We’ve not published one of these for a while but it feels the right time to try to bring it back. We’re all frustrated with the lack of gigs – the musky smell of sweat, the taste of warm flat beer, the ache in your whole body the following morning. While we can’t replicate it for you, we can definitely provide you with some fantastic tunes to keep you entertained and distracted.

Check out the Punktastic Playlist below, and have a read our thoughts on some tracks below.

AJJ – ‘A Big Day For Grimley’

When AJJ penned the line, “And you can bet it’s gonna be a bunch of bullshit too out in sweet 2020″, not even at their prophetic best could they have imagined a world where the only form of communication is via a Zoom call. Taken from their 2020 LP, ‘Good Luck Everybody’, ‘A Big Day for Grimley’ is an all-too real apocalyptic lullaby. Sean Bonnette paints a picture of a better world free from persecution, racism, and a world where we look after each other. This arms-around-the-campfire track, however, is set against the ominous tone of falling bombs and creeping dread. The cheerful whistling at the end, punctuated by muffled rumblings, convey that even the most positive outlook on life cannot prevent what’s coming. A real feel-good anthem for your self-isolation.

TOM WALSH

Borts – ‘The Lake’

I have fond memories of Salisbury; my great granddad lived there so every summer involved a trip down to see him, and a trip to Reeves the bakers – if you know, you know! If you don’t and you’re visiting, check it out, it’s seriously worth the visit. So when I saw a band hailing from Salisbury on The Pickup, I had to give them a listen. Borts are a fresh faced punk band sounding like a crossed between Gnarwolves, Modern Baseball, and PUP. ‘The Lake’ is the first track on the debut EP ‘No Golf’ released last year by the 3-piece. It’s full of chunky riffs and heavy un-punk like beats. Borts have more music coming this year, and I, for one, am looking forward to it.

SI WATTEN

Kid Kapichi – ‘Cinderella’

It’s easy to talk about the lockdown, isolation and the terrible state of the world but it’s a little obvious. While it’s clearly at the front of everyone’s mind, it can be particularly difficult for people stuck in abusive relationships, where lockdown has be become a literal, inescapable prison. Painting a picture of torment, destruction, and ultimately a happier ending, Kid Kapichi’s 2018 hellblazer ‘Cinderella’ is a harrowing, pointed and overwhelming take on walking away from relationships that are no longer safe. With one of the catchiest choruses in years, the Hastings quartet thrash their way through with such dedicated force, it’s impossible to imagine this wouldn’t cause even the most stoic of gig attendance to throw themselves around till they ache. Relatively local to the Brighton scene, there’s almost certainly some influence from the city, with a punk undertone that’s rife throughout the entire South Coast, complete with a message that seems dark but borders a more positive outlook. Kid Kapichi dropped new single ‘Household Shame’ earlier this month, and with ‘Thugs’ released in February, will there be a new EP or album on the horizon? We can only hope.

ANDY JOICE

Tigercub – ‘Control’

When it comes to distortion, nobody does it better than Brighton. Such alumni as YONAKA, Demob Happy, and Royal Blood will tell you that. It’s a city that’s exemplified the alternative for years, and for a band like Tigercub, who are, to quote them directly, “so f***ing bored of rock music and scared that punk is becoming its own version of conservatism” it’s an apt home. ‘Control’ comes from the trio’s 2016 debut LP ‘Abstract Figures In The Dark’, an accurate name for the 43 minutes of warped and dreamy noise-pop it contains. The hazy sound is one all too familiar in modern rock, but it’s one that’s been tweaked and toyed with by the Brighton scene, by bands like Tigercub, to produce some incredibly memorable results. A few singles have followed, which hopefully indicates a second full length release in the future soon.

FIACHRA JOHNSON

Giver – ‘Imitation Dreams’

When it comes to slabs of hardcore gold, ‘Imitation Dreams’ from Giver’s incredible record ‘Sculpture of Violence’, released earlier this year, stands tall above the crowd. The importance of the subject matter of ‘Imitation Dreams’ is not one always discussed with the nuance required – challenging harmful ideals of masculinity – yet Giver navigate the subject with deftness of touch, with lyrics such as “relish my privilege by dismantling it.” ‘Imitation Dreams’ demonstrates Giver’s versatile approach to hardcore, with brutality and melody intermeshing in perfect harmony, however the pièce de résistance lies in a call to arms that will be stuck in your heads for weeks. I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to join in on the “are you listening?” gang vocals when gigs finally come back.

ROMY GREGORY

https://youtu.be/q2v3qeSg_pE

Alkaline Trio – ‘Minds Like Minefields’

One of the earlier lockdown treats was for Alkaline Trio to release new material for the first time in two years. The three-track EP, mercifully, is devoid of any of the hangovers of Matt Skiba’s blink-182 output and ‘Minds Like Minefields’ is trademark Trio. The staccato guitar riffs, the references of unavoidable death, and, naturally, a female protagonist is simply everything we need to get through these weird times. The soothing familiarity of Skiba and Dan Andriano’s battling vocals can make us believe that these days are just temporary. And we can almost forgive them for not touring ‘Is This Thing Cursed?’ in the UK and Europe. Almost.

TOM WALSH

Spanish Love Songs – ‘Funeral’

Finding a cover that’s as good as the original is difficult. Finding one that’s better – almost impossible. And yet, Spanish Love Songs have managed to turn Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Funeral’ into a song that sounds so different, you would be forgiven for thinking frontman Dylan Slocum wrote it himself. While Bridgers’ largely acoustic rendition hits with poignancy and delicate fragility, Spanish Love Songs have developed it in their style, subtle synths, driving drumbeats and effortless melodies that sit just below the lyrics. With Slocum using his distinctive, vibrato-laden vocals to full effect, it layers new meaning to the song – the opening lines of the chorus, “Well, Jesus Christ / I’m so blue all the time”, carry the pained, insecure thread throughout the track, as if every word is overwhelmingly stuck in his throat. With Spanish Love Songs having recently set up a Patreon that promises regular covers of other tracks, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll be delivering more heartbreakingly beautiful songs in their own way.

ANDY JOICE

It seems only fitting, then, that 2020 marks the return of Arizona folk punks AJJ, ready to spin their unique take on the current mess the world finds itself in. And, while there was a time when AJJ would offer up some light, the exasperation and helplessness many people feel is reflected in the repeated use of the phrase ‘Good Luck Everybody’.

The band’s seventh LP is a blend of cutting takedowns on the powers that have led us to this end point, and a panicked rambling of the futility the world finds itself in. The bluegrass infused ‘Normalization Blues’ carries the poignant opening line of “I can feel my brain a’changin, acclimating to the madness. I can feel my outrage shift into a dull, despondent sadness”; it’s a head-shaking, facepalming description of a world hurtling towards extinction.

Front man Sean Bonnette possesses the perfect vocal style for an end of days record, with a subtle trembling in his voice that hints at a bigger pain. The achingly beautiful, and desperately bleak, ‘No Justice, No Peace, No Hope’ puts Bonnette behind the piano as he regrettably informs us that “we’ve slipped inside a pit of absolute despair, that’s where we live now, until we don’t.”

There are brief moments of trademark AJJ snark with ‘Mega Guillotine 2020’, inspired by a tweet that depicted a guillotine capable of beheading 15 members of Congress at once. Its tongue-in-cheek narrative raises a brief smile, but it does make you wonder – if a mega guillotine ran as a candidate, people would probably vote for it.

Bonnette regularly turns his ire onto America’s beloved president, describing him as a “weapon of the evil men who really run the show”, while the visceral lullaby of ‘Psychic Warfare’ sees AJJ proclaim to have written a beautiful song for “all the pussies you grab and the children you lock up in prison”.

There is a lot of darkness in this record, but AJJ are determined to provide a little hope – that hope essentially being that we’re all in this together. Closing track ‘A Big Day for Grimley’ is almost a wish list of what the world could be; “solitude for the stoic, mearth for the merry, a quiet room for the overwhelmed, arcades for the ADHD, health for the sickly”. It’s like a hand to hold as we watch the apocalypse edge ever closer, a faint whispering of “good luck, everybody” passing through our ears as the final sound we hear is a jolly whistle punctuated by the muffled sounds of falling bombs.

What else can you say to a world hellbent on destroying itself? ‘Good Luck Everybody’ is a record to match the sentiment we all feel deep down inside – and when you think 2020 could be different, you know it probably won’t be.

TOM WALSH 

It follows up their 2016 sixth album ‘The Bible 2’ and their live album ‘Decade of Regression’ from earlier this year, both released on SideOneDummy Records. The band self-released it on CD, with a cassette released by Lauren Records.

The aforementioned unpleasant weather in 2016 however was so bad that the land took much longer to grow back than usual, meaning that two stages were noticeably omitted this year. On the plus side, this meant that for many people it meant they were far less timetable clashes, and smaller bands earlier on in the day such as Skyharbour had much bigger crowds than usual.

Belgium’s own Oathbreaker pull in a sizeable audience after mewithoutYou’s emotionally charged set on the main stage. The material from 2016’s ‘Rheia’ is incredibly punishing instrumentally, however the ethereal qualities of vocalist Caro Tanghe feel wasted on the Back to Basics stage. A real shame considering how immersive they can be in indoor venues. The crowd reaction is warm but in terms of musicianship this obviously isn’t one of their days.

The Menzingers also suffer from a few technical problems early on, however this doesn’t take away from their joyful atmosphere. While the material on their latest record ‘After The Party’ may be a melancholic reflection about growing up and the hardships of touring, they throw caution to the wind and dive on through courageous anthems such as ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’ and ‘The Obituaries’. The chorus responses from the audience are sung so defiantly you they somewhat drown out the vocals in the PA, but it’s still satisfying to watch. Their risk taking attitude to emo and tight pop sensibilities really shows time and time again why they’re so well received in Europe.

A mere few days before this weekend, there was an initial fear of who would replace the almighty Turning Point after they announced that they would be pulling out of Groez and Outbreak Festival in Leeds. To some people’s disappointment, Brutality Will Prevail were brought in as the special guests, but truth be told they’re past the point of caring what anyone thinks of them. Vocalist Louis Gauthier may sound drastically different to former vocalist Ajay Jones, but the ferocity in his vocals on fan favourites such as ‘The Path’ and ‘Trapped Doors Moving Walls’ is undeniable. Cuts from their new album are indeed a return to the dissonant, metallic hardcore that we know and love yet burst with rejuvenated enthusiasm live. Couple that with a group of kids going in hard as nails for each song and you’ve got yourself a set that stands out as being one of the best things to happen at Groezrock this year, even if it wasn’t initially planned.

American black metal outfit, Deafheaven, were also a wonderfully unexpected addition to this year’s line up. Their blend of shoegaze, post rock and melodic riffs, married with vocalist George Clarke’s earth shattering screams as the sun set over Meerhout ensured a rollercoaster of euphoria. As they’re not really the sort of band you can sing along to, the more passionate fans mostly just mimicked Clarke’s movements or simply headbanged themselves into submission. With a Mogwai cover and a showcase of ‘Language Games’ from 2011’s Roads To Judah thrown into their set, their first time at Groezrock was beautifully cathartic.

Strike Anywhere’s blend of energetic skate punk, loaded with plenty of hits from their extensive discography almost feels like a staple of Groez at this point, but never feels stale.  At this point in their career they’re never going to really change much from their live set up but overall they still manage to stand their ground after all these years.

Moving back to the main stage, metalcore veterans Underoath serve up a deliciously nostalgic set, with audience members clearly coming out of pit retirement for anthems such as ‘Writing On The Walls’ and ‘In Regards To Myself’. Aaron Gillespie and Spencer Chamberlain’s voices accompany each other pitch perfectly tonight, despite little crowd interaction. The set is over as soon as it starts as it would have been impossible to perform their two most well known albums in full at a festival.  However when all is said and done, it would be hard to criticise them with such a heartfelt comeback.

AJJ’s formula of insightful folk punk brings a drunken house party atmosphere to the Watch Out stage. Their sets are known to be rowdy but even they are taken aback by the warm response of the Belgian. There’s also a surprisingly heavy element to their music live, with frontman Sean Bonnette coming close to breaking a string at any moment with his hard strumming patterns. A few barren stagedivers show their support, even during some of their slower songs might feel somewhat inappropriate for their music. Thankfully it doesn’t distract too much from their rousing social commentary and joyful singalongs.

With sets from In Hearts Wake and Anti Flag blasting from both sides of the festival, there’s surprisingly not that many people initially for the almighty Deftones. Tonight is a sonic feast for newcomers and long time fans of the seminal alt metal group, opening on on ‘Korea’, straight into ‘Elite’, and the crushingly tight ‘Diamond Eyes’. Frontman Chino Moreno’s stage presence is still charming as ever, making up for conventional stage banter with boisterous energy, often collapsing in fetal position for the heavier cuts.

Only the title track from ‘Gore’ is showcased tonight but it’s nice to see they’re not getting tired of playing their older hits time after time. ‘Rosemary’ and ‘Digital Bath’ are performed with almost blinding rays of purple and blue lights into the audience which greatly enhances the versatile atmosphere Deftones achieve with their live shows.  This is surprisingly one of their smaller shows on this entire tour, but their live shows are so influential it only made sense to have them steal the limelight tonight.

Not giving a damn about your weak, delicate hungover state from last night’s 4am afterparty, Bent Life solider on at the Watch Out stage early on. The bass drops and breakdown sections have kids punching the living daylights out of each other, although still retaining a sense of catchiness with some of the groovier riffs. It’s all the fun of a hardcore show back home, but with more people in Heavenshallburn shirts rather than XL Title Fight hoodies.

Arcane Roots, in comparison, are still just a very average band from Surrey, regardless of what continent they’re playing on. The band are giving it their all and their diverse range of musical endeavours bode well with the audience but sadly fail to be truly engaging.

With this year somewhat lacking in the traditional sprinklings of pop punk bands on the line up, Boston Manor step up up their game on the Watch Out stage. The blissful sing along choruses coupled with energetic riffs are not only wonderful to listen to from afar but prompt plenty of wholesome mic grabs and stage diving from their long time fans. Frontman Henry Cox has the audience by his finger tips, promoting all the angry finger pointing and posi jumps he can muster. Alongside their packed out acoustic set during Pennywise, it’s safe to say their venture to Groezrock did us Brits proud.

A return to the tough US brand of hardcore earlier in the day, Incendiary plunge into ‘Zeitgeist’. As with Bent Life, the sludgy guitar tones sound pissed off and louder than anything else here. You might even argue that they’re the heaviest band on this bill, which of course is noted by how many people are flailing their fists and knocking each other out to them. It’s hateful breakdown after breakdown for their set which to some people might get a bit dull after a while, but never with Incendiary. You just can’t top the belting end breakdown of ‘Primitive Rage’, as the audience clambers on top of each other to grab the microphone for the line “FORCING, A FUCKING, RECKONING”. Totally ahead of their peers, Incendiary are formidable, both on record and today.

Despite their somewhat corny vibe that they give off, it would be criminal to go to Groezrock and not go see H2O. Even if it’s just to hear them play a superb rendition of ‘The Waiting Room’ by Fugazi, the New York punks provide one of the most carefree and liberating sets of the weekend. It’s impossible not to sing along or even be tempted to join the overwhelming number of kids flinging themselves across the tent to anthems such as ‘1995’ and ‘Fairweather Friend’. Even when there’s people on stage for what seems like a fraction too long it never feels cringy or necessary to interrupt the masses of positive energy on display here. Of course, no H2o set would be complete without a total stage invasion during ‘What Happened’, leaving frontman Toby Morse to clamber onto the drumset to finish the set.  The unfortunate clash with Jeff Rosenstock during their set was heartbreaking but as stated before, you wouldn’t want to miss something this special and inclusive.

Surprisingly, while Gorilla Biscuits boded well on the same stage, they didn’t nearly have the same crowd reaction as H2o. This isn’t to say they disappointed, surging through most of ‘Start Today’ with a handful of covers like no tomorrow. As the last band on the Back To Basics stage this weekend they gave it their all, reigniting all the passion and defiance of the influential songs they wrote nearly 30 years ago.

Australian metalcore favourites, Parkway Drive, were given the daunting task of headlining not only last evening of Groezrock, but also as the only band left to perform out of everyone there. Their recent change in sound to a traditional rock sound hasn’t been entirely favourable by fans but their career spanning set is solid and packed with so many classics. Playing ‘Carrion’ and ‘Sleepwalkers’ so early on in the set is a bit of a risky move but the energy ceases to dissolve thought the entire show. This is everyone’s last chance to party and no one is taking it for granted, with push pits, circle pits, stagediving from the side stage and of course, crowd surfing as far as the eye can see.

Vocalist Winston Mccall has no trouble rousing people up to join in with arena rock “woah’s” and “hey’s”, shifting the band’s traditionally club based live show into a larger than life spectacle. A three minute upside down drum solo, Travis Barker style, cements that Parkway have transcended Impericon fame and fortune to a band that’s evolved into something much bigger than anyone anticipated. “Look over there in that tower and you can see my mum,” says Mccall, as the crowd cheers with genuine love and appreciation for tonight’s final two songs, ‘Crushed’ and ‘Bottom Feeder’.  No one ever expected Parkway to pull off a festival headline set in 2017, but against all odds, they passed with flying colours.

See you all next year!

ASHWIN BHANDARI

With the recently announced closure of The Stag and Hounds to happen in June, the punk fest’s current format will be re-thought out following this year’s edition on the 6th May, with what has been described as “big plans” for 2018. You can read the full announcement on the fest’s Facebook page.

In other news, Pure Graft, She Makes War and Terrible Love have had to pull out of the festival. Replacing them are Crumbs, The Earth and Me, and Ellen Cox. They will be joining the likes of Martha, AJJ, Slingshot Dakota, Petal and more.

Tickets for the fest cost £20 and can be purchased here.

The band’s latest record is last year’s ‘The Bible 2’ on SideOneDummy Records.

APRIL
26 EDINBURGH Voodoo Rooms
27 SHEFFIELD The Leadmill
28 MANCHESTER Gorilla
MAY
03 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
04 CAMBRIDGE The Junction
05 BIRMINGHAM Hare & Hounds
06 BRISTOL The Fleece
09 SOUTHAMPTON Talking Heads
10 BRIGHTON The Haunt
11 LONDON Scala

Thrice, H2O, Turning Point, Oathbreaker, Ignite, He Is Legend, Petrol Girls, Bent Life, Skinny Lister, Tim Vantol, and AJJ are the latest names heading to Meerhout in April.

They join headliners Deftones and Parkway Drive, as well as Pennywise, Underoath, Cock Sparrer, Anti-Flag, Deafheaven, Strike Anywhere, Stick To Your Guns, and more fantastic bands.

Groezrock 2017 takes place on April 29th – 30th, and tickets for the event are available now from the official Groezrock website, along with all other relevant details. See you there!

The band unveiled each track one by one on their Bandcamp page over the last two weeks, making it available in full late last week.

The record depicts its mantra on the cover, “No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread.”, portraying it as their most confident release to date.

The track is the first to appear from their newly announced ‘The Bible 2’, due on the 19th August via SideOneDummy. To pre-order the record and check out the band’s forthcoming tour dates, head to their official website.