Fuck man. This is so weird. None of this stuff is bad. I’m proper weirded out. There’s usually at least one duffer in the set. Perhaps I’m mellowing in my old age?
Antagonizers ATL / CRIM / NOi!SE / Rude Pride – 4 Way Split 7in (Pirate’s Press Records)
Here we have an apparent treasure trove for fans of streetpunk and Oi!, courtesy of the good folks at Pirates Press Records in the form of a 4-way split 7in. This is a carefully curated collection that crosses borders and oceans. Antagonizers ATL hail from Atlanta, Georgia, and open proceedings with a rabble rousing working class punk anthem, Marching On that for me sits somewhere between Born To Lose and Street Dogs.
Side A is rounded off by CRIM, from Tarragona, Spain. This track, Alerta, Alerta! has a bit more of an Oi! Feel to it. It’s always a bit tricky for a dunce like me to have a clue what non-English speaking bands are banging on about (I blame the UK education system as it was in the late 80s / early 90s for that one). Beware, beware or something I guess. Either way it’s pretty decent to be honest. Kinda reminds me of Oxymoron meets Cock Sparrer.
On the flip, NOi!se need little introduction, if unlike me you have been keeping up to date on this element of the global punk scene. They are from Seattle, Washington and play – you guessed it – Oi! influenced street punk, which more than anything puts me in mind of Roger Miret & The Disasters meets Do or Die era Dropkick Murphys without the crap ‘plastic Paddy’ bits. Lies. It’s fucking rocking, mate.
Side B is taken to a close with Rude Pride and their track Never Forget. This crew are from Madrid, Spain, and bring more Oi! influenced streetpunk to the table. This song is awesome. Kinda like a pumped up Business meets The Bruisers meets early Rancid without the shitty ska parts. I also felt like there was a bit of Hudson Falcons in there too.
A decent little comp, this. Tony of Nurgle rating 9/10
You can pick this up from the Pirates Press Records webstore or from any of the featured bands at a show.
Here more from the bands on this 7in:
Antagonizers ATL bandcamp https://antagonizersatl.bandcamp.com/
Rude Pride bandcamp
NOi!se bandcamp
CRIM bandcamp
Triple Sundae – Glow EP (self-released)
Because Sarah at Lockjaw Records is an all round good egg, she’s been good enough to try and help out Triple Sundae with a bit of promo for this, their self-released 6 track EP. I was a bit concerned when I read the line melodic indie-punk in the vein of The Menzingers, PUP or Gnarwolves, though.
Everyone knows I can’t abide the bastard Menzingers, who I think have about as much musical worth as a slowly dissipating fart atop a lonely mountain. Gnarwolves people aren’t supposed to like because of sexual misconduct allegations surrounding one of their members. And PUP are a bit fashionable (plus I still haven’t gotten around to listening to the new one – the previous two were pretty decent though, admittedly).
With this in mind, I plunged into this offering from these Londoners. I have to admit that despite my pre-loaded concerns, this is actually pretty decent, and doesn’t sound anything like The Menzingers. This more reminds me of early Above Them meets Iron Chic, and a soupcon of Aerial Salad’s updated take on classic Green Day. There’s also this cool backing vocal thing that weirdly puts me in mind of early Idlewild.
I’m surprised no label picked this up, as it’s way better than some of the crap that gets curled out by small labels in the UK these days. Admittedly, the artwork is a bit wet-seeming, though. Sorry!!
Tony of Nurgle rating 9/10
You can get a digital download of these 6 songs for a bargain £2.50 from the Triple Sundae bandcamp page
Lee Resistant & The Lost – Thirteen Years Gone By (self-released)
Lee Resistant was the frontman of London punks of days gone by, Fletcher, who released stuff through Deck Cheese in the UK, and Pyropit Records in Japan. I can honestly say I never listened to Fletcher. I think I for some reason pigeon-holed them alongside crap ska bands of the same period, such as Jesse James [spunge] and Whitmore and the like. The type of stuff enjoyed soley by annoying dickheads. Perhaps that was unfair of me. I’ll never know, though, unless somebody nails me to the table by my face and forces me to check it out. I dunno. It might turn out that they were good or whatever. These songs might even be fucking Fletcher songs! How would I ever know?!?!?!?!?!
Anyway, your man there has relocated to Ontario, Canada. And much time has passed since days gone by, and we have what must be an older and wiser (I dunno if he was always wise, as I’ve already said I’m 100% ignorant of previous works) Lee, setting some of his solo material to a full band arrangement. I note that on his solo page he appears to be sat on a bed or a coffin… or something draped in a Union Jack. Careful, chief, wouldn’t want anyone mistaking you for Morrissey or Geri Halliwell or some shit!
Light piss-taking asides, the press material suggests this for fans of Hot Water Music and Nothington. That’s a fairly accurate assessment. This is certainly some decent anthemic, high quality melodic punk rock that also puts me quite heavily in mind of the first Loved Ones full length. I’d also say if you’ve been enjoying stuff that The Burnt Tapes have been putting out, then this is likely to be your jam.
I’ve been more than a bit surprised by this. Some nice blue collar songs of hopes and dreams shattered, all expressed in a rather honest and genuine feeling way. Tony of Nurgle rating: 9/10
You can pick this up from the Lee Resistant & the Lost bandcamp page
