Recently my musical obsession has been with punk, or punk-ish genre-bending music. Punk is a lot of different things to people and has many sub genres, so if you start out reading this and you hear that annoying little voice in your head going “this isn’t punk, because [insert your reason here]“, bear with me, I’ll work at explaining myself for each instance. I’ll start of with an unarguably punk band (as if there were such a thing nowadays) Fucked Up and their latest of many releases The Chemistry of Common Life.
 |
 |
 |
Right off the bat, I’ve heard Fucked Up referred to as “Post Hardcore” but I don’t find that very fitting…the only reason I can fathom that reference is the tone and occasional scream in the vocals. One thing I can say is that there is no hardcore in The Chemistry of Common Life, maybe in some of their other releases, I don’t know. What makes Fucked Up punk? Just listen, the lyrics, the main riffs, the message, the craziness. I’ve read quite a few articles that completely down the vocals, but they create such a hard contrast to the multi-layered interesting punk based riffs that it’s hard to imagine some pretty, clean vocals in it’s place. And besides, that wouldn’t be very punk now would it? The album does provide some guest vocals from Katie Stelmanis on the song “Royal Swan” in a duet form that made my ears do a double take, a friend of mine said it sounded similar to a Celtic Frost song. Say what you will about these guys, I say that The Chemistry of Common Life is epic.
Listen To : Fucked Up – No Epiphany
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The second band on my mind is the So So Glos. They have a style reminiscent of good old classic garage punk, complete with social commentary and a general “Fuck You” punk rock attitude. Their classic DIY punk style is mixed with some more modern elements, this adds a level of danceability that leaves the pit, but creates an appeal through accessibility. Even with a new coat of paint on the old punk aesthetic, The So So Glos remain true to their classic punk influences. Let’s just call them part of the new classic punks. Check out their self released debut LP Tourism/Terrorism, and you will like it, period.
Listen To : So So Glos – Throw Your Hands Up
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
On to the artists formerly known as The Muslims, now The Soft Pack. There is a strong resemblance to the previous band here for me in the DIY feel. The Soft Pack though, has a more surf rock feel in the guitar riffs and less focus on social commentary…this makes them less punk by philosophy and more by sound. Their self titled LP plays smoothly and feels light on it’s feet, not one song drags it down. It does break a little from the punk feel with a few solos, no big deal though though, since the music hits the spot. I’d classify them as old style DIY punk with a modern “human” philosophy. Check out their once (and maybe still) self titled LP for some lighter, less political punk sweetness.
Listen To : The Soft Pack - Bright Side
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
