably keen to check it out.

Cause A Stir kicks off with Do It Together. The song has nothing to do with the Fest we helped to host at the New Cross Inn earlier this year but it does sound like it could have been our theme tune. Opening first with drums and then some bass, Charmpit talk us through how you can easily start a band if you do it with your friends (and friends of friends) – it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes because you’re doing it together. Charmpit played their first show in 2016 at DIY Space For London’s ‘First Timers’ project and this song feels like a homage to that and their DIY roots in general. It’s also a brilliant albeit short and sweet album opener. Bridges Go Burn is up next and this song is as insanely catchy as it is uplifting. Released as a single late last year, Bridges Go Burn is about is about cutting someone out of your life because they’re not worth your time, making you doubt yourself and your ability to just live your life the way you want to. It’s pretty empowering stuff and I’m sure others will be able to relate. It’s really catchy too, did I mention that? ‘You’re stepping on my tongue now, Getting in my head, Make me doubt myself now, Leaving it unsaid…’

Jimnastics is a straight-up indie punk banger. With mid-tempo verses featuring vocals that seemingly come from everywhere – Charmpit sure know how to pack the harmonies into their songs – and a more fast-paced chorus, Jimnastics is littered with twinkly guitar melodies and is just generally a whole lot of fun. Fourth song, Princess Video, is a slower paced number that really allows Charmpit’s vocalists, Anne Marie and Rhianydd, to shine – what incredible voices this band has. Princess Video feels like a very nostalgic song, reminiscing on simpler times when every second of life wasn’t recorded on a mobile phone. The highlight of the song has to be the bridge when two different vocal parts are sung at the same time. The passion that each vocalist puts in is so heartening. Sophomore Year begins slowly before cranking up the volume and putting the punk into femme-punk – by which I mean there is a certain venom to those otherwise sugary sweet vocals. This contrasts really wonderfully with the softer, more melodic parts of the song. There’s a lot of variety on offer throughout Sophomore Year, keeping the listener on their toes and showing that Charmpit don’t intend to stick to one defined sound. Of course, I love the song’s ending as Charmpit yell ‘Viva Anarachy!’.

Picking the pace back up as soon as it gets going, Kissing You is a cheery, jangly pop song about being excited to meet up with your crush. The song is as much about the anticipation of the date as the actual date itself – how your heart races just at the thought of seeing that special someone… and kissing them. It’s a short, light-hearted and genuine tune that really puts a smile on your face. Wild Wild Westfield is the name of track number seven. It’s a song that I hope you’re familiar with since it was released as a single in February. That, plus it’s absolutely brilliant. This is possibly the catchiest song on Cause A Stir – although I might be bias because I’ve listened to this one track a lot. Wild Wild Westfield is an irresistible love letter to the shopping mall and the fun that can be had there, as well as historically being a place designed for women – a safe space if you will. It’s certainly given me a different view of shopping centre. ‘This mall is your land, this mall is my land, no femme is a fashion island!’. Muffy Plays Poker is kick-ass tune about feeling like you’re only just starting to live your life while those around you, including your past loves, seem to be growing up, getting married and doing other adult things. Life can feel like it’s going too fast sometimes. There’s some particularly brilliant guitar work on this song – Estella sure can shred.

The puntastically titled Dyed And Gone To Hairven feels darker in tone than much of the album so far with a deep, chunky bass line to open the song. Charmpit start by singing of shaving your hair and/or dying it green as a form of self-expression or therapy. At face value, it could seem almost self-centred or superficial but a new haircut can feel like a total transformation and can sometimes be just what you need to make you feel yourself again. I really admire Charmpit for writing songs about such a wide variety of topics and making me think about things I’ve never really considered before. I guess that’s the sign of a great songwriter. Here For The View (Santa Cruz) is the penultimate song on Cause A Stir. Sweetly melodic and upbeat, Here For The View is similar to Muffy Plays Poker in that it seems to be about growing up and feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do – ‘Here for the view, So little time so much to do, 24 hours to spend with you.’ (Plus, I’m almost certain that ‘Muffy’ gets a mention at the end of the first verse). It’s a carefree tune that feels super summery – perhaps because I’m thinking of California and it’s always sunny there, right? As track number ten fades out, we come to the album’s closing song. Baby Needs A Breeze takes yet another musical direction as Charmpit deliver what it the most laid-back, yet feel-good song on Cause A Stir. It feels like the band are soothing the listener as they collectively sing ‘Breeze, You’re a diamond in my world, Making it all possible, Breeze, Open up and find a pearl, So beautiful…’. I know they’re singing ‘breeze’ but it feels like they could be saying ‘breathe’. I often say how I like an album to end with a bang but it’s also lovely to have an album end with a feeling of calm.

I feel like everything is going to be okay. Thank you, Charmpit!

You can stream the two singles from Cause A Stir on Bandcamp here, as well as pre-ordering the album. You can also like Charmpit on Facebook.

This review was written by Emma Prew.

Album Review: Steven Island by Maladroit

In February, French punk rockers Maladroit released their first new music in five years! The Parisian band have been a fixture in the European pop punk scene for years and I became a fan of theirs when I saw them play with Frenzal Rhomb, Direct Hit and Mike TV at The Underworld in Camden in 2014 (I think). What a line-up that was! Their newest release is an EP named Steven Island and it features four brand new songs based around four of Steven Spielberg’s most famous films – Jurassic Park, ET, Jaws and Indiana Jones. After being away for so long, this was the most fun way to come back.

Steven Island begins with Darwin's Got Our Back which is based around Jaws. This wasn't the fast paced and melodic pop punk song I expected to start the EP. Instead it's a stabby, stop-start type of song which has a bit of a darker tone than I usually expect to hear from Maladroit. That's not saying I didn't enjoy the song though. In fact, I thought it was a striking way to start Steven Island and it really made me take notice. Despite the structure of the song, it's still packed with memorable lines and hooks that will stick in your mind and have you singing along in no time. Up next is Raptor Lover (based around Jurassic Park). This song is far more what I was expecting from the EP. Fast, simple, catchy and lots of fun. The line "they say I'm a bad seed" is repeated a lot throughout the song so you'll have no excuse to not be singing along when you see them live. The song is from the point of view of the scientists who created the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and how they say they're not bad people, they just wanted to see if it could be done.

The third song on Steven Island is titled Exploration Team (Indiana Jones). This is the most conventional pop punk tune on the EP. Think of bands like Teenage Bottlerocket and The Copyrights and you get the idea. Bringing the tempo up even higher than before adds an urgency to the track that I really loved. Lately I'm really enjoying all my music to have some urgency about it. That's not to say that melody is sacrificed on the song. On the song, Maladroit seem to have found the perfect blend of both urgency and melody. I dig it. Last up is Communication Fuck Up, based around ET. Communication Fuck Up mixes the stabby sound of Darwin's Got Our Back and the urgency of Exploration Team so you get the best of both sides of Maladroit's sound. Lyrically it follows a pretty simple structure. I love a simple song though, it connects with me quicker and keeps me entertained. I enjoyed the use of multiple vocalists on the track. Each vocalist bringing a different style helped add a truck load of energy to the track that gets you pumped up and leaves you wanting much more.

Maladroit have returned with a really fun EP which features four fantastic songs. I'm always impressed with how pop punk bands manage to create a variety of sounds. It's such a unique theme to base an EP around and the band have pulled it off superbly. Bravo Maladroit.

Stream and download Steven Island on Bandcamp here.

Like Maladroit on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: swell by WIG (by Marcus Pond)

WIG is a three-piece rock band from Chicago that now has a pair of EPs under their belt. Not too keen on following basic capitalization structures, their band name is in all caps, while neither of their EPs (their debut “wig” and most recent “swell”) contain any capitals. They’re not too big on capitalism either, as they are unsearchable on iTunes and Spotify, and their Bandcamp page states that you can “name your price” for their music.

swell opens up with “I Don’t Mind”, which has a Dinosaur Jr. feel about it, alternating between fuzzy, 90s era alternative rock tones. It’s a sweet, grungy love note to that special someone, opening up with the line “You got a way / To make me almost forget everything”. It’s upbeat and you can almost feel the wind blowing through your hair as you listen to it.

In the middle of the five song release is “Heap”, a two minute instrumental that I originally mistook for a long intro into the fourth track, but actually stands up really well on its own. I’ve tended to kind of disregard what I consider a kind of “throw away” instrumental tracks (because I’d prefer it to have some lyrics to make it a little more memorable, I guess), but it’s got a great riff and seems like part of an intimate jam session they decided to mic up. You’ve won this round, instrumental tracks.

“Fencing” is the most punk tune on the EP, and definitely my favorite. It kicks off with some intense drumming, interspersed with angular guitars and a rolling bass line. After the build up, vocalist/guitarist Chris Gottlieb channels his inner Ian McKaye, growling about neutral onlookers who shy away from taking sides over important matters. “From atop this fence / I can look down / Oh little people / Choosing some ground / Don’t dare to offend / Anyone at all / Who might put a dent in / My social capital”. Definitely an appropriate listen on my way to the voting booth at the beginning of March. The last 20 seconds or so devolve into a frenzy of drumming and swirling guitars, which left me feeling a little exhausted after the first listen.

I love the DIY-feel of swell, and the sound that WIG has honed on their second EP. I’m a sucker for accumulating great music on vinyl, but if they keep on putting out cassettes, I might need to dig up a Walkman to more fully enhance my auditory experience.

RIYL: Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi, Drilling For Blasting, deciding whether to eat at Portillo’s or Giordano’s

Stream and download swell on Bandcamp here.

Like WIG on Facebook here.

This review was written by Marcus Pond.

CPRW Playlist: March 2020

CPRW Playlist: Here's what Brett, Chris, Dan, Dan#2, Emma, Lee, Marcus, Omar, Richard, Robyn and myself have been listening to in March.