Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Monday 16 September 2019

Sleep On It – ‘Pride & Disaster’

There aren’t too many bands creating proper, straight up pop punk these days – and even fewer who are doing it well. Enter Chicago four piece Sleep On It, who on debut ‘Overexposed’ captured the heart of all that has made this genre so well-loved over the last decade

Korn – ‘The Nothing’

If you’re a fan of metal, there’s a pretty high probability that you don’t need an introduction to Korn. With their infectious low tuned grooves, the occasional bagpipe solo and the painfully honest vocals of Jonathan Davies, they’ve been providing a voice for a generation as they

LIVE: Reading Festival 2019 – Friday

While ‘British Festival Season’ often conjures thoughts of muddy fields, populated almost solely with last-minute welly purchases, this year’s Reading Festival brought only sunshine and across the whole weekend. Pulling from all of Punktastic’s very favourite genres, it’s one of our most anticipated times of

Friday 13 September 2019

grandson – ‘a modern tragedy: volume 3’

The third in grandson’s series of modern tragedies has arrived, and while it is undoubtedly less angry than the previous two volumes, grandson still has a lot to say. This time, the EP pulls in a theme of resignation, with opening track ‘Rock Bottom’ depicting

LIVE: Off With Their Heads @ Rebellion, Manchester

Off With Their Heads aren’t an uplifting band. They are not the kind of band you’re going to invite to play at your wedding. A lot of their songs can be exceptionally hard listens as vocalist Ryan Young lays out all the cards of his crippling anxiety,

Microwave – ‘Death Is A Warm Blanket’

Progression of sound is a tricky thing. Take Linkin Park, for example – back in the early 2000s, Hybrid Theory and Meteora were genre-defining. By the time they had dropped their fourth album, though, they had developed and evolved their sound to an almost unrecognisable point, much to the

Tiger Army – ‘Retrofuture’

Nick 13 paints a picture of America we all like to imagine. An expansive country of top-down Cadillacs, motels with flashing neon signs, and promises of ‘HBO TV’. Milkshakes in late-night diners, steak dinners, and women in polka dot dresses and Bettie Page hair. It seems

Thursday 12 September 2019

LIVE: Belfast Vital 2019 @ Boucher Fields

Belfast Vital, Tennents Vital, Vital Festival. Call it what you will, but this 17 year old Northern Irish festival – when it’s not suffering from an unfortunate hiatus or year long break – always delivers a surprisingly strong lineup. This year, the show returned to its roots

Being As An Ocean – ‘PROXY – An A.N.I.M.O. Story’

We are all important. We all matter. That’s a very bold way to open a review of a post-hardcore record, sure, but it isn’t said enough. Our collective culture is suffering damage, with more and more battles with personal pain and mental health being lost than ever

The Faim – ‘State Of Mind’

When The Faim first appeared on UK shores a year and a half ago, they had just two songs to their name – Panic! At The Disco-esque anthem ‘Saints Of The Sinners’, and poppy hit ‘Midland Line’. It didn’t stop the Australians making a considerable impact as they spent

Wednesday 11 September 2019

LIVE: The Faim / Woes / Charming Liars @ Arts Club, Liverpool

Sitting in the city’s bustling and trendy Ropewalks district, Liverpool’s Arts Club takes residence in an unassuming old building a stones throw from copious bars and beer gardens (not that we’ve quite got the weather for using outdoor spaces today). Tonight, we’re in the venue’s Loft room, an intimate

Chelsea Wolfe – ‘Birth Of Violence’

Chelsea Wolfe is a musician who knows her strengths. That’s not to say that her work is repetitive – far from it. The Californian Queen of Dirges has a penchant for weaving her signature reverberating style through multiple genres, ranging from simple acoustic folk, to full-on doom

Tuesday 10 September 2019

Tiny Moving Parts – ‘breathe’

The days of vision-inhibiting fringes, studded belts and high angled selfies may be in the past, but the love for emo music still lingers today. Just the first few notes of one of your favourite emo jams is powerful enough to cause the butterflies in your stomach

Friday 06 September 2019

Cassels – ‘The Perfect Ending’

The world is fucked. Every time you turn on the news, there are reports of the human race finding a new way to destroy the very place they call home. The Amazon rainforest is on fire, the ice caps are rapidly disappearing, tourists are shooting animals

LIVE: Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers / Frank Iero and the Future Violents @ Academy 2, Manchester

It’s battle of the longest band names in punk this evening, as Laura Jane Grace and Frank Iero bring their latest solo ventures to Manchester. It’s a powerhouse of a co-headline show with the pair both releasing impressive records in the past 18 months. The

Thursday 05 September 2019

Sleeping With Sirens – ‘How It Feels To Be Lost’

Sleeping with Sirens had been teasing a heavier sound on social media for a while prior to the release of lead single ‘Leave It All Behind’. Little did we know what a true return to form it would be, especially in today’s musical climate where albums no

LIVE: The Spook School / Leggy @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Tonight, The Spook School are going to space. They are set to leave this suffocating world and begin a new life on the moon. They’re armed with a mission to become the first band to play a Fleetwood Mac cover while traversing the desolate lunar landscape.

Wednesday 04 September 2019

Grayscale – ‘Nella Vita’

When Philadelphia group Grayscale took to social media to unceremoniously boot out drummer Nick Veno earlier this year, it caused quite the stir. Fans were upset, headlines were made – but still, something didn’t seem quite right. As it turned out, it was all part of an entertaining (if

Tuesday 03 September 2019

ROAM – ‘Smile Wide’

Some bands seem to be destined to bring sunshine into our days on this cursed earth, and South Coasters ROAM have been doing just that for the last three years. Since the release of debut ‘Backbone’, their brand of pop punk has never really pushed the boat out, but

Friday 30 August 2019

Gender Roles – ‘Prang’

It’s fair to say Brighton is a melting pot of creatives, musicians, and eccentrics. It’s one of the reasons there’s a surge of bands coming from the city. Another is that it’s home to a prominent ‘DIY’ scene, with smaller venues and local promoters regularly putting on young and