Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Monday 21 September 2020

Movements – ‘No Good Left to Give’

It’s been less than six years since Movements formed in early 2015, but this California four-piece have already found their musical niche, shining brightly among their peers. But if ‘Feel Something’ was a shooting star, ‘No Good Left to Give’ is a goddamn supernova. And

Madina Lake – ‘The Beginning Of New Endings’

A blast from emo past circa 2007, Madina Lake were once Scuzz TV’s hall of famers, with captivating videos and plenty of sell out shows thanks to their charismatic live performances. The poster boys of a scene filled with eyeliner, studded belts and shouting at your dad, they were

Friday 18 September 2020

DIG NITTY – ‘Reverse of Mastery’

There’s a whole heap of sounds we cover here at Punktastic. Ranging from hardcore metal to DIY indie punk, we try and keep you covered. One we don’t touch that often is lo-fi surf folk rock. But for Brooklyn four-piece Dig Nitty, that might be the best way to

Thursday 17 September 2020

Knuckle Puck – ’20/20′

Five years after releasing their debut record, Knuckle Puck are gearing up to release their third full-length, ’20/20′, an album they’ve approached with optimism and positivity. And if the goal was to spread that positivity, then it’s been achieved – the album is full of sunshine,

Wednesday 16 September 2020

Napalm Death – ‘Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism’

Napalm Death are as close to a national institution as an extreme metal band are going to get. A 39 year career, spanning 16 albums, has granted them legend status in the UK underground; they’ve played to thousands at Glastonbury, are featured in the Guinness Book of

Fit For A King – ‘The Path’

Texas metalcore giants Fit For A King are back with yet another record, but it’s likely not the record you were expecting. Riding on the success of 2018 record ‘Dark Skies’, which has now amassed a whopping fifty million streams, the band have made a slight alteration to

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Mother’s Cake – ‘Cyberfunk!’

Ten years on from the release of their self-titled debut EP, Austrian psych rock trio Mother’s Cake present ‘Cyberfunk!’, serving up 12 tracks of space-infused prog rock mayhem. Over the past decade they’ve toured extensively worldwide, released one EP, three studio albums, and two live albums, the most recent

Monday 14 September 2020

Yours Truly – ‘Self Care’

If you’ve been emotionally hurt by the absence of the usual yearly wave of pop punk, you won’t have to be in pain for much longer. Sydney based quartet Yours Truly are about to release debut album ‘Self Care’ and it single-handedly makes everything better. Borne out of

Friday 11 September 2020

Mad Sin – ‘Unbreakable’

For those unfamiliar with the stylings of Mad Sin, just imagine the slick licks of early Tiger Army, the boisterous vocals of Bad Manners, and the general chaos of Turbonegro. After a decade in the wilderness, Germany’s psychobilly/punkabilly royalty are back with 14th studio record ‘Unbreakable’.

Honey Joy – ‘II’

Honey Joy’s second album, aptly named ‘II’, was written in the midst of health concerns and time off to focus on recovery. Vocalist Meg Tinsley was signed off from working as a nurse due to struggles with her mental health when the first half of the record

Tuesday 08 September 2020

LIVE: IDLES @ Abbey Road, London

Look, we’re still in a weird place. Although we’re starting to see live shows back, they’re rightly keeping fans distant from each other. For most of us, the idea of socially distanced gigs, whilst being the correct course of action, would be difficult to tolerate. Without being able to

Friday 04 September 2020

Cold Years – ‘Paradise’

The relationship between a hometown and its inhabitants can often be a complicated one. There are those that have a deep-seated sense of pride about where they grew up, some who have moved away and have become nostalgic for the comforts, and others that completely resent the

Oceans Of Slumber – ‘OCEANS OF SLUMBER’

Two years after the brooding melancholy of ‘The Banished Heart’, progressive-metallers Oceans Of Slumber invite you aboard their latest odyssey. Turbulent times and a change to the line-up means this is a perfect opportunity to re-establish their sound, so it’s no surprise this is a self-titled record. As their

Thursday 03 September 2020

LIVE: Jamie Lenman @ Signature Brew Brewery, London

‘This is weird isn’t it?’ says Jamie Lenman moments after taking the stage, ‘But it’s weird in a good way’. It’s hard to sum up the gig much better than that. This is the second of a three-night run of shows for Lenman, but for many fans in the

WACO – ‘Hope Rituals’

Optimistic cosmic punk weirdos WACO return with their second album ‘Hope Rituals’ filled with left turns and good vibes. After the tragic loss of their bassist Chris Cowley, there was a time where new music from the group seemed unlikely but following a period of healing and reflection, the

Friday 28 August 2020

Girls In Synthesis – ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’

London-based trio Girls In Synthesis don’t play by the rules. The experimental post-punk outfit may technically be DIY – creating their videos, artwork, and records themselves – but their music is anything but. Chunky, discordant and almost indescribable, it’s a mess of sounds that take inspiration from numerous genres,

PVRIS – ‘Use Me’

After exploding onto the scene back in 2014, Massachusetts’ PVRIS have been an unstoppable force as they’ve sped past milestone after milestone. Their critically acclaimed debut album ‘White Noise’ received nothing but praise across the board, with follow up ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of

Thursday 27 August 2020

Pain of Salvation – ‘PANTHER’

For a band who’ve been around for nearly 30 years, Pain Of Salvation sound anything but tired. The prog pioneers continue to deliver truly progressive albums, with ‘PANTHER’ serving up new sonic elements, more overt production, and an evolution of sound that takes the listener on a conceptual journey

Wednesday 26 August 2020

Bloxx – ‘Lie Out Loud’

The latter end of the last decade brought us an influx of new indie bands to fall in love with, all providing their very own flavour of fun, catchy, and often tear jerking tunes. Among this onslaught of young, fresh and fabulous new indie bands sit

Narrow Head – ’12th House Rock’

“I wanted to create a fairly dark world with my words,” explains Narrow Head’s vocalist Jacob Duarte. “A grimy world of drunks and druggies filled with endless nights of unknown substances, pleasures, and regrets.” While those themes inspired the lyrical content on ‘12th House Rock’, you wouldn’t guess it