Available for PWYW download on bandcamp, all profits will go towards aiding SAMH, a Scottish mental health charity. It features rarities, new songs, and b-sides from the likes of Laura Stevenson, Kamikaze Girls, Slowlight, The Sinking Feeling, The Murderburgers, Apologies, I Have None, Wonk Unit, and many more.

Openers Arial Salad do a pretty solid Jawbreaker impression for a band who are a little on the young side to remember Jawbreaker, and this easily wins over the gradually growing crowd of punters. By the time Fair Do’s come on the room is getting pretty damn full, and their super-technical skate punk goes down an absolute storm. Brian from Pears later says that musically they’re one of the best bands they’ve ever played with, and given that they sound like Protest The Hero covering Propaghandi songs, it’s hard to argue with him.

In our interview earlier this evening, Pears vocalist Zach Quinn said that tiny shows like this are his favourite because there’s an intimacy and energy that’s impossible to replicate in larger venues. From the second the band bursts into ‘The Flu’ it’s easy to see what he means. Pears’ intensity is palpable as they hammer out their quirky, hard-hitting punk rock. Most of the material comes from 2016’s ‘Green Star’ and the crowd positively erupts at the likes of ‘Hinged By Spine’ and “I Love My Kennel”. There’s also a decent few songs from ‘Human Movement’; the split with Direct Hit! that came out the same day as this show.

Pears are clearly a band who don’t take themselves too seriously. After announcing they’re going to do a cover, guitarist Brian Pretus plays the intro riff to Limp Bizkit’s ‘Break Stuff’ which went on a little longer than any of the band members seemed to expect. They then play their actual cover; a totally straight version of Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’ that fits the band’s sound perfectly. The between song banter is on point, particularly bassist Erich Goodyear’s impressions (Austin Powers and the bad guy from the first Men In Black film, in case you were wondering) and it’s clear they’re having a whale of a time. That said, there is a moving moment where Zach speaks openly about his mental health and journey to recovery that makes their performance of ‘Great Mt. Ida’ that little bit more poignant.

You could put money on the fact that every single person at this show had a fantastic time. Pears give an intense and energetic live show that’s funny, charming, and real; everything you could possibly want from a punk rock show. Unfortunately they don’t plan to be back on these shores til 2019 at the earliest, so if you missed them this time round you should be seriously kicking yourself.

LIAM KNOWLES

Premiering on New Noise Magazine, the former band has taken on Direct Hit!’s ‘The World Is Ending (Sorta)’, whilst the latter has covered PEARS’ ‘You’re Boring’. These renditions can be found on both bands’ upcoming split LP ‘Human Movement’, which will be released on the 3rd November via Fat Wreck Chords.

PEARS will also be playing the following UK shows.

OCTOBER
31 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners w/ The Bitter Town Hounds, Sombulance + Captain Trips
NOVEMBER
01 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy*
02 MANCHESTER O2 Apollo*
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish^ w/ Fair Do’s
04 LEEDS O2 Academy*
05 LONDON O2 Academy Brixton*
06 DERBY The Hairy Dog^ w/ Los Fatso Libres
07 GLASGOW 13th Note w/ Misc. Meat + Elk Gang
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*

* w/ Rise Against + Sleeping With Sirens
^ w/ Aerial Salad

The former is by Direct Hit!, whilst the latter is performed by Pears. The tracks are taken from both bands’ upcoming split LP, ‘Human Movement’, which will be released on the 3rd November via Fat Wreck Chords.

Pears will also be playing the following UK shows.

OCTOBER
31 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners w/ The Bitter Town Hounds, Sombulance + Captain Trips
NOVEMBER
01 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy*
02 MANCHESTER O2 Apollo*
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish^ w/ Fair Do’s
04 LEEDS O2 Academy*
05 LONDON O2 Academy Brixton*
06 DERBY The Hairy Dog^ w/ Los Fatso Libres
07 GLASGOW 13th Note w/ Misc. Meat + Elk Gang
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*

* w/ Rise Against + Sleeping With Sirens
^ w/ Aerial Salad

‘Roach.’ is recommended for fans of Jawbreaker and early Green Day. It is injected with an angst ridden vigour, laden with hooks and rawly delivered punk.

“I don’t really know what to say about it,” states vocalist/guitarist Jamie Munro, “Other than that I’m just pretty proud of it, and I hope people enjoy listening to it, the way I enjoy listening to other bands. In my case, crying in the bath listening to Jeff Rosenstock haha; I hope it’s a good way for people to spend their twenty minutes!”

‘Roach.’ by Aerial Salad will be digitally available on the 3rd November and will eventually be released on CD via Plasterer Records. Pre-orders are available here and you can catch the band at the following UK shows.

NOVEMBER
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish* w/ Fair Do’s
06 DERBY The Hairy Dog* w/ Los Fatso Libres
08 EXETER The Cavern^ w/ Burnout-13
09 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners^ w/ The Faux
10 BRIGHTON Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar^ w/ Spoilers
11 BRISTOL The Louisiana^ w/ Pizzatramp, Borrowed Time + Kearney’s Jig
12 LONDON New Cross Inn^ w/ Pints, Unwanted Consumer, Brash Bullets, D.T.A., The Fleas + Crystal Piss
14 BRADFORD Big Bang^ w/ Meansteed
15 GLASGOW Bloc Bar^ w/ The Kimberly Steaks
16 NEWCASTLE Jumpin’ Jacks^
17 SCUNTHORPE The Lincoln Imp^ w/ The Siknotes + One Chapter Down
18 MORECAMBE The Bath Hotel^
19 STAFFORD Redrum^ w/ Angry Itch
20 WORCESTER Marrs Bar^ w/ Brassick
21 CANTERBURY Lady Luck^
22 NORWICH Owl Sanctuary^ w/ Project Mork
23 CHESTER Live Rooms^ w/ Bogans
24 DERBY The Hairy Dog^
25 ARBERTILLERY Dolls House^ w/ Trigger McPoopshute, Drunken Marksman + Social Experiment
26 MANCHESTER The Star & Garter^ w/ Knock Off + Mick O Toole
DECEMBER
08 SHEFFIELD The Lughole w/ Pudge, Crocodile God, Pardon Us + Low Ebb
APRIL 2018
19-21 MANCHESTER Manchester Punk Festival
AUGUST
02-05 BLACKPOOL Rebellion Festival

* w/ Pears
^ w/ Wonk Unit

This one is taking place at The Hairy Dog in Derby on the 6th November with Aerial Salad and Los Fatso Libres. This is one of four headline shows on their UK tour, the rest of the dates of which are with Rise Against and Sleeping With Sirens. All of these dates are listed below the page. The New Orleans punks will also be releasing a split LP with Direct Hit!, entitled ‘Human Movement’. It will be released on the 3rd November via Fat Wreck Chords.

OCTOBER
31 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners w/ The Bitter Town Hounds, Sombulance + Captain Trips
NOVEMBER
01 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy*
02 MANCHESTER O2 Apollo*
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish^ w/ Fair Do’s
04 LEEDS O2 Academy*
05 LONDON O2 Academy Brixton*
06 DERBY The Hairy Dog^ w/ Los Fatso Libres
07 GLASGOW 13th Note w/ Misc. Meat + Elk Gang
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*

* w/ Rise Against + Sleeping With Sirens
^ w/ Aerial Salad

It will be at the Joiners in Southampton on the 31st October with The Bitter Town Hounds, Sombulance and Captain Trips. This will be one of three headline shows around their UK run, the rest of the dates of which are with Rise Against and Sleeping With Sirens. All of these dates are listed below the page. The New Orleans punks will also be releasing a split LP with Direct Hit!, entitled ‘Human Movement’. It will be released on the 3rd November via Fat Wreck Chords.

OCTOBER
31 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners w/ The Bitter Town Hounds, Sombulance + Captain Trips
NOVEMBER
01 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy*
02 MANCHESTER O2 Apollo*
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish w/ Fair Do’s + Aerial Salad
04 LEEDS O2 Academy*
05 LONDON O2 Academy Brixton*
06 DUBLIN, IRE Academy*
07 GLASGOW 13th Note
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*

* w/ Rise Against + Sleeping With Sirens

The show will take place at The Parish in Huddersfield on the 3rd November with Fair Do’s and Aerial Salad. This will be one of two headline shows on their UK run, the other being Glasgow on the 7th November. The New Orleans punks will also be releasing a split LP with Direct Hit!, entitled ‘Human Movement’. It will be released on the 3rd November via Fat Wreck Chords.

All of the band’s UK/Ireland shows are listed below.

NOVEMBER
01 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy*
02 MANCHESTER O2 Apollo*
03 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish w/ Fair Do’s + Aerial Salad
04 LEEDS O2 Academy*
05 LONDON O2 Academy Brixton*
06 DUBLIN, IRE Academy*
07 GLASGOW 13th Note
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*

* w/ Rise Against + Sleeping With Sirens

The post hardcore punks released their debut album, ‘Unreal City’, earlier this year on Gold Mold Records.

APRIL
21 GLASGOW Nice N Sleazy w/ Spectres + Wozniak
22 NEWCASTLE The Head of Steam w/ Threadbear + Parks
23 LEEDS Hyde Park Book Club w/ Lost Avenue, Hora Douse + Lucinda Livingstone
24 GLASGOW 13th Note w/ After the Fall, Fair Do’s + Lachance
29 GLASGOW In Black #1, Mohair

Their latest release is their 2016 compilation, ‘Recollection’, on Bird Attack Records. Meanwhile, Fair Do’s’ most recent record is their debut EP ‘Trying Times’, which was released in 2014 via Pumpkin Records (UK), Bells On Records (JAP), Bird Attack Records (US) and No Reason Records (IT).

APRIL
19 LIVERPOOL Maguire’s Pizza Bar
20 LLANTWIT MAJOR The Tudor Tavern
21-22 MANCHESTER Manchester Punk Festival
23 SUNDERLAND The Museum Vaults
24 GLASGOW 13th Note