Seriously though, F@€K Busted

I was gonna work on an "End of Year" type post with lists of stuff but I decided not to (Local Resident Failure - best album, PMX & Twin Dracula joint top EP). Instead I'm going to write about something mildly topical in the world of punk rock. The "highly anticipated" Busted reunion.

In 2002 something amazing was happening in the UK charts. For the first time in a long while alternative music that wasn't brit pop was flooding the top 40. I remember this year as a year I think I saw more bands than I ever did before. Bands like Less Than Jake, MXPX, Jimmy Eat World, Sum 41, New Found Glory, Fenix TX, The Offspring and god knows how many others. The punk/alternative world was blowing right the hell up and the charts reflected this. People like Avril Lavigne were in the top ten along with P!nk now singing songs off albums she was writing with Tim Armstrong. Bands  like Puddle Of Mudd and alternative sensations like Eminem could be found rubbing shoulders with the usual pop shit. All in all this was a huge time for rock music and punk was at the forefront of the charge, maybe not the stuff those guys in the 70s were listening to but us 90s teenagers had sudden easy access to all our favourite bands.
Kerrang TV had become a thing and by late 2002 they were playing more than just smells like teen spirit and enter sandman on 24 hour repeat and the bands we love were getting a hell of a lot of spotlight. Blink 182 in particular had been an overwhelming powerhouse when it came to breaking punk rock and alternative music into everyday households with cheeky but inoffensive videos and tunes that didn't freak your parents out.
Island Records obviously took notice of this and decided they wanted some of that sweet sweet punk rock pound. Island being a branch of the Universal Music Group, the company that also own EMI (you might recognise EMI as the record label the sex pistols fucking hated). In late 2002 'Busted', the debut album of brand new band Busted was released.

Main thing about Busted is that they were absolutely a pop band with guitars that they didn't actually play doing synchronised jumps and looking like total chumps. For someone who was genuinely in the scene back then Busted were an affront to everything that I loved. All those bands that were awesome and were pioneering alternative music from artist owned labels like Nitro and Kung Fu and Fat Wreck and Hell Cat were being shat on by this band.

I can't stress this enough, Busted were One Direction, only someone had gelled their hair up and given them guitars to hold onto.
It wasn't just that they were shit, and entirely manufactured, and catered to pre teen girls. It was that they did all this while pretending that they were in the Kerrang crowd. It was just deeply offensive for this band of public school assholes to label themselves in the same category as No Use For A Name or a pre American Idiot Green Day.
It's important to remember Charlie Simpson in all of this too. Charlie was a real rock music fan and HATED being in busted. Like really hated it. In an interview he gave with the guardian when Fightstar formed he has this to say about Busted:

"I was in a fucked-up situation. I was in a music career, which was amazing, and I hated it because it wasn't fulfilling me in any sense of the word. I kept thinking, imagine if this was a band I really liked, I'd be loving it. It was like torture."

Those are not the words of someone who thought they were in a good band, or an even remotely alternative band. Busted was his prison, which makes it all the more sad to see that he's back. I guess they must have offered him one hell of a lot of money.

So Why are we looking back on Busted now with a hint of nostalgia? Well my guess is that the mists of time have helped us forget who Busted really were. We look at them now like pop punk bands such as Fallout Boy, who are over-produced pop crap now but came from great beginnings. Or because they appeared in the charts at the same time that Blink-182 were in the charts we mis-remember them as part of that peer group instead of the major label cash in on the scene we were a part of. Today we have 5 Seconds Of Summer. A band that I care so little about I can't even be bothered to research them (I've already had to listen to Busted, don't make me do more!!). They are the modern Busted, probably even better if I cared to check out a song (I don't) yet we don't love them for the same reasons no one loved Busted back in the day.

We also have McFly, who, in the wake of the backlash against Busted being so blatantly fake made a point of playing everything entirely live and putting together a live show that showcased each of the members as great musicians. Their reputation eventually ended up tinting Busteds as being from the same crowd rather than that of the band that pretty much destroyed the genre before it had taken off.

I guess this all comes down to grumpiness and age in the end. I was eighteen and fully immersed in the punk scene at the time. Corporate entertainment always ends up ruining the things kids love and Busted was that corporate entertainment effort to cash in on what I thought was cool. If you got into alternative music five years later maybe Busted seemed like the pop punk band that the cool dude from Fightstar used to be in, or maybe everyone is being super ironic. I don't really know, all I know is I'm an older gen punk now telling the punk kids of this generation that Falling In Reverse and Yellawolf are shit, and it'll never be better than when I was 18.

So after reading this are you still excited for Busted coming back in a non ironic way? If you are then we probably can't be friends anymore.

p.s. even if you allowed for a 35 year gap between generations you're looking at roughly 30 in a 1000 year period. Your great great great granddaughter is more likely to occur in a 100 year window. Idiots.

SPOTLIGHT: The Twin Dracula - Hell Hath All Fury

Let me tell you all a story. If you've ever spent more than five minutes in my company face to face you may have heard it already but that's ok because it's my best one....

When I was 11 years old I went into Virgin Megastore and picked out what I thought looked like the coolest cassette in the place. Bill and Ted liked heavy metal and I liked Bill and Ted so I made the assumption that a band called Metallica would probably be pretty cool.
The album I bought was Kill 'Em All, after I picked it up my mum had to stop in tescos and I stayed in the car and put the tape in to check it out. What happened next basically shaped me into the human being I am today. I'd never heard anything so fast and heavy and fucking awesome in my life and from that point on I became the Dan you all know and adore today.

I bring this up because I just felt the second coming of Christ listening to Liars on the brand new EP from The Twin Dracula. It shook me down to my core. I'm not talking just goosebumps I'm talking taking a shot of adrenalin straight to the heart Pulp Fiction style! This is something exceptional right here. Powerful falls short on the list of descriptors for the TTD sound. If you want to categorise it into a genre pigeonhole I guess it would sit somewhere nestled in the middle of a venn diagram with Hardcore Punk, Thrash Metal, Motorhead and Fat Wreck Chords. Does that help to pinpoint what you're getting? probably not but it's the best I can do.

This isn't for the faint of heart. Whilst not exactly the brutal ferocity of Almeida, The Twin Dracula are heavy like a freight train, they switch in and out of full on Metal riffage and Operation Phoenix style hardcore easily and without skipping a step which can be heard perfectly on Allura. You'll Never Defeat The Cobras shows that speed is something TTD are just as comfortable with too, when not dipping into epic rock operatic breakdowns. There is a lot on display stylistically from what is essentially three tracks and an intro. One thing you may notice is that the average length of a TTD song is about three times the length of most punk counterparts, again making songs feel just that bit more Metal in nature. These aren't flash in the pan moments, these are deep and extended experiences which stand well by themselves and perfectly together.

So its time for the conclusion paragraph. The Twin Draculas new effort shows that this is a band that have barely scratched the surface of what can be done with their unique and awe inspiring sound. You'll have to look far and wide to find something more accomplished than this. If like me you were that little kid that heard some band playing distorted guitars and thought it was the coolest fucking thing in the world then you'll hear this and find it hard to ever put down again.

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).

Triple Sundae Special: Do I even like Ska-punk?

It's a very bold move sticking trumpets in your punk. The great ska crash of 20..... I dunno I was in Brighton when it happened and those years are fuzzy, but at some point all the ska kids became emo kids just like Home Grown predicted and all of a sudden people were definitely not "all about that brass" ..... see what I did there, it's a typographical pun! It's only "funny" when you read it because it don't make sense saying it out loud.

I've gotten wildly off topic within two sentences ....... so brass sections in punk became a very rare thing. Only very few people really truly can get away with putting brass in my punk these days, almost exclusively those people are in Less Than Jake. LTJ were perfect in their execution and any band that wanted to sound like that would be held in high esteem by me.

Enter Combust. The Trips boys disappeared at the tail of last year into a cocoon and have now emerged as the beautiful butterflies they always wanted to be. The caterpillar Triple Sundae, all gruffness and enthusiasm has been replaced with in tune three part harmonies, anthemic jams and of course, that brass. No upstrokes or comical swagger like the stereotyped ska-punk bands of yesteryear, just good old-fashioned 90s pop punk with horns that never seek to be centre stage and only help to drive things along.

I liked it. It gave me warm feelings and a nostalgia buzz from dancing in the Camden Palace to Gainesville Rock City on a Tuesday night. I'm very much looking forward to them getting back on the touring circuit and it's been well worth the wait.

SPOTLIGHT: Almeida - Social Media Circus

I'll admit to my shame that I've not checked out Almeida before, even though we've shared the same bill. I don't know why I never got around to it as I've seen them on the same bills as Darko and others of my favourites lists for a while and knew something of them being a band I'd probably enjoy. I guess you can just only check out so many new bands at a time. Anyway I feel guilty now and will be making a hell of a bigger effort to catch them in future, the reason is that my first ever taste of Almeida was this EP.

I feel like it gives me a nice perspective not having listened to anything by them before, yet holding them up to the Melodic Hardcore "Do I like it" template that I have done with their peers. It's not exactly going to be fair as it's fairly well pointed out that Almeida are "Progressive Thrash" and not Melodic Hardcore. What's the difference? well lets get into it:

This EP opens with the standard metal riff opening that I earliest remember MUTE doing in The Raven and thats become a fairly major staple in the bands I like to listen to. This time though it's goddamned hardcore, like way more than anything else I've heard. This opening really sets up everything you can come to expect from the EP and is actually a stroke of genius by the band. From the metal turned up to eleven opening gambit which then switches to a major key double time guitar solo and into alternate death metal growls and more standard skate punk vocals, you will have decided within twenty seconds of listening to this whether you'll like the record. Also there is a cough and you'll miss it Father Ted reference. Good stuff.

The album then settles into it's skate punk/melodic hardcore stylings, albeit with an intensity that is up at the upper limits of the genre, breaking more into flat out thrash metal more than any band I've come across before. You start to feel like you've got a handle on things and the tunes stream through at a blistering pace, fast and tight and technical all throughout. Which is a real hallmark of the top end of quality UK bands playing anything comparable.

Then "A Book Of Endless Pages" happens and oh fuck, you'd better be goddamned ready. The song is FIERCE like nothing I've known in a while. It's not exactly a total change in style but the really thrashy shit you've heard up until now is just an easy warm up for this. This song is intensity bottled and is an experience all of itself. The only thing I can liken it to is the song "Such the Fool" by Sikth, It's all deep rumbling growls and blast beasts and heavy as a tank riffs.
You'd be forgiven for being exhausted by the time it's over but you're not quite finished yet, Creed comes up as the ender and doesn't dare let up the pace and fun until you could swear that you've run a marathon.

In conclusion Almeida are far more aggressive and close to Metal than anything else I would class in a similar category and they may not be your cup of tea. To those of you that feel this way, know that you're wrong and probably a bad person. Luckily thanks to an opening intro so packed with personality it registered it's own netflix account, you'll be able to make your mind up pretty quickly about whether you're in camp right or not. To those that like the band or similar acts you'll find a deeply well crafted intense ride that will bring you back over and over as you piece together the narrative that runs throughout.

p.s. I apologise for not focusing one the words and instead just letting the vocal melody sweep me along because if I had paid attention I could probably say this with more clarity but I'm fairly certain this is a concept album, since from the opening all the way to the riffs in Creed there is a circus theme running throughout the music. Hopefully someone who actually hears the words can confirm this for me.

SPOTLIGHT: Jesus Hooligan - Touch Pure Passion

A while ago I reviewed an EP from 'Norse gods with drum sticks' ensemble Jesus Hooligan. That was a musical experience I'm never likely to forget, something so intense and against the grain that I quite happily threw myself into a feast of Touch Pure Passion - the bands (quite) new album. Admittedly I found it difficult to pull myself away from the brand new PMX EP, but like them good old pringles I popped and then couldn't stop!!

Now I've talked about these guys before, so I'll dispense with the overlong description and instead go for something a little lighter on the pallet for the TL;DR crowd.
Jesus Hooligan is the kind of music that absolutely defies any modern genre convention and instead opts to completely re write the book on everything we've come to expect from music. Part Tribal beatdown, part blues, part Danzig, part sea shanty, part rock opera, part Clash. They are at once no music that's come before and the building blocks of everything you've ever listened to. It's hard to imagine what I'm talking about until you hear it for yourself and I very much suggest you do.

Anyways on to the album. Now As I mentioned I have previous experience with the JH crowd. The "Feel" EP being a journey into guttural roaring to the sound of the earth grinding on it's axel which was both pleasing to take and utterly unforgettable. It's was quite the expedition and I fully expected this to be no different. What I found though was a slightly different kettle of fish. There's more in here that we could would consider popular music. Songs such as the opening Death Of Me and I Don't Wanna See That Woman No More are pretty close to being straight up rock songs, with some old school rock and roll slide guitar in there and a structure we would all recognise. This is the lighter side of JH and would be good starters for introducing the band to friends. Then there are tunes that left me literally short of breath listening to them, and I'm sat at a desk. Songs like Woman Girl and Girl are an assault on the senses with those tribal drums crashing and the didjeridoo to a pace that must be a real spectacle to witness live.

There is an ever prevalent sense of humour I love flowing through here too. It's smutty as hell but never disrespectful, crude but not at the expense of others and shocking but only to the prudish and uptight. In essence something anyone can get behind and enjoy. Lyrics like "When you're in my bed doing things with your head" are positioned directly next to an almost instrumental drum beatdown which proclaims " For I Will Love Her" over and over with a beautifully haunting turn of Mr Hooligans real life wife singing the reprise back to him. This sense of inclusiveness is an ethos the Hooligan tribe seem to hold very dear in their hearts and it comes across as endearing for a band of fearsome dudes pounding on the foundations of the world!! You're only likely to be truly offended by what they say if you do indeed have the body shape of a Wheatabix!

All in all this is something that is worth checking out if only for the fact  that you've probably never heard the like before or will after. Personally the fun in this recording, that sounds like they just played so loudly next to a record that the music was imprinted through sheer force of will, is a delight to behold and now I'm off to play Here In My Bed to my wife now to watch her knees go weak.