POSTS TAGGED : Punk

Passed Out – ‘Bukowski & Brautigan’

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What can you do in one minute and 18 seconds? You can’t adequately boil an egg. If you smoke, you can probably hoover a sneaky one but a far more worthy while and healthy option is listening to ‘Bukowski & Brautigan’; the latest single from Buffalo, NY-based pop punk outfit Passed Out.

‘Bukowski & Brautigan’ packs a lot into 1:18. A ferocious, defiant, swaggering, riff-laden and catchy-as-hell, cohesive ball of punk rock force with a power-pop touch, ‘Bukouski & Brautigan’ is full to the gills with wailing guitars and screeching vocals on top of a twitchy, fast and furious drums.The new single is lifted from their forthcoming EP, The Aforementioned and How it Pertains to Absolutely Nothing.

Take a listen to the single below, guaranteed to be the best one minute and 18 seconds of your day, and check out more of Passed Out here.

Genius – ‘2226’

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Based out of the port city of Busan, South Korea, GENIUS is Steve C, Lee Chung Mok, and Kim Il Du.

Since forming in 2009, they independently released two studio albums Yangatchi (2009) and Birth, Choice, Death (2010), before releasing their third album, Beaches (2014) through Helicopter Records. The rock and roll foursome released their new and fourth album Starsea back in August and ‘2226’ is the latest single lifted from the record. ‘2226’ is a fuzzed-up, scuzzy and meandering rock and roll jam. Imbued with a punk spirit, the drawled vocals and buzzy punk guitars wade through a haze of fuzz and feedback with a loose, free-flowing vibe. As incessant the buzz and fuzz is, ‘226’ is strongly melancholic, dreamy and somewhat catchy – in short; it’s a top tune!

Starsea is out now & you can stream it here. For now, listen to ‘2226’ below now:

Johnny Kills – ‘End Game’

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Brighton/London-based garage-surf trio Johnny Kills have been delighting our ears with a series of infectious and scuzzed-up singles; ‘Let’s Talk About Me’ & ‘My Shirt Guy Is High’.

The trio have returned with a scintillating, razor-sharp single ‘End Game’. A fizzy sub-three-minute blast of fuzzed-up and scuzzy alchemy. Vocals flicker in and out between meaty bass, crunchy riffs and searing percussion, all the while maintaining a sweetly melodic core. Clocking in at just under three minutes, it does not mess about and it will certainly brighten your day.

Everything from Johnny Kills thus far has been sensational, here’s to that trend continuing into the future.

For now though, you can take a listen to the superb ‘End Game’ below.

Penguin – ‘Fiction’

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Penguin are protopunk-influenced alt-rock newcomers from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who made their musical introduction with debit single ‘Not A Problem’ back in May.

On that occasion the Geordie outfit delivered a cut of anthemic, indie-rock brilliance; and they are at it again with latest single. ‘Fiction’ is an irresistible three-minutes of relentless, fast-paced alt-pop fizzing with a lively electricity. Propelled onward by clattering percussion, driven guitars, meaty riffs and playful rhythms, ‘Fiction’ is as infectiously sing-a-long as Futureheads at their very best. And if that comparision where not enough, the wonderfully exuberant breakdown finale brings to mind the late, great Beta Band. An utterly marvellous fun and riff-filled adventure to a place of sheer joy! If this doesn’t warm your heart and plaster a delirious grin across your face, nothing will.

‘Fiction’ is out now, listen to it below.

Introducing: Stoat

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With an extensive back-catalogue, an indie/post-punk sound similar to HMHB meets Sultans of Ping FC and Irish to boot, it is a mystery how Stoat existence remained unknown (to me at least) until very recently.

After taking a breather for a few years, so far in 2017 Stoat have been revealing new material with a view to releasing an LP called Try Not To Think About It later in the year. The latest single lifted from the forthcoming record is the title track, providing a welcome introduction to both band and LP. Spearheaded by militaristic drums, jerky and somewhat jagged punky-reggae guitars and wry, sardonic lyrical quips. Delivered with hawkish precision, they tap along in perfect time regaling tales of the downside of fatherhood, domesticity, and steady employment. Striking a balance between bashing out a memorable jam and being light-hearted is a tough ask, many have tried and many have failed. But thankfully – like the aforementioned HMHB & Sultans – Stoat deliver the goods. Hopefully there’s more to come from Stoat in 2017, an excellent – if somewhat belated – discovery.

Check out ‘Try Not To Think About It’ & other recent single, ‘Talk Radio Makes Me Feel Alone’ below.

Something for the Weekend: New Music Playlist #1

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A brand new feature on the Gruff channel, a weekly 15-track Spotify playlist series featuring some of the finest new music to prick my ears.

Clocking in at under and hour, it’s an easily digested slice of new music, just in time for the weekend. There’s a nice mix of genres and styles too, allowing me to share more great tunes for your ears, so hopefully it can be a regular feature. We’ll see how it goes, I guess.

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Chick Quest – ‘Down in a Crypt’

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Self-described ‘Spaghetti Western Post-Punk Dance Party’, Chick Quest are an unconventional punky foursome – Ryan White (vocals, guitar), Iris Rauh (drums), Marcus Racz (trumpet, keyboard), and Magdalena Kraev (bass) – hailing from Vienna, Austria.

Chick Quest explore rather unusual realms of music, taking in parts punk, post-punk, ska, funk, b-movie and spaghetti western soundtracks. The Austrian foursome are readying their second album, Model View Controller. Ahead of its release later this month, Chick Quest provide a preview with ‘Down In A Crypt’. Its all dance-y and fuzzed-up post-punk with a spooky b-movie-esque organ riff, crunchy guitar riffs, brisk bass-line and dynamic beats. Catchy, infectious and simultaneously rather creepy; it’s a hard act to pull off but pull it off they do.

Model View Controller is out February 24th via Triangular Sounds. Until then, why not give ‘Down In A Crypt’ a spin below.

Dead Naked Hippies – ‘Lights Out’

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‘Lights Out’ is the debut single from Leeds trio Dead Naked Hippies.

Produced by Matt Peel (Eagulls, Pulled Apart By Horses, Autobahn), ‘Lights Out’ offers a thrilling introduction to the raucous sound of Dead Naked Hippies.

This trio – Lucy Jowett – (vocals), Joe Clarke (guitar), Jacob Marston (drums) – trade in scintillating, punk-tinged indie-rock brilliance. ‘Lights Out’ blaze forth with coiled riffs, terse drums, insistent bass and Jowett’s impassioned vocals. Drenched with pent up emotion, ‘Lights Out’ slowly uncoils, revealing itself as an unflinching, focused three minutes of gritty, cathartic and rage-fuelled fuzz-drenched rock ‘n roll abandon.

More new music is promised soon – which is great obviously – but for now get your ears around the frenetic, electrified and scintillating master-class that is ‘Lights Out’.

Playlist: Best Songs of 2016

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Lists, lists, lists and more lists. Yes, it is that time of year when lists become more common place than overly optimistic Liverpool fans in August.

Time, or lack of it, truly is the enemy once again but I’ve compiled a 100+ strong song Spotify playlist; selection of personal favourites from throughout the year. Pretty self-explanatory this, but there’s loads of great stuff in there from many styles and genres and, from across the globe.

I hope to have an ‘Albums of 2016’ post completed this week. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy the playlist.

 

Introducing: False Heads

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London grunge/punk trio False Heads have marked themselves as noisemakers supreme over the course of the past 12 months.

They have released a slew of blistering singles and their latest ‘Weigh In’, is as ferocious an intro as possible. ‘Weigh In’, and indeed their grunge/punk hybrid, is rammed with vicious hooks, fierce, crunchy guitar riffs, hammering percussion and banging bass line. Three-and-a-half-minute burst of coiled up aggression, delivered with a primal energy; this is raspy, aggressive, and downright infectious. The companion to ‘Weigh In’, ‘All Eyes’ leans toward the grungier end of the spectrum yet similarly menacing, viscerally snarling and hard to resist. False Heads certainly sound like a trio with fire in their bellies, and with a bunch of singles and live dates planned for the coming year, these guys look like an exciting prospect.

Three lads who make a whole lot of noise, what’s not to like? Well, for now, check out ‘Weigh In’ & ‘All Eyes’ – as good a start as any.