SPOTLIGHT: Larrakia - Self Titled

So here we are in what is the third brand spanking new Melodic Hardcore offering I've been lucky enough to be able to listen to recently. This third set of song comes by way of an introductory affair for Larrakia, a band who I have been unfortunate enough to miss seeing in person on a couple of occasions despite sharing billing with them in some cases! I knew going into this that I would like what I would hear due to them having released a few super cool videos leading up to this EP.

I'll get this out the way as usual. Of course I like this. I rarely (EDIT: never) review music I don't like, but how does this offering hold up to bands I would consider their peer group. Bands like The Human Project, Darko, Dead Neck, Almeida and my newly crowned favourite band PMX? I'll do the usual and measure this up against genre tropes I've come to expect from these bands.

Straight off the bat this is more of a straight up skate-punk record than many of the others in the list above. Whilst still retaining the insane levels of tightness and the technical guitar work that are a hallmark of the Melodic Hardcore crowd this feels more at home in amongst Fat Wreck collections. I get nostalgic feelings of listening to Strung Out and Face To Face listening to this. Whereas others are more hardcore or more thrash this is very close to the heart of skate punk. We still encounter the odd metalish breakdown, especially on the second track For What It's Worth, and the general pace over the course of three songs is blisteringly fast. Larrakia have managed to create a sound that both allows them to stand shoulder to shoulder with the bands that would be considered similar but at the same time differentiate themselves enough to not feel stale or like a re run of something we've heard previously.

Song wise, Feel The Burn is a feel good record that no self respecting punk should live their life without hearing, it's got energy to spare and is something that can quite happily live on repeat all by itself. For What It's Worth is an anthemic shout a long belter with the aforementioned metal esque breakdowns. Cruel To Be Kind is kind of my favourite out the bunch, a real flexing of the bands technical muscles and a great song to behold over and over.

Conclusions then. Larrakia are a band that should be on everybodies radar now. Their songs are expertly delivered and immensely entertaining to listen to, they are a credit to any punk scene you choose to associate them with and pay a loving homage to all the music I loved as a teenager. Fast, fun and instantly enjoyable. Larrakia will be taking over a scene near you soon.

SPOTLIGHT: The Drunken Ramblings - Dialectics

The Drunken Ramblings are a band I stumbled upon one night in Harrow after guitarist Victor told me he'd give me head for letting them play a show I was putting on. That show turned out to be the catastrophe known only as "The Junction disaster" and also the head was shit.

TDR are a band that put on a live show that has to be seen to be believed. Just imagine a drummer with a broken hand still smashing double time beats with a thousand mile stare only too much tremadol can give you, a guitarist who spends more time airborne than a migrating duck, a lead singer who is somewhere between a hobo and Jesus and bass player who is probably sleeping with your girlfriend right now. Smush these together and the Ramblings are born. It's an experience that can't possibly be described using our clumsy language but I'm not talking about them playing live today, instead I'm gonna talk about their almost new EP Dialectics, a term I just had to google but that I like very much now I know.

If you're one of those people who have seen TDR live then you may well be expecting this to be an 8 minute wall of noise and shouting but you would be very much mistaken. Dialectics is actually more of a thoughtful and considered record, never rushing to get to the end or desperate to be heavy enough to confirm to what the punk police are telling us is the correct distortion level. You'll find carefully laid down guitar licks and melodies which sit nicely underneath vocals that are deliberately not deliberately out of tune and time, rasped out in a stylised mumble much akin to Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong.

The Rancid parallels come quick and easy when listening to this record, but nothing is derivative enough to be able to pinpoint anything too specific which allows TDR to still shine on their own merits rather than being an outright tribute or parody. Standout tunes for me are Saturday Morning which is just the perfect punk rock chill out tune and End of the War which has an accompanying video my daughter is obsessed with and showcases lead singer Daves other talents outside of just songwriting and audio production.

It's worth talking about the audio quality of this entirely DIY record too. for something recorded in basic practice rooms and bedrooms it's awesome to pay attention to the clever flourishes and extra but understated tracks which never overpower the songs but always lend themselves very well to the overall feeling of the album. 

In conclusion this record is a charming and fun slice of punk rock life and the definition  of a "grower", something that only improves the more you listen, one for all the family to enjoy (as long as they don't mind hearing the odd fuck here and there).