Gig Review: Pkew Pkew Pkew at the New Cross Inn, London 12/6/18

When it comes to deciding on my gig of the year in December I already have a few strong contenders. I have a feeling that the majority of my favourite gigs of 2018 will have been put on by Be Sharp Promotions at the New Cross Inn. They are on such a hot streak of putting on incredible shows at the moment. The latest came this past Tuesday night when they had Canadian pop punks Pkew Pkew Pkew playing their first ever show in the UK. That was enough for me to quickly buy my ticket and then I saw the incredible line-up booked for the entire night. The Burnt Tapes, The Run Up and Our Lives In Cinema were supporting Pkew Pkew Pkew and I couldn't have been more excited. This was going to be one of those special punk rock nights that will forever have me smiling when I think about it.

First up were Bristol's The Run Up who were supporting Pkew Pkew Pkew on a few of their European tour dates. The guys in The Run Up have had a tricky couple of months when it comes to touring, with their van breaking down in Europe twice on their last two trips to the mainland resulting in a few missed shows. Watching them on stage, I sensed there was a bit of relief at being able to be playing a gig and not still hanging out in a Mercedes garage in Germany. This was my third time seeing The Run Up this year, having caught them twice in January on their tour with Quitters, and they just get better and better. It's always great to see people who genuinely love being on stage together and playing their songs. You could see that playing the show has made all of the troubles they've had of late worth it. The band played mostly songs from last year's self-titled full length but they did also manage to squeeze in a couple of older tunes as well as a brand new one. Learning Loss was a particular highlight for me – I love that song! What a great way to start the night.

London's Our Live In Cinema are relatively new to the London punk scene but are quickly making a name for themselves. The five piece have released two superb EPs within the last year and have been steadily getting themselves booked on more and more shows. Lead singer Mark Bartlett is also a huge Pkew Pkew Pkew fan and was so unbelievably excited to be on this bill, saying during the set that it was a dream come true. The enthusiasm that Our Lives In Cinema play with is infectious with Mark in particular standing out as he dances around the front of the stage whilst displaying some seriously impressive vocals. This was my first time seeing OLIC but had heard about Mark's high energy performances and I wondered if he'd be able to maintain the great vocals I'd heard on their EPs. He nailed it. I especially enjoyed the songs from the recently released All Talk. EP opener It's Always Sunny In Paterson Park is a superb live song. There was also a funny point during the song where Mark randomly broke into some classic Whitney Houston. I thought OLIC were absolutely great and this wasn't even them at full strength as they had a stand in guitarist in the form of Eat Dirt's Richie Cooper filling in for them. I wonder how good they are normally? Our Lives In Cinema are a band I will be keeping an extra special eye on.

For me, The Burnt Tapes are the best band in the UK at the moment and I'm always so excited whenever I get to see them. I hadn't seen them live since October 2017 when they supported The Bombpops at the New Cross. Nine months is way too long! Being a New Cross show, it was kind of a home turf situation with plenty of people there to support the four piece. We were treated to an extra special set full of all our favourites and some brand new songs that sound absolutely incredible. Their last EP, Alterations, was my favourite release of 2017 and the handful of new songs they played during this set sounded better than all of songs from the aforementioned EP. That's saying something! Naturally there were some great singalongs for the older songs. The Burnt Tapes have made many friends over the past few years so it was perhaps no surprise when Hassan Afaneh (of Triple Sundae) joined them on stage to sing part of their opening song. I later found out that this wasn't planned which made me laugh as Hassan so coolly walked onto the stage, sang and walked off again as if they've done it 100 times. To be fair they probably have. The main highlights for me were Go Home. You’re Drunk and Things Get Weird. The Burnt Tapes just get better and better every time I see them and I can't say enough positive things about them. I'm quite convinced that soon it will be them selling lots of tickets for headline shows at the New Cross. I hope I'm right because it's what this incredibly talented band and these wonderful people deserve.

Last but certainly not least were Pkew Pkew Pkew. You know it's going to be an extra special night when a band is playing their first UK show ever and have sold over 100 advanced tickets for a Tuesday night show in South London. That's an incredible achievement. Pkew x3 play fast, singalong pop punk tracks that are mostly about partying, drinking and having a great time with your friends – so they're perfect for a live show. The front of the stage was now packed as everyone in the New Cross instantly joined in with the singing of opening track The Prime Minister Of The Defence. During the track, a member of the crowd had brought the band jagerbombs and soon enough the party got wilder and wilder. Playing the entirety of their debut self-titled album as well as a brilliantly sounding new song, Pkew x3 were loved throughout. It seemed as if everyone in the pub knew the words to each and every song they played and sung it at the top of their voice with fists permanently punching the air. Pkew x3 seem to have this incredible ability to connect with the crowd with relatable songs and a charming nature on stage – it's hard not to love the band. I'm not sure who was more stoked, the band to be playing to such a great crowd on their first UK show or the crowd to have them. It was just smiles all round for everyone. It's hard to pick stand out songs from the set because, genuinely, every single one was just so well received. Finishing their main set with the awesome Glory Days and its many whoa-ohs would have easily been a great a way to finish the night but the boys had a couple of surprise cover songs up their sleeves for an encore. Claiming to be the only two songs by UK acts that they knew how to play, the first song of the encore was The Clash's version of Police On My Back and then, to really send the crowd home happy, they played a hilarious cover of I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness.

I was right, this was an extra special night. Of course Pkew Pkew Pkew were the highlight but the whole night in general was just perfect. The Run Up, Our Lives In Cinema and The Burnt Tapes were all fantastic and were a perfect advertisement for the UK's underground scene. And as always at Be Sharp shows, the atmosphere was brilliant with plenty of old friends, new friends and future friends coming together to share a great time.

This review was written by Colin Clark. Photos by Emma Prew.

Column: Polite Riot Festival Preview

On the 22nd of June a brand new punk rock festival is being unleashed on South East London. Named Polite Riot Festival, this three day extravaganza is what happens when Be Sharp Promotions, Umlaut Records and Kick The Crutches team up with Destiny Tourbooking and decide to put on three days of punk rock at the New Cross Inn. Promising the best of UK hardcore, skate, melodic and pop punk, as well as some super special guests from further afield, it's already looking as if it's going to be a huge weekend. I decided to take an in-depth look at each day and the bands that will be knocking our collective socks off!

I was going to say that Friday starts the weekend off with some ease but that's just not the truth. Sure the day isn't such a test of your endurance like the Saturday and Sunday of the festival, as there are only five bands playing. Headlined by a band that now have to be considered pop punk legends – all the way from Wyoming – Teenage Bottlerocket. Teenage Bottlerocket have been wowing crowds with their fast paced pop punk for years now and in my opinion they have played a huge part in bringing proper pop punk back to the forefront of the punk rock genre. TBR continue to grow in popularity and getting the opportunity to see them play in a small space like the New Cross Inn is a rare treat that shouldn't be missed.

But it's not just about Teenage Bottlerocket! Swan Prince are a four piece band from Redditch fronted by Rachel Blewett. This pop punk quartet are a relatively new band on the scene, having only formed in 2017 so the opportunity to play a show with Teenage Bottlerocket must be a huge deal for them. After checking out their demos on Bandcamp, I'm really looking forward to seeing them for the first time. Up next are a couple of bands who recently opened consecutive days at Manchester Punk Festival. No Matter were one of my highlights from a festival jam packed with special moments so you can imagine that I'm excited to see them again. The Irish foursome channel that great Lookout Records era pop punk sound that I, and so many people of my age, cherish so much. Being one of the first bands signed to the impressive Umlaut Records roster, this show will almost feel like a home town show for the band. Eat Defeat opened the second day of MPF to a massive crowd and I've no doubt that they'll get the same kind of treatment at the New Cross Inn. I've been lucky enough to have had an early listen of their forthcoming album and it's superb so hearing those songs live for the first time is going to be a lot of fun. That album is going to help Eat Defeat explode in the UK's pop punk scene and it surely won't be much longer until they're headlining gigs at a packed New Cross Inn themselves. Lastly we have one of the most popular bands in the UK scene and one that I've never seen live, Spoilers. The four piece from Canterbury play their own blend of catchy punk rock music and have recently been gaining more and more fans all over the country. Lead by guitarist and lead singer Dan Goatham, who has one of the most unique and distinctive voices in the scene, expect some big sing alongs for these guys.

The Saturday of Polite Riot is headlined by London punk heroes Apologies, I Have None. I believe I am right in thinking that this will be their only full band London headline show of the year so that's reason enough to come down to the New Cross Inn for a set full of massively passionate singalongs. But before AIHN we have a stacked day of punk rock. Looking at this line-up it seems as if the promoters have made an extra special effort of showcasing some newer bands to the New Cross scene as there are a few bands I've not seen on line-ups there before. The one that stood out the most to me was Stoke On Trent's Only Strangers. The four piece released their self-titled debut album earlier this year to positive reviews from all circles – including CPRW's Richard. This will be the band's first adventure down South to play a show and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. Expect superb melodic punk rock from this great band who are sure to gain plenty of new fans at Polite Riot.

Peckham's Love Songs are a very new band on the scene having released their one and only single Now That's What I Call Love (Volume 1) late in 2017. They play a moody and atmospheric brand of melodic punk rock which I'm certain will be captivating to watch live. Snap Out are a band returning from a four year hiatus in time to play the festival. Playing a hybrid of grunge and pop punk makes them stand out from many of their contemporaries and they are surely an intriguing act to witness live. I've been listening to Snap Out's 2013 EP Dino Diner a fair amount since it was announced that they would be playing the festival and it has some absolute bangers on it. Mean Caesar are a band who recently blew a New Cross crowd away when they opened for The Copyrights back in April. If you don't know the band, there's a good chance that you will recognise the members from their other or previous bands such as Great Cynics, Pure Graft, Werecats, The Murderburgers and many more. Mean Caesar are sure to make a big splash on the UK punk scene very soon, another set not to be missed. Finally we have a band that regular attendees of New Cross shows will definitely know, everyone's favourite rubber skull enthusiasts – the mighty Müg. The four piece, who also run the incredible Umlaut Records, have been favourites in South London for many years now but sadly don't play as many shows here anymore as they're extremely busy gentlemen. I think they're a very important band in our scene have helped out so many other bands throughout the years. Of course musically they are superb. If you are a fan of 90s skate punk you will love Müg.

When Massachusetts melodic hardcore act A Wilhelm Scream were first announced for Polite Riot my first thoughts were "My gosh! A Wilhelm Scream are playing the New Cross? will it still be standing after they've played?" Having a band the stature of A Wilhelm Scream play the New Cross Inn is another massive achievement for all involved with the venue. This Sunday night slot is going to be a moment people will be talking about for a long time. AWS will be starting a month long European tour in the UK and they will be joined at the majority of the UK shows by Darko. The Guilford based five piece have become legends within the UK and European melodic punk scene, as well as becoming standard bearers for the genre further afield. Somehow I've only ever seen Darko once before so seeing them at again at Polite Riot is well overdue.

Drones bring their political punk rock back to the New Cross Inn. Fronted by Lois McDougall, the band have become well known for their socio-politically charged songs as well as an exhilarating live show. CPRW's Robyn recently caught them live at Manchester Punk Festival and was seriously impressed. Drones are yet another band I cannot wait to see at Polite Riot. On A Hiding To Nothing are one of our favourite bands here at CPRW and they always put on such a fun and energetic show. Playing unbelievably fast skate punk tunes always go down a treat. OAHTN are one of those bands where I'm astounded by their skill – it baffles me how they can play so fast but remain so catchy. One of the best bands on the scene! Eat Dirt are a relentless whirlwind of a hardcore band. Playing ferocious sub-three minute songs, Eat Dirt are an ideal band to go on early on the Sunday of Polite Riot to shake away any cobwebs and hangovers of the previous two days with sublime punk rock fun. I've heard that Eat Dirt are a lot of fun live and I can't way to see if for myself. French band Zombies No released the excellent Divided We Fall on Umlaut Records last year and it's great to see them back in the UK again. Influenced by 90s skate punk with a pinch of metal thrown in for good measure, I'm seriously impressed with what I've heard of Zombies No. Not only do they write some great punk rock but lyrically they spread their social and political messages wonderfully. Polite Riot Festival will be a very special show for London based Ships Down. This will be their final ever show and they get to share a stage with their heroes A Wilhelm Scream as well. I'm stoked that I get the chance to see Ships Down finally after worrying I'd missed the chance. I've followed them since reviewing their excellent demo in 2016 but never got round to seeing them. I can't wait to see this technically brilliant theatrical punk rock band. Last, but by no means least, is Local Mad Man. This London four piece are a heavy and ferocious hardcore act who have been going for a number of years now. 2018 sees a slight line-up change and some brand new material in the works. I'd imagine we might get the chance to hear a couple of these at the festival.

Polite Riot Festival is going to be an incredible weekend of live punk rock music. The festival is stacked with a phenomenal and varied line-up featuring local talent and some great acts from further afield. It's got some of the biggest and most popular bands around, as well as some just getting started. If you like your punk rock fast and loud then you really need to be at the New Cross Inn between the 22nd and 24th of June!

For those worried (like I was) the New Cross Inn will be showing the England vs Panama World Cup match at 1pm on the Sunday – phew!

This column was written by Colin Clark.

News: The Bombpops Are Back At The New Cross Inn

After a successful headline show last October, Fat Wreck Chords band The Bombpops are returning to the New Cross Inn thanks to Be Sharp Promotions, Umlaut Records and Kick The Crutches on Monday July 23rd. That show back in October showed London why The Bombpops are among the elite of pop punk bands in the world. You can get all the information about the gig on Facebook here and you can buy tickets (£7 in advance and NO FEES) here. This is going to be a fun fun night!

Top Tens: The Papashangos' Top Ten Punk Rock Influences

Hi I'm Lolly Shango and I sing for THE PAPASHANGOS, also put on local gigs as half of Weird and Raw Promotions, and run a new festival for weird and raw bands called The Unholy Messtival.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1244762412301200/?ti=cl

Top ten influences

1. Jazz
I grew up in a household where jazz records were always playing. My dad liked the smooth and classic swing stuff, but my mum loved nouveau jazz, all quirky rhythms and odd squeals. I learned to find beauty in challenging, discordant music.

2. The Beatles
My parents also loved the Beatles, mainly their earlier, more melodic poppy stuff. But, when I heard tracks like Helter Skelter and Revolution my ear started to adapt to a harsher, less controlled rock sound, which prepared me for punk.

3. Early 80s rock and metal
Iron Maiden and Blue Oyster Cult started my love of rock, Motorhead and AC/DC cemented it.

4. The Ruts
I heard Babylon's Burning on Top of the Pops and nearly had a fit. Love that song, it blew my mind.

5. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
That album broke me. I love the scratchy, uneven production, the bass, the guitars, the vocals and the songs. I played Hard to Beat (Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell) on my crappy stereo until I knew it better than any other song ever. When I later started playing bass myself, I used to try to sneak a bass lick from that song into at least one tune in the set.

6. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Damned
These were the big three for me, once I went full on punk. I doubt I could say anything new about them, but The Damned are personally responsible for my attempts to write music. I learned a couple of easy chords from the sleeve notes of Machine Gun Etiquette, and that was that...

7. Oi! Music
I have all the the first Oi! compilations on vinyl. Loved them. The music and lyrics were usually dumb and often unintentionally hilarious, but many of the songs still have a kind of simple, primal power that's hard to match.

8. Inner City Unit
An offshoot of Hawkwind, this was an amazing band that incorporated everything from punk to ska to folk to jazz into a truly unique sound.

9. Val Kilmer as Nick Rivers in the film Top Secret
https://youtu.be/PKRfFEa9PGE
If you ever catch one of our shows, you'll see the influence this sequence has on my personal performance style...I'm not as graceful, though!
https://youtu.be/cMk0BnaUZYk


10. Rude Boy (1980)
The film about Clash roadie Ray Gange. I remember enjoying the film. In my memory it's a bit of a precursor to the mumblecore style of filmmaking that was popular a while ago, but it's the live footage of the Clash performing Police and Thieves that really stuck with me. Up until I saw that, I'd always taken it as a fact of life that live performances are inferior to recorded versions of songs. In my opinion, the version of Police and Thieves on the first Clash album is lifeless and boring. It's a track I always skip. However, the live version on Rude Boy....

It's like a whole different song. Incredibly infectious, engaging and passionate. I love it, and it helped to make me a more active fan of live music, no longer satisfied with just buying records.

Those are my personal top ten influences. I hope they're interesting and perhaps a bit surprising.

This is my band:

https://www.facebook.com/Thepapashangos/

Album Review: Austeros by Austeros (by Emma Prew)

It doesn’t seem that long ago since Austeros released their debut album, Painted Blue. Well, it was two years ago actually and it was one of the first full-length records I reviewed for this ’ere blog. Thankfully the album was brilliant so that made reviewing it easier for an amateur like me! Two years on and I’d been hoping it was maybe time for a second full-length, particularly after their great 5-track EP, I’ve Got This, that was released last year. Sadly, last month, the Bristol-based three-piece announced that after 5 years of being a band they were calling it a day. This was very sad, not least because I’ve for one reason or another only ever managed to catch them live once – but one time is better than no times. The band will be playing one final show at the wonderful Exchange in Bristol on the 6th July but before that they have left us with one last release, featuring three new(ish) songs.

The first song on the EP is called Raindrops. Beginning fairly slowly with just guitar before the bass and drums come in, shortly followed by the vocals, Raindrops is a song about trying to let go of your anxieties and insecurities and just be yourself  – therefore ‘shedding your raindrops’. If you don’t know Austeros (shame on you!) then you won’t know that they play a brand of indie punk and lead vocalist (and guitarist) Jeremy has a superb and, I think, unique voice. It’s that classic Austeros sound that is on display here. The pace picks up into the last third of the song and we are treated to some lovely melodic guitar and the positively assertive line ‘Now we know exactly who we are.’ Next up is Cherished. When I first listened to this EP and this song, I thought I recognised Cherished and it turns out there’s a reason for that. It was actually previously released on I’ve Got This (hence why I said newish songs up there in my intro) although that version was an acoustic rendition. It’s is only a short track at less than 2 minutes in length but Austeros pack a lot into that timeframe. The bass kicks things off as Jeremy sings affirmatively about being able to be happy – ‘I’ve got this, I am worthy of being happy, Oh I’ve got this, I am cool.’ The lyrics and the melody makes me feel happy too and it’s great to hear what was already a good song played by the whole band as well. Lastly we have Eyelids, opening with the ever so slightly gloomy lyrics ‘I’ve been staring at the back of my eyelids, It beats the ugliness I see with my eyes open wide.’ I think the first two songs were fairly positive and uplifting but what Eyelids lacks in positivity, at least to begin with, it makes up for with pure emotion. This is another slower paced track but there is a definite sense of building throughout its duration as the volume is cranked up and the passion levels in the vocals are upped too. The repetition of the line ‘Is this all we’ve got?’ offers up one last singalong opportunity – and not just for the EP but the band in general. Following an encouraging remark of ‘I don’t think so.’, Eyelids ends with an instrumental outro where Austeros give every last thing they’ve got – some keys included.

If it has to end, then at least Austeros ended with three more great songs for us to listen to again and again. This is a band that will be sorely missed both in the UK’s DIY punk scene and further afield. Austeros, we love you.

You can stream and download the EP on Bandcamp and like Austeros on Facebook, for old times sake.

This review was written by Emma Prew.

Album Review: Wires Crossed by Arms & Hearts

Northwest acoustic punk rocker Arms & Hearts has got to be one of the most prolific songwriters around at the moment. It seems as if every few months he has an exciting new release for us to listen to. We're big fans of Arms & Hearts (real name Steve Millar) here at CPRW so every new release is met with much anticipation. In fact there was a little disagreement between Emma and I about who would review his latest release, Wires Crossed. This new EP was released by the always reliable for great music Real Ghost Records and sees Steve take a foray into full band territory. I was keen to see how this new side of Arms & Hearts sounds.

EP opener Sore Sight For Sorry Eyes starts with a little bit of distortion as if he is signalling that this will be a full band release. Pretty quickly we're greeted with Steve's gruff yet soulful voice. I did wonder if some of the emotion of the earlier releases might be lost in a full band effort but in fact I found that the songs had more. Having the backing of a full band seemed to add more urgency to the songs which I loved. On the EP's title track, Wires Crossed, this urgency continues. There is also a superbly punchy guitar section that adds some attitude to the song. This punchy style accompanied by the melodic way in which Steve delivers the vocals really drew me into the song. What kept me interested was the way it builds towards the end. I love a great building section in a song, particularly when it hits its high point and the song explodes into a great big sing-a-long.

The third song, Falling Short, remains full band but feels more stripped back and bare than the previous two songs. This really allows the listener to focus on what Steve is saying in the song. Falling Short is about all the different character flaws in people and how they don't often hit the standards that perhaps they should. The penultimate song Back Up Plan is probably my favourite track on Wires Crossed. The song starts out simply with Steve's stunning voice pulling you into the song with just a bit of guitar to accompany it. Of course it quickly builds into an Americana tinged punk song that has me thinking of Dave Hause of The Loved Ones. The song feels nice and positive as Steve sings about the experiences he's had because of music. There is a section towards the end of the song with a phenomenal build – it really takes you on a ride and when it gets to the end it gives you a great feeling of satisfaction. On the EP's final song we are treated to an acoustic number. Titled Benchmarks, the song is about trying to improve yourself and as he sing "be better than this." The undoubted highlight of the song are the beautifully layered harmonies that take place towards the end of the song.

Arms & Hearts doesn't just consistently write songs, he consistently writes great songs. This was my first time hearing him with a full band backing him and I loved it. His solo acoustic stuff is superb but for me he really comes into his own with the full band backing – there's just an all round fuller sound. Wires Crossed is sure to place well on my end of year top EP's list.

Stream and download Wires Crossed here: https://realghostrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wires-crossed

Like Arms & Hearts here: https://www.facebook.com/ArmsandHearts/

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Album Review: For The Sake Of The Bit by Elway (by Emma Prew)

It’s been three years since Elway released their last album, the excellent Better Whenever – it was a CPRW top album of 2015 by the way. We saw the band live a year later at Fest, whilst the likes of Red City Radio and Propagandhi were playing at the same time, and it was a massive highlight of the whole festival for us. I for one, having not listened to their back catalogue in great depth before Fest, was completely blown away by their performance. Since then we’ve been eagerly awaiting more recorded material from the band. On April 27th our wishes were granted and the band released For The Sake Of The Bit on Red Scare Industries. With 8 songs on it, I’m not entirely sure if this is a generous EP or a short album (I’m opting for the latter) but who cares because Elway are back! And – spoiler alert – it’s pretty darn good.

The opening track is called Inches and it is a relatively mid-tempo song to ease us into the album. The guitars are big from the outset and Tim’s warm yet slightly gruff vocals will immediately have the listener hanging on his every word. As I said this isn’t a fast paced track as such but nor is it a slow plodder, it goes along at a perfect pace and brings us to the excellent middle section of the song. Tim sings ‘But if you can’t face the end, Then maybe you could start a band, But until then…’ and then we are treated to a gang vocal response of ‘Get fucked!’ Suddenly this song got a little more gritty and I love it. (According to an interview I read, the band are telling people who needlessly criticise bands online to ‘get fucked’ here.) There’s some great guitar work in this song too – a fine album opener all round. Inches is followed by a shorter, faster tune called Hold On. The drums are pounded that little bit harder from the start and the guitars feel more urgent – urgent yet super catchy that is. There’s more of that grittiness in this second track which is ever more present when the vocal kick in as Tim’s voice seems more intense and perhaps a little strained (not necessarily a bad thing). I must admit, the faster and rougher vocals do make it hard to figure out precisely what Tim is singing which is a shame because I really felt like I wanted to sing along. Thankfully the chorus, filled with equal parts bitterness and nostalgia, is a whole lot more singalongable than the verses – so much so that it sounds like the whole band is singing it: ‘Letting go is harder than it seems, I never needed sleep to fucking dream… Hold on, A part of me remembers when, All my friends weren’t so blasé, It seems like yesterday…’ Actually, although I’ve referred to that as the chorus, it’s actually only sung once and at the end of the song meaning that Hold On definitely goes out with a bang.

The third track on For The Sake Of The Bit is titled Crowded Conscience. Here Elway take their foot off of the accelerator (or the gas pedal if you’re American) a little for another more mid-tempo number. The volume is still amped up but it doesn’t feel as fast and furious as the previous song on the album. I think, assuming I am interpreting the lyrics correctly, that this is a love song of sorts about trying to make time for that special someone who has perhaps been a little neglected by you – and so clearing your conscience. This feels like both a feel-good and heart-felt track which is none more apparent than in the chorus. ‘Baby, we could drive all over the country, Or pretend that we could avoid the cities, I would just whisk you, Whoa, Oh (x7ish)…’ The song has that same sort of alt-rock Americana feel to it as something like The Gaslight Anthem’s The ’59 Sound (album) but still sounds distinctly Elway and I love that. Following on from this love song comes Selfish Masochistic Psychic Trauma, a track that feels much darker – not least because of its title. The song’s intro is a little stripped back with a clean melodic guitar riff to lead us into the song but before too long those huge Elway guitars and drums are back. The opening lines set a somewhat sour tone – ‘To have lived is not enough, I have to talk about it in all these songs…’. Selfish Masochistic Psychic Trauma is about a particularly entitled individual who feels like the world revolves around them. The band’s bitterness really comes through in the song and has me feeling pretty resentful myself. I guess that’s the sign of a great songwriter!

The second half of the album sees the arrival of some fuzzy and distorted guitars. Eating Crow is the name of the fifth song on For The Sake Of The Bit and that opening riff will no doubt have your head nodding from the start. When the vocals come in after 30 seconds or so things are slowed down a little and there’s a great bit of call and response between Tim’s vocals and a more melodic guitar part. This song seems to be about what a disgrace we are as human beings most of the time whilst living in out own little bubbles and not really learning from our past mistakes. ‘If we don’t learn a goddamn thing then the history it just repeats.’ Tim also questions what we’ve done in our lives and to the world as a whole and if we’ve ‘gone too far’. The song is perhaps not as obviously venomous as the previous song on the album but Eating Crow sure packs its own punch too and the songwriting is masterful. Perfect Silence is the name of the next track and there is no hesitating with this one as the vocals come in after just a few seconds. The song has a fairly slow pace and almost melancholic sound. That said, it also has a great distinctly Midwest sort of sound that I can’t even describe properly in words but I know I love it when I hear it. I feel like it draws near to indie or alt-country and Americana but, no, this is still a punk band at heart. This also feels like a very honest song – I mean most Elway songs are but more so with this one – as Tim mentions mental health and acknowledges that he knows there is no hidden purpose in life. I particularly enjoyed the line ‘I carry happiness inside a balled up fist.’ . Perfect Silence tackles the daily struggles we face in life and offers up a positive thought to end on – ‘…There is no hidden worth, No purpose, No nothing, Well for what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s crazy to try.’.

Things take a little bit of a different route for the penultimate song, Paper Guitars. There’s an echoey and almost dream-like start with the lead guitar sounding distant, before a second guitar, bass and drums kick in. However, when the vocals come in we’re back to classic Elway again and the pounding drums and bass carry us through to another hugely singalongable chorus – complete with plenty of whoa-ohs. ‘Go on and swim, Whoa-oh, As far as you can, Whoa-oh, Go on and swim, Whoa-oh, And never return again, Whoa-oh whoa-oh-oh.’ Damn, I’m just thinking about how much I want to see Elway live again to be able sing along with the band (At the time of writing this they are on tour with Dead To Me in the US but it is unlikely they’ll be over to UK anytime soon, if ever.) Paper Guitars features a soft instrumental breakdown that is accompanied by a voice recording. To be honest it isn’t all too clear what the recording is about but I think it might be someone talking on the phone. I was mostly focussed on the guitar shredding that was going on anyway! This carries us into the last song on For The Sake Of The Bit which is titled Nobody Goes Into Meteorology For The Sunny Days – a lovely humourous yet cynical title if ever there was one. There’s a sombre and thoughtful tone set here which seems like an apt way to play out the record really. This song is probably the slowest of the album but the pace does pick up nicely towards and beyond the chorus – ‘Go ahead dude, no one is listening… I’d like to thank my heroes for giving me a voice, And no thank you to the bastards who only make white noise.’  An instrumental section that follows gives a sense of something building – because it is. Building to a goodbye. As Tim musters up some emotional cries of ‘So here’s a goodbye, Here’s a goodbye.’, there are hints of it being screamed back to him in the background. Then we soon find ourselves at a distorted fade out that ends the album. That’s it, over in no time. At only 25 minutes in length, you may as well listen to the whole thing through again!

I think Elway may well have released one of the best singalong gruff punk albums of 2018. Check out For The Sake Of The Bit yourself and see if you agree with me.

You can stream and download For The Sake Of The Bit on Bandcamp and like Elway on Facebook.

This review was written by Emma Prew.