Mix the sheer speed of Slick Shoes, the quirky stylings of NOFX and the Englishness of Snuff and you, more or less, get Watford skate punks My Dad Joe. This foursome signed to 20 Deck Records earlier this year and ever since have ripped up venues across the country in support of their first release for the label, ‘Peckerheads’. This EP is pretty rough and ready, as you would expect for a record produced and mixed in a bedroom – but that just adds to the appeal. There’s no fancy production here and there doesn’t need to be. What you have is fast and furious punk rock with giant melodic choruses – and a big thumbs up from me.
‘Peckerheads’ kicks off with the infectious ‘Every Second’ which is bouncier than jelly on a space hopper. With drums that punch and kick their way through the 90-second track, the vocals are sweet enough to make this a great song and something which is bound to get the party started in a live setting. Short and sweet is the essence of this EP and the fantastically named ‘Find Yourself A Slapper’ is a sonic blast which again captures enough melody to land a whale. There’s a bit of a dual vocal harmony thing going on and the guitars are layered with acoustic strummings which give the song a summery feel over a mantra style “she walked away” refrain. It’s all rather nice.
‘Better Off Alone’ has the same old same old cliched lyrical subject, but wow does the song do a marvellous job at rocking my socks off. Fast, furious and a bit faster still, the drumming (take a bow Nick Route 215) is as good as on any skate punk record you’ll hear, even if the chorus of “everybody thinks my girlfriend stinks” is a little too juvenile. ‘Punk Rock Queen’ is as cheeky as those cockney chaps in Snuff and is complete with plenty of ‘woa-ohs’ just for that So-Cal effect. Ever lost your girl to a fan of nu-metal? Then ‘Dangers Of Nu-Metal’ is for you, another romping classic which batters and bruises its way through the sub-one minute effort. That leads into the finale of ‘Mission Impossible’ which is another blast of quality punk rock tuneage, leaving you begging for more by the end. All the good bits are once again present and correct and it’s a fine way to end the record.
My Dad Joe aren’t about to make go all Blink 182 on us by playing an enormodome near you in the near future, but they have a set of punk rock mini anthems that deserve a listen. I have no doubt that MDJ will be even better live, so catch them doing the rounds before the next album comes out and they start playing bigger venues. Because if ‘Peckerheads’ is anything to go by, MDJ have a set of songs in their arsenal which will rock your cotton socks off…
Paul