My Hopes For 2016

Okay, as this is my first column of the year I'd like to start off by saying Happy New Year, I hope everyone's 2015 was as good as mine. Before we get into the actual topic of this column I'd like to say thank you for your support over the past year, whether you liked, retweeted, shared, favourited, or commented - thank you. If you took the time to write me a top ten punk rock influences - thank you. Big thanks always go to Avon and Emma for all their hard work making me sound and look good, I'm sure that takes a lot of effort. Emma and Avon - thank you so much. With everyone's help and support Colin's Punk Rock World has had far more success than I ever expected, I only started doing it as a way to focus my mind when I was struggling with some life stuff so to still be doing it and getting more views and likes all of the time is something I'm very happy about. Here's to having an ever bigger 2016!

That leads me on to the subject of this blog - Hopes For 2016.

For me 2015 was a really good year for punk rock. I'll admit a lot of the big guns didn't really release much but this allowed a lot of the newer bands coming through all over the world a chance to get their share of the spotlight and show off just how good they are. Six of my top ten albums of the year were from bands that I'd never heard of before. I'm hoping to discover more and more great underground bands in the next year - as I'm typing this I'm listening to a fantastic German band named The Lamplighters you should all check out.

I think that the UK's punk scene is the best it's ever been at the moment, with so many great bands constantly emerging. Three of the bigger bands in the scene, Muncie Girls, Ducking Punches and Apologies, I Have None, are all due to release albums this year and I'm expecting them all to be classics and to really help further the bands’ careers. I actually know just how good Ducking Punches album is as I pledged and so already own a copy, but I'm looking forward to the big release it gets on Xtra Mile Recordings. In Scotland there are new releases due from The Murderburgers, Paper Rifles, Elk Gang and Billy Liar, all of which I am very excited for and expect all to feature highly in my end of 2016 lists.

The UK's ska scene was dealt a huge blow last year with Random Hand's departure but after attending a couple of Skankfest All-Dayer's at The Fleece in Bristol I am more than confident that there are a lot of talented bands ready to take on the mantle of the UK's best ska punk bands. One band in particular - Faintest Idea - I'm hoping will have a breakthrough year, with a new album due and one of the best live shows you'll see they are a band that need and deserve to be heard by many, many more people. Also this year will see the return of ska punk legends Sonic Boom Six with their long awaited album The F-Bomb finally due in February. This will be one of the most anticipated releases in years and I'm hoping to be blown away by The Boom all over again.

In the world of legendary punk bands I'd love a new Descendents album, it's been rumoured for a long time and I'll keep crossing my fingers it'll be soon. The Descendents are one of two bucket list bands I've still yet to see. This year they are coming to the UK to play Rebellion Festival and I'm really hoping they add a London show to the tour! My other bucket list band I'm yet to see is The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It's been years since The Bosstones graced our small island and I imagine seeing them live would be a very special experience. Other North American acts I'd love to do some UK shows this year are Rancid (playing And Out Come The Wolves), The Briggs, Jeff Rosenstock, The Planet Smashers, Mustard Plug and Hot Water Music.

One band that is coming to England that I'm completely "stoked" about is Australia's The Bennies. I love everything these guys have put out and have been eagerly awaiting news of a first UK tour. Currently they are only announced for Bristol's Deadpunk Special in May but I'm expecting a lot more shows to be announced. The Bennies’ best pals The Smith Street Band are, I believe, starting a new album this year which I'm hoping will be released before the year is finished, if it's only half as good as previous effort Throw Me In The River it's still going to be one of the albums of the year. I'm expecting another UK tour from Wil Wagner and the boys as well this year and I'd love some solo shows as well.

In 2015 I managed to get to more festivals and all-dayers than ever and I loved every single one of them. This year I'm planning on getting back to most of them and going to even more, including Emma and I fulfilling a dream to get across to Gainesville for The Fest. There's something truly special about a punk festival that brings so many brilliant people together in such positive ways and it's always a pleasure to be part of it.

Last year [spunge] and Whitmore got together for the Extraction Fest tour. Also Lightyear reformed for Slam Dunk Festival. The year before that Jesse James got together for a few shows. These are bands that I first loved when I found UK underground punk rock. I've seen a lot of people talk about how fantastic it would be for these bands and others such as 4ft Fingers, Captain Everything and Fletcher from that brilliant era of punk rock to get together for a reunion festival. Please someone make that happen!

Finally I'm hoping to make more and more punk rock friends in 2016. I met the most important person in my life because of our love of punk rock and it would be great to befriend more punks this year. I'm completely rubbish at talking to people I don't know but when I have I've met some of the friendliest people I've ever met so I am going to make more effort in this aspect of my life. The punk community is the most welcoming one in the world and it's an honour to be a tiny part of it.

Here's to a brilliant year for punk in 2016!

Top Tens: Mark Bell from Mug's Top Ten Punk Rock Influences

A top ten influences list is a really hard one for most people to pin. It goes without saying that the ten bands I’ve chosen are specific to me. I wrote a few different lists and I’ve come up with 10 that I feel happy putting out there. You’ll also have to bear in mind that in terms of influences this list will probably equal about 25% of the music my band ‘Mug’ my cite as influence (being one of four who all have equal active parts in writing all the music/lyrics/melodies, etc). I’ll also mention that I’m gonna ignore the favourites. Yeah, NOFX, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Millencolin, No Use For a Name and early Green Day should take top spots on this list, but I’m betting you’ve all read that list about 1000 times. Instead I’m going to focus on those bands that had me obsessed for a few months at a time. Those odd, random finds where you really want to get down a song in that similar style, that similar sound. Those albums you can’t wait to tell your best mate about but they probably won’t listen to it anyway. I’ve also put my choice album next to them should any of you not know where to start. That’s the list I wanted to write.

10. RX Bandits (The Resignation)

When I was at university I had heard about these guys. They were ok. Kinda ska-punk stuff. Not my thing but they were alright. When Mat (Mug singer) lent me this CD it blew me away. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time. So much is put in this release, the words, the message, the melodies, the intricate musicianship and the rawness of the mix. Seeing them play the whole thing live is one of my favourite memories.

9. The Shell Corporation (Force Majeure)

I (rather big-headedly) like to think of these guys as an American version of ourselves. Obviously, that’s ridiculous, they have a shit-tonne more cred and have played way more shows and toured a lot more. But there is something in their set up and sound that reminds me of us and maybe where I want songs to go and the shapes they should take while we’re writing.

 

8. Arteries (Dead Sea)

I heard about these guys when we supported the Flatliners in 2011. I fell in love with this band and played them consistently in my car for about 3 months. The power and the rawness of their sound! You can tell they recorded the whole album in a few days but they still nailed each and every song. When I saw them play live it just cemented everything I loved about them. The lead singer (Miles) had this really long blonde hairs and was whipping it about on stage and you could tell they loved playing their songs live. Then they went and stopped playing for some reason. Which sucks.

7. A Wilhelm Scream (Ruiner)

Only really got into these guys in the last few years as they were always a bit hardcore for me but then I saw them live and they remain the finest band I’ve ever seen live. I walked out of that show with split personalities. On one side I wanted to throw away all my instruments because they just showed me that I’d never be able to play to that standard ever. The other half wanted me to write songs as ferocious and sharp as they did. I opted for the second as I didn’t want to throw out my lovely instruments… Still trying.

6. Crazy Arm (Born To Ruin)

I’m not really political. I usually don’t care about the political message of most bands and it usually annoys the hell out of me when I get force-sung this stuff at me. But I didn’t feel any of this with Crazy Arm. They write songs with passion and with amazing melodies. They showed me you can play fairly slow without sounding boring one second and up the tempo the next song all while sounding amazing as fuck. I got a chance to see them in the summer and they are so incredible live. They are technical wizards on the guitar and they have such great crowd control.

5. Bangers (Small Pleasures) 

I kept seeing this album cover all over the place. I had a listen and was instantly hooked. Roo (see a few articles ago for his top ten) writes amazing songs, you can tell he writes for himself and he’s just stoked that anyone else likes them. The dynamic of the three-piece is so raw and powerful. The riffs and sound of the guitar are so original and fit so well in the dynamic. Live, they are a pleasure to watch as they all look like they are having so much fun and the rawness of the songs work so well as a live show. True story: I was so stoked on this album that once I met David Hasselhoff and got him to pose with a copy of it just so I could send it to them. I still don’t know why I did that…

4. Hogwash (Rainmaker)

I love Hogwash! They sound incredible and they are a real treat to watch live. The thing that really struck a chord with me was how well they use vocal melodies and harmonies. All 3 of the front stage guys can sing and all do in sweet harmony. I listened to this album around the time we were writing ‘Growler’ and it really rubbed off on me.

3. Authority Zero (The Tipping Point)

Such a tight band and they have a way of writing really catchy poppy choruses without them sounding too cliché or the same chords everyone uses. I think it’s the way they put the vocal melodies to it, but whatever it is, it works. Again, I was listening to this album around the time we were writing our last record so I *ahem* took inspiration from certain lines and melodies.

2. Crime In Stereo (The Troubled Stateside)

This album is so raw sounding. It sounds like they recorded it all in one perfect aggressive take. They use ideas and breakdowns in their songs that I still want to try and emulate and then they bring it all together with catchy melodic choruses. This album is a pretty much perfect album for me. Not too keen on where they have gone but I always have time to listen to this on a loop for a few hours in the car.

1. Sweet Empire (This Season Needs Torches)

I can't remember how I came across these guys but they ended up staying at my house, drinking whiskey and showing me their ballsacks (Cheers Koen) while I was cooking them breakfast. This band was the first show I ever put on and they were literally the nicest guys. They put on a killer live show too with so much passion. We’ve played with them a few times since and their music always reminds me of the time we were writing our first album, I admit a few of the songs all started out with guitar riffs I had learnt from this album and changed slightly in the hope that the rest of my band (and the Sweet Empire boys) couldn’t figure it out. It totally worked too. Hahaha! Nobody will ever know…

Cheers for reading. Hope you guys check some of this stuff out. There is still a bunch that I would have loved to have mentioned, friends’ bands and the like, as well as loads more bigger ones. But I don’t care. Cheers for to Colin for letting me write this and for being more dedicated to smaller bands than I could ever be.

Check out Mug here: https://www.facebook.com/mugrocks

Mark also does some awesome illustrations: Check that out here: https://www.facebook.com/markbellillustration

Album Review: Robot by Flying Racoon Suit

Robot is the new three-song EP from Mississippi based ska band Flying Racoon Suit and it was self released on the 31st of December.

The first of the three songs, titled Parasites, shows the influence of the 90's third wave ska punk bands that have had an effect on Flying Racoon Suit. The guitars at the beginning help set the tone of the song before being joined by horns playing the same tune. Andrew’s vocals are poppy and upbeat, making the song sound perfect for that summer road trip to the beach. There is a great use of gang vocals in the song. I always enjoy when a band makes full use of all its members during a song, it gives it a more inclusive feel. The second song, Crawl, starts with some quite dark horns before a complete switch up to a slower paced horn part before Jessica's vocals take centre stage. It reminds me partly of Save Ferris's Monique Powell and partly of old western speakeasy performers and I really enjoyed it. The song also gives plenty of opportunity for Flying Racoon Suits’ horn section to show off some serious ability. The final song on the EP is named Mississipi and is a short ska punk assault. Beginning with a harmonica and banjo before the punk rock and horns kick in, the song is played at a relentless place that really will get you skanking even if the song is only a minute and a bit long. The song is good fun but kind of feels like the kind of track you find as a bonus song at the end of a full length album rather than on a short EP.

Robot is a fun little EP from a band I had never heard of and probably wouldn't have if I hadn't been randomly clicking through the Bandcamp discovery section. If you like your 90's ska punk then you might just enjoy Flying Racoon Suit.

Stream and download Robot here: https://flyingraccoonsuit.bandcamp.com/ 

Like Flying Racoon Suit here: https://www.facebook.com/Flying-Raccoon-Suit

Art of Punk: Coloured Vinyl

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 5 years or more, you’re probably aware that vinyl records have made a huge come back. In an age of digital music streaming services and with massive declines in CD sales, people are turning to vinyl to fulfil their desire for physical music. I joined the ‘vinyl revolution’ myself less than two years ago and now own more than 50 records, old (Springsteen, The Clash, Neil Young, etc.) and new (Bangers, The Menzingers, The Smith Street Band, etc.). My record player and stereo have pride of place in my bedroom – a bedroom that doesn’t contain a TV!

I love the whole visual package of records – the artwork, particularly if it happens to spread inside onto a gatefold sleeve, lyric sheets and the record itself. If you are a vinyl music fan, like me, then chances are you have some coloured vinyl in your collection. Vinyl records can range from standard solid colours – red, blue, green, etc. – to half-and-half and a wide variety of ‘splatter’ designs. Coloured variations are often produced in limited runs and are therefore supposedly more sought after by music fans.

Here are a handful of my own coloured records (there’s nothing too fancy!):

Ducking Punches – Dance Before You Sleep (purple with a small amount of silver)
and Above Them – Water Lane (pale green)

 

Against Me – Transgender Dysphoria Blues

(blue and white marbled, different either side)

 

Cheap Girls – Famous Graves (grey)

and The Menzingers – Rented World (blue and black)

 

Jake and the Jellyfish – Dead Weight (green)

and Chuck Ragan – Till Midnight (clear)

 

The Smith Street Band – No One Gets Lost Anymore (blue, white and green)

and Tim Vantol – If We Go Down, We Will Go Together (red)

 

 I think I need some yellow or orange.

I got two (out of six) new coloured vinyl records for Christmas – Dead Weight by Jake and the Jellyfish (green) and Dance Before You Sleep by Ducking Punches (purple). I didn’t really expect them to be coloured but I guess it’s not particularly uncommon now, especially for smaller bands who don’t need to mass produce thousands and thousands of records. It does make it seem more special and in the case of Dead Weight the vinyl colour matches the album artwork, which I think is really neat. So, after giving coloured vinyl some thought, I was intrigued to find out how exactly they (and any records in general really) are made – and whether they should be seen as special or not.

I took to Google and found an article on Tested.com about coloured vinyl. Although it was posted back in 2012, the vinyl production process remains the same.

All vinyl records are born from a master disc that’s coated in a smooth lacquer and placed on a machine called a lathe. The lathe cuts a groove in the lacquer that corresponds to the music being recorded. Once the lathe is finished cutting, the disc is covered in a layer of silver to form a hardened metal stamper that will be used to press the grooves into the vinyl albums.

Enter the vinyl material: little vinyl pellets are poured into a hopper, or chute, which feeds them into an extruder. The extruder melts the vinyl down into thick hockey puck-esque patties often called cakes or biscuits. Typically those pellets are black, but different chemical compounds can produce unique colors (like Pepto Bismol pink) or even transparent vinyl. Solid colors or pellet mixes can be tossed into a hopper and extruded into biscuits just like black vinyl.

There is no denying that coloured records look great, especially in comparison to their plain black counterparts, but there have been numerous arguments that coloured vinyl is generally of lower quality and doesn’t play as well as standard black vinyl. As pretty as some coloured records are it shouldn’t be okay to have an inferior sound quality, should it?

Again, I did some research into this. There are a lot of vinyl enthusiasts on various forums all over the web stating that coloured vinyl does not have such good sound quality as black vinyl. Some point out that coloured vinyl are merely for collectors and are to be looked at rather than played – which is a little bit over the top if you ask me. However there are also plenty of other people saying that they hadn’t noticed any difference in sound quality and/or that not all black records have such great sound quality either. It all comes down to mixing, mastering and manufacturing of each individual record really, whether it be black or red or any number of splattered colour combinations.

Either way, I’m still a sucker for a pretty looking record.

Album Review: Fingerprints & Handwriting by Edgarville

Edgarville are one of the more unique acts in the UK’s punk rock scene. With just an acoustic guitar, some throaty vocals and a drum kit, Edgarville have been impressing audiences all over the United Kingdom and Europe. In the New Year the duo have a new album titled Fingerprints and Handwriting coming out and I had the opportunity to check it out early.

The opening track is named Extensions and starts out with a gentle guitar riff before singer Ed's booming vocals begin. It's the vocal on this track, and indeed the whole album, that really help the songs grab all of your attention. The second track Whatever That Feels Like has a very interesting song structure Whereas most songs build towards a big chorus Edgarville have switched things up and have a big, loud verse and a soft, quiet chorus. The gang vocals at the end of the song are superb and have some fantastic lyrics - "We're All Different, We Each Have A Struggle, We All Need Help, Cos We're All In Trouble." Corn is another song that starts out slowly with Ed's gruff vocals adding all kinds of heart and emotion to the song. Eventually, as you might expect, the tempo of the song picks up and develops into a bit of a pop song. I could definitely see this being a single from the album. It must be a real crowd pleaser live with its whoa-oh moments. Song number four, Cous Cous, is the song that really stood out to me when I first listened to Fingerprints and Handwriting and is the song that stood out when I saw Edgarville at Book Yer Ane Fest. The anger in Ed's voice at the beginning of the songs adds something different from the previous track - showing a nice bit of variety in Edgarville's songwriting.

Oscar has somewhat of a stop start beginning before it really gets going. After that it is one of the more straightforward songs on the album with another big vocal performance. The sixth song, Thoughtless serves as a musical interlude. It features a great string arrangement that really carries you through the song. Smile Emoticon is a short song where Ed's vocals really carry the melody of the song. It's about having the ability to recognise when you are talking too much and sometimes just listening instead. Hugh is another instrumental song where Ed shows off his amazing ability with a guitar, I'm not someone who is usually too keen on instrumental songs but this track really captivated me and shows off that punk musicians can really play their instruments very well. After the instrumentals the album really bursts back into life with the song The Flow. Ed's unmistakable vocals start the song off with some real force on another of the albums stand-out tracks. It's about the decisions you make in your life and attempting to go with 'the flow' no matter if it's good or bad. Nice Dad feel incredibly stripped back, even for this album. I like how the drumming stands out on the track despite the softer feel to the whole song. The breakdown in the middle of the song is excellent; love the raw whoa-ohs. Normally a song would build towards ending with that kind of moment so it was especially cool for it to be thrown into the middle of the track.

Like A Wave is more of traditional sounding folk punk number that builds towards a big acapella finish. I imagine that this song is absolutely cracking in a live setting with that finish. The song is about it being okay to mess things up from time to time and learning to forgive yourself. This is another standout track on Fingerprints and Handwriting. The penultimate track is named Actions is another fully instrumental song. An electric guitar is used as well as the introductions of some strings for the first time on the album. Fingerprints and Handwriting is completed with the song Crabs In A Bucket. At almost seven minutes long it's a lengthy track but never feels like it drags. There are plenty of highs and lows throughout as Edgarville show off what talented musicians and songwriters they are. Crabs In A Bucket is about the struggles of growing as a person. The lyrics in the chorus especially grabbed my attention on my first listen of the song. A very strong way to finish a great album.

Stream and download Fingerprints & Handwriting here: https://edgarville.bandcamp.com/

Like Edgarville here: https://www.facebook.com/EdgarvilleUK