On, well, nothing in particular. And Sonic Boom Six.
So I'm sitting here trying like crazy to come up with something headshrinkingly original to recommend, in one fell swoop proving my credibility (oh so important, because without credibility there is no trust, and without trust there is only Kasabian) and finding another band to fall in love with. But I was, and am, having a bit of trouble. I'm still waiting for a band to be able to blow my fucking nuts off in the same way that Failsafe and Sonic Boom Six effortlessly do. And even then you could argue that SB6 aren't actually original, they're just a pinch of Beastie Boys, a dash of Bad Brains or even Black Flag, a healthy dollop of The Clash and, yes, a smattering of Capdown while Failsafe are only the inevitable result of trying to shoehorn in as many globe-munching choruses as is humanly possible into yer common-or-garden song structure.And even though it's possible to quantify and indeed analyse the roots of these bands, two bands that I believe are the most exciting and interesting to be doing the rounds in the UK scene that is, they're slogging it out playing shitholes for sod-all money and accepting it because apparently when punk bands try and make that leap upwards they're either viewed with enough scepticism to make an optimist take a blade to their wrist (hello, and sadly farewell Ad7) or somehow manage to summon up a constant flood of mistrust and fuck them, why aren't they exactly the same band as they were six years ago? (Capdown, innit) it doesn't bloody matter. Because just as the oft-repeated dictum that It doesn't matter where you're from, it only matters where you are really is applicable here.
Take the Boom. What they're doing is incredibly brave. Going to an SB6 show is like having someone with superlative music taste make a mixtape for you, and then play it in fast-forward. They bound joyfully from genre to genre with utter contempt for 'the rules' that have strangled punk music for instance, who says punk music can't incorporate samples and drum machines? In Don Letts' brilliant documentary Punk: Attitude he cites The Beastie Boys as being crucial to the gestation and evolution of punk, and why not? Even though the brash and crude hardcore-lite interludes that pepper their early output are in the minority, they simply did not give a fuck. Jesus, they were produced by Rick Rubin and on Def Jam! Does that even make sense in the context of the 80s? Back to the Boom's live show in the space of 13 seconds they've managed to swerve from balls-out punk rock to a complete history of ska and reggae with a well-placed loop and back again, via the astonishingly subversive move of whacking in a Beenie Man hook or a Faith No More chorus. And now they don't even need to rely on any tricks like this, because at the beginning of their rise to the top of the UK scene it slightly felt like they were being a bit too clever for their own good, like it was so crucially important to them to wear every single one of their influences on their sleeve, like the jarring juxtaposition of Sureshot and Tough Guy. But now, thrillingly, brilliantly, they're beyond that. And with The Ruff Guide To Genre Terrorism they've proved that for punk music to transcend the boundaries that have been imposed both internally and externally, it HAS to evolve.
I mean, a band like Pennywise could be positioned as being the polar opposite of everything SB6 are trying to achieve. Now, I adore Pennywise, but the point is that I already own one or two (maybe three, I moved house recently) Pennywise albums and have absolutely zero desire whatsoever to buy any more. Because however fine they are as a skatepunk band- and they are on top of the heap for a reason, they can belt out a fucking anthem when they need to there's very little chance of them being able to attract new fans. Yeah, they've got a massive fanbase at the moment but they're in danger of turning into dinosaurs. The more cruel amongst you (identifiable by the haircuts that look like they were razorbladed while on a moving flatbed lorry) will no doubt be sniffing into your 7 inches (fnarr) that they became obsolete as soon as Fletcher stopped playing the first song of their first gig. So how are they, and by extension, the entire UK punk scene, going to succeed in not dying?
By doing something more than a little terrifying and opening our minds. I mean, if you'd said that a scratchy dancey punk band from Leeds would precipitate one of the most frenzied major label bidding wars in the last couple of years, then tell the majors to go get fucked and release their own album on their own label then most people would slap you upside the head and recommend a stern course of anti-depressants and Jaegermeister. But then iForward Russia! came along and, well, had their own sound that was a hybrid of stuff as diverse as The Clash, New Order and the entirety of the 70s apparently, and fucking did their own thing. And they're great. Just like SB6. But iFR! came from the indie scene that, for all it's fucking hideous shoe-gazing, Razorlight-excusing, skinny jeans-wearing, haircut-obsessing, Morrissey-worshipping crimes, embraced them. And it's not like the embryonic beginnings of the punk scene, down at the all-ages gigs that are so well-populated (if, that is, there's a promoter NOT out to just make a fast few quid) because kids just want to jump around and be sweaty and have a really good time without giving a shit whether or not they're allowed to like a certain band. I've watched the band $up play all across the country and while they're hardly the most cerebral of bands, they used to at least go for it, and didn't care who they were playing to, they just wanted everyone there to have a great time. So after the skacore boom died down, they went back to places and were still able to pull a half-decent crowd because they'd played without an eye on the scene or ego, just because they wanted to. A policy of inclusion, rather than exclusion. I'm not sure what the point was to that little interlude, but I enjoyed it.
Sonic Boom Six make people dance like complete idiots, just like Adequate 7 and King Prawn. Like Five Knuckle whipped people up into a seething frenzy, like Capdown (used to?) make people run around in breathless circles, like No Comply made everyone claw their way to the front, like Lightyear made people get naked. And that's the bottom line when the Boom are ON, they're unstoppable. And I know I was meant to write about Failsafe too but I forgot. And now I'm 1176 words away from the beginning.
ben@punktastic.com
» Click here to leave your comments
758 views
