The Interrupters – ‘She’s Kerosene’

The Interrupters are back! Having released this new single out of the blue last week, the band will release ‘Fight The Good Fight’ through Hellcat Records on June 29. UK shows this year?

worlds greatest dad – ‘Laughing (While You’re Smiling)’

This Atlanta based emo/indie quartet just released their new record ‘Get Well Soon’ through Deep Rest Records. Catch them on tour all over the US over the next month.

Eat Dirt – ‘Ballad’

London-punks Eat Dirt released their second EP, ‘Welcome To Shithouse-On-Sea’ at the end of April. Riffs. Rage. Relentless.

No Trigger – ‘Sleeping Bag’

No Trigger have just finished up an extensive EU tour, seeing a host of shows with Propagandhi. ‘Sleeping Bag’ is taken from 2017’s Adult Braces, released through Bird Attack Records.

Wonk Unit – ‘As The Rest Of The World Sleeps’

Currently, and permanently, on tour, London-punks, Wonk Unit are the true unsung heroes of UK DIY Punk Rock. If you’re yet to experience Wonk Unit live, they’re guaranteed to be playing five minutes down the road, no matter where you live, this year!

The Sidekicks – ‘Don’t Feel Like Dancing’

‘Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ is the lead single from Ohio quartet The Sidekicks’ new record ‘Happiness Hours’, set for release on 18 May through Epitaph Records. Fantastic, melodic indie/rock – perfect for a summer afternoon.

Youth Avoiders – ‘Watch Me’

There must be something in the water; France is currently spawning an incredible crop of punk rock bands, and Youth Avoiders from Paris are no exception. The new album ‘Relentless’ is out now.

Astpai – ‘Best Years’

Over the last 17 years, these four Viennese gentlemen have cemented their place as one of the finest European punk rock exports. ‘Best Years’ is the lead single from the new album ‘True Capacity’, out June 22 through Shield Recordings.

Pkew Pkew Pkew – ‘Mid 20’s Skateboarder’

Toronto has become a hotbed for melodic punk rock over the last 10 years and Pkew Pkew Pkew have hopped on board that wave. The band hit Europe and the UK for the first time at the start of June. ‘+One’ is out now through Side One Dummy.

Captain Everything! – ‘The Bomb Song’

Watford’s finest, Captain Everything, were a relentless touring machine throughout the ’00s. Having blown my mind, leaving me struggling to comprehend how a band could play that fast back when I was a teenager, the trio recently posted that they were back rehearsing occasionally. This is my plea. Please, play shows again!

Born of a North-West London punk scene that specialises in producing mindblowingly-proficient skate punk bands that receive little to no recognition on the national level (My Dad Joe recently called it a day, Short Warning have been gigging around for years and are only just finding their rewards, Reason 69 released one of the best English punk albums in the last decade in ‘Prime Sinister’ via the now-defunct 20 Deck record label and then promptly vanished), Captain Everything took the hard road to get where they are now. After releasing ‘Music By Idiots’ on their own and contributing three fine tracks to ‘Make The Love Connection’, a split with Route 215, Household Name took them aboard for the release of ‘Learning To Play With’, a practically perfect collection of ska and punk songs that brought them to the attention of the UK scene at large. Relentless touring over the next couple of years, along with the release of ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ to almost universal acclaim has taken them to the status of a true headline band. Tours of Europe, Canada and Japan are in the bag and there’s a new album on the way, recorded by Pete ‘God’ Miles, the man responsible for making Howards Alias, Drink Drivers Against Mothers, The Mercury League, Buzztone and Failsafe sound so earth-shatteringly good.

So what’s the new stuff like? “I think it’s better, definitely,” says Lew, vocalist/guitarist/leftie extraordinaire. “The songs are better. I wouldn’t say we’re trying to break any ground or anything, we’re just trying to write good songs that we like. We’re not one of those bands that changes drastically. The reason we make this music is because we like it.” And in a time when the ska and punk bubbles of the early Noughties appear to have burst thoroughly, what a boon it is to have a band writing honest music that appeals to them, rather than trying to catch up with the rapidly-departing bandwagon. Lew, bassist/co-vocalist/on a more in-depth inspection he’s hairier than Neil from Lightyear Jon and ex-Grebo/drum machine with legs/tall person Blake just want to play music as much as they can without an eye on what’s most marketable.

But what of the ‘hilarity factor’? Their shows are often as entertaining for the jokes and mishaps as they are for the music, and with three albums all adorned with self-deprecating titles isn’t there a danger that they might not be taken seriously because it looks like they’re just three mates who ended up on stage together? “We take our music really seriously, a lot of thought goes into it. As long as people listen to it and enjoy it, we’re there to entertain.” Jon fixes me with a look. “But we are extremely funny people.” Lew continues: “We take our music really seriously, a lot of thought goes into it. As long as people listen to it and enjoy it, we’re there to entertain. Also, we’re wimps.” “Yeah,” laughs Jon, “we don’t want to slip into any pretentious art-wank. Although it’s all a laugh, we do take it seriously.” The threat remains, however, that however heartfelt or serious, they could nevertheless be categorised unfairly as another pop-punk band. Lew is adamant on this subject. “The songs are all real songs, things that have actually happened to us. We’re not trying to project any image, if we were a joke band then we’d play joke songs. We just want people to have a good time at our gigs. If people pay money to see us then we’re not going to fake it. That’s what a gig is, for us to have the most fun. For us to have a good time on stage, we’re not going to stand there and talk about how damaged we are.” Blake buts in: “But make no mistake, we are extremely damaged.” Then Jon: “While being extremely funny.” Everyone laughs. Jon’s right.

For a band to make a statement like “When we’re playing a gig I [Jon] like feeling like there’s a lot of people there that if they’re not mates, they’re potential mates, so I just have a good time” and genuinely mean it is a real achievement. Before and after every C*E gig everyone knows everyone, faces become gradually more familiar as the months go on and there is none of the posturing and aloof arm-folding that taints so many of the capital’s gigs. Everyone, not to put too fine a point on the matter, goes absolutely fucking nuts, including the band. Their unique mix of pop melodies and harmonies, brutally fast thrash speeds and a sense of humour never fails to turn all in attendance into smiling, dancing sweatbeasts. What anchors them is the fact that they have made friends up and down the country much like the dearly-departed Lightyear (C*E played at Lightyear‘s final gig), who split up because they felt they had reached their zenith. Does this not bother them? A brief silence. Lew speaks up. “Since we’ve started it was always us setting ourselves small goals. Like write a song, then play a gig, do a tour…”. Blake continues. “We’re not idiots, we can see what’s happening to a lot of bands from the same scene. We’re conscious of it, and we do want to take steps to prevent it, but it’s hard to know what kind of steps to take. It’s not like we’ve got a business plan.” Jon summarises to a chorus of nodding heads: “ We’ve never been media or press savvy, or known how to push ourselves in that sense. But we take pride in playing as well and as much as we can, it’s brilliant. Like Lew said, we’ve done more than we ever thought we’d do. Everything we do is always a bonus.”

So how did the “eternal bumbling optimists, the band that goes on tour to Eastern Europe with only Euros” (Lew’s words, not mine) achieve so much? Through simple hard work and a few risks. “When we went to Russia that was totally unknown territory but it was the best thing we’ve ever done. We never turn anything down.” Even though they’re far from rich (no pun intended) Lew’s simple statement encapsulates everything that so many people love about Captain Everything. Their willingness to go out and play as much as they possibly can before falling down grey with exhaustion, the fact that they’re always willing to make new friends. Not because it might help them in the ‘industry’, but because they’re just a bunch of solid, down-to-earth, friendly guys from Watford (and now Bristol) that happen to be in a band. You know where you are with Captain Everything – having a blinder of a time.

I could write a few hundred words on Watford and how its scene has the potential to be one of the best in the country, but anyone who has ever lived locally should know this. So, without further ado, I?ll stop gassing about how, finally, there appears to be a decent venue in the town and start talking about the show.

I only caught the very end of ONE TOY SOLDIER?s set so I can’t really write a particularly well informed review; the song I did catch seemed quite reasonable in the hard-indie/melodic rock stakes though. The singer?s voice reminded me of that bloke from Busted/Fightstar and the guitarist threw his guitar down at the end of the set, both of which made me smirk. It?s a shame I missed their other songs as there was certainly a spark of interest there for me, if nothing else.

I?d previously read reviews of TELLISON and knew I wouldn?t like them, not because they?ve had bad reviews (quite the opposite) but because their spiky indie stylings are really not my cup of tea. As a result, their quirkiness bordered on becoming seriously irritating towards the end of their, thankfully, short set. It would be harsh to end the review there after merely judging them subjectively upon their music however, because as musicians, they demonstrated themselves as being a competent and capable band who delivered their songs well, even if they did look a bit timid between numbers.

I must admit, I?d only jumped on the LATTERMAN bandwagon fairly recently, kicking myself I hadn?t found them sooner. On record you get the impression they?ll be a brilliant live act, and that they are. Passion, enthusiasm and the general feeling the band actually believes in their music are things I hold dearly in judging a band?s performance and LATTERMAN scored top marks in all categories. A power surge mid-set was a bit of a downer as it cut into a few minutes of an already fairly short performance but the songs they did play were ballsy, gritty, proper fists-in-the-air punk rock, which is, clearly, how it should be played. Catch them on their current tour, you won?t be disappointed.

Ashamedly, this was the first time I?d witnessed GALLOWS? causing carnage live. Within seconds of the first drum beat the crowd went seriously mental, but given the ferocity and sheer violence of GALLOWS? performance I?m not surprised. I?m not one to condone ?machismo? bullshit among crowds, but you have to admire the way GALLOWS worked the crowd into a manic frenzy from start to finish; their frontman was like a man possessed – his blood curdling screams and manic behaviour was scary at times but I couldn?t look away for a second. GALLOWS? discordant brand of hardcore may not be accessible enough to make them massive but if their performances are consistently this strong they will cause more than a stir in the underground this year. Brutal, intensely brutal. *

CAPTAIN EVERYTHING! Should need no introduction, they are, without doubt, the most consistently flawless live band in the country and have been for a while. Seeing them play a hometown show is always special and tonight was obviously no exception. What you really have to admire about C*E! live is just how damn fast they play, tonight?s show was bordering on the ridiculous though and I?m not over exaggerating ? they should really get out the record books. Aside from being the fastest band you?re likely to come across, C*E! are possible one of the most amusing ? they don?t crack many gags and rely on gimmicks but they just provide pure fun and do so without following the latest fads which strikes the chords of genuinity as well as being highly refreshing. A few tasters of new material was unleashed and, fortunately, it sounded distinctly like C*E! The album should, therefore, be a corker.

*To mar a really good night, some low-life piece of scum stole GALLOWS? merch bag which contained a considerable amount of cash as well as shirts etc, if anyone knows about this ?disappearance? I?m sure the band would appreciate it if you got in touch with them.

-Mike

HI-TECH JET were up next, and their mixture of heavy riffs and thick grooves did not sit flush with a crowd still buzzing from the energy of Random Heroes. That said, they did grow into their set impressively, and while you get the sense that they’re a very proficient band, they did suffer from the audience perhaps wanting a pacier, more melodic set. As such, they only managed to come across as average (6).

Late replacements for Mouthwash, YOU, ME AND THE ATOM BOMB, were the next batch of entertainment and managed to bridge the gap between melody and rhythm with alarming skill. With big choruses that could easily be described as anthemic, and a ferocity and heft that suggest that given the right recording they could be one of the UK’s foremost punk rock bands, YMATAB were a superb surprise for those of us that had never checked them out. Even though their performance was a touch sloppy in parts, the depth of songwriting talent and sheer enthusiasm more than compensated, meaning that they’re definitely one to watch (8).

A wise man once said that if Random Heroes were shit they’d be THE FIGHT (cheers Andy), so with that in mind I purposely took residence at the bar. They’re not all that bad, if truth be told, but nor are they spectacular. With a bit more charisma and original ideas they could be a band worth caring about, but as it is they need to work a lot harder to justify the support slots they regularly get.

But then ADEQUATE SEVEN took the stage and the Underworld seemed to fill up in an instant. Launching directly into ‘The State We’re In’, the band exploded in a flurry of brass, limbs and pink tank-tops as the entire dancefloor started throwing some crazy shapes. Arguably Ad7’s greatest talent is to make even the most concrete-footed, inhibited punk want to dance and this was demonstrated by a set that encompassed old classics (and lest we forget, the sheer amount of time since they released their debut means that not only are Ad7 true veterans of the UK punk scene, but they’re one of the most fervently adored) like ‘Protest Beat’ and the ridiculously brilliant ‘Free The Adequate Seven’ as well as new favourites-in-waiting. Thrillingly enough all the new songs they played sat snugly alongside the crowd-pleasers as firm evidence that as soon as they get their shit together they’ll be heading into orbit. For three quarters of an hour no pair of feet was static, and that’s not something you can say about many audience responses. Why? Because Adequate Seven are just as incredible live as they always have been (10).

Even though they haven’t released a new album in what feels like aeons, (almost) local heroes CAPTAIN EVERYTHING are visibly surprised and ecstatic to see just how many people have turned up to go nuts as soon as they come onstage. And the perfect opening of ‘Watford Pride’ followed by a new song, then a constant flood (45 minutes equals about, oooh, three hundred C*E tunes) of razor-sharp pop-punk anthems is precisely what Christmas is all about. What swiftly becomes evident is quite how many people still utterly love this band, as human pyramids, a rendition of ‘Silent Night’, constant crowd surfers, in-jokes and even Jon being lifted two feet in the air (replete with mic stand and a baffled look on his face) punctuate one of the best Captain Everything sets I can remember. Just as Ad7’s new material melds perfectly with their back catalogue, as does t’Everything’s, and we’re never far away from yet another magic airing of ‘My Girlfriend’s Dad Owns A Sweatshop’ or ‘Petrol Fumes’ or ‘There Is No I In Scene’ or ‘The One Minute Love Song’ or…just about everything they play. On a night where two bands that haven’t recently released new albums can pack out a venue like this, a good few years after the UK scene’s bubble was meant to have burst, it’s nothing short of a party. One of the best gigs in months, with two utterly fantastic homegrown bands showing exactly why they deserve all the admiration and respect that have earned thus far. C*E get a (10) too, because they were just perfect.

Ben