Mr. P. Reviews Dope Music
Soul Meets Body hailing from the DC/Bal-more scene liken themselves to PUP, Taking Back Sunday and Jeff Rosenstock which makes sense to me, but what I heard reminded more of The Max Levine Ensemble and even a touch of Operation: Cliff Clavin/Disarm/Devil Is Electric and maybe a touch of Run Rabbit Run or Escape from the Zoo. In other words it’s got the Folky pop punk emo sound that DC often generates, and I could see them being on Planet X records back in the day.
Big Mess’s New Single “Future Legend” is Out Now!
Big Mess are anything but. They are a dope ass blend of 70’s British punk a la Cock Sparrer or the Adverts mixed with some Ramonescore and just a sprinkle of garage rock. Their first single “Future Legend” off their is a stellar rock song that I’d be happy to drive fast to, sing along to or just do that nodding in affirmation while drinking a beer at a show that shows that I’m totally into what’s been played.
Need a kick ass song that also supports a kickass cause? The Owen Guns “Trans Rights are Human Rights” are for you!
If this alone doesn’t want to make you buy the single, “"New charity single 'Trans Rights are Human Rights' with proceeds from Bandcamp sales going to Transcend Australia, a registered charity that supports families and their trans and non binary children." then a listen to the music of this banger should. It’s very old school 80’s hardcore punk when not all punk was hardcore and before any hardcore had become metal. Fast without being breakneck thrash, gruffly sung vocals and the driving power of punk rock behind it all.
“For all of those who have felt the need to hide” - Katie MF has the song for you!
If you don’t instantly feel the Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace or Frank Turner vibe from this in the first ten seconds, then you need to get your ears checked. But this isn’t just a carbon copy, this is real authentic and emphatical punk rock with touches of folk and pure rock n’ fucking roll.
Out Now: “Chicken Business” by PLZ RSPND!
PLZ RSPND’s name evokes a sort of self-deprecation similar to The Replacements name or songs such as Offspring’s “Self-Esteem” or half of The Descendents’ catalog. Their new song which strikes upon the often touted value of beer has a sound that reminded me of Osker, but if they were more of a party band like Murphy’s Law.
“Having a Bad Time Having a Ball" by the Australia’s La Famiglia is an electrifying track combining 80's hardcore, 90's skate punk, and indie rock to create a unique and captivating sound.
So this is killing me. The way the vocals are sung from the tone to the way the syllables are being held reminds me of a specific song and band, and I can’t fucking put my finger on it. I’ve shared it with some friends and gotten some suggestions that maybe I was thinking of 7 Seconds or Dave Smalley era Dag Nasty, but neither of those is quiet right. I’ll give a free 7” to the person who listens to this and figures it out.
Gaba Groove’s new ska punk single, “Fire” premiered today…just in time for their show at the Whiskey with The Dickies, so give it a listen and get out to that show to sing along.
While not breaking any ska punk ground, the song does lay back a bit more into that reggae vibe which as fun vibe to the song. I could totally see this being on an Asian Man Records comp back in the 1990s.
The UK’s University provides a blistering soundscape of hardcore and noise music with emphatically screamed vocals (but in a non-cookie monster way)
Their new song, “Notre Dame Made Out of Flesh” starts off with lightly distorted guitar that makes me think this will be a garage rock tune, then I start hearing the feedback and sense the impending explosion that is about to occur.
SnakeSnakeWhale Bring that Midwestern Emo Pop Punk with a DC Posthardcore Energy!
I'm loving what I hear come out of Asheville these days with bands like Busy Weather and Cardboard Colony and SnakeSnakeWhale is no exception. To call it pop punk or emo punk sells it far to short. Their new single, “You’ll Get That On These Big Jobs” hooked me from the get go with its urgency and earnestness. Any DC area people remember Fallout Countdown? That’s what this sounds like. I feel I could be back at Wilson Center in DC or the Charm City Artspace in Baltimore.
Cherub Tree Delivers a Fiery Anthem Against a Chauvinistic Society
Hailing from my hometown of DC, Cherub Tree, mix the rage and volatility that the DC hardcore scene is known with what The Washington City Paper referred to as Bubblegum Grunge. Their newest singe, “I’m Not Yours, I Never Was” is another salve of Rock and Roe where bands have given their middle finger response to the patriarchy imposed on them by Supreme Court which is merely a tool of the misogynistic system that still believes that women don’t deserve a choice in what happens to their own bodies.
The Period Bomb’s New Single “Macho Bird” Is A Gentle Artistic Romp Through The Eyes of An Innocent Lost Child in Search of Kindness…or is it?
The video clip I was sent starts with a Daily Show style interview with a Maga supporter being asked if Trump will make things better….ugh. I don’t know if the whole song is about mocking Trump and his overly “macho” supporters, but I’m going to decide that it is because I like that idea.
The Honesty drop “Next In Line” A Catchy as F pop punk song About Following Your Dreams
This Sacramento, CA pop punk knows how to bring the fast paced, make you want to jump up and down while singing along anthem for those that haven’t yet given up that they can have theirs too.
Mike and The Nerve Energetic Melodic Punk Single, “Fool’s Gold, and False Idols” has Struck a Nerve!
So let me say first, that I’m sorry that I used a pun in the review title, I tried not to, but then I started humming Bad Religion’s “Struck a Nerve” and while this song sounds nothing like that, it does carry that melodic punk sound with catchy vocals.
Twentytwo's new single "Oneder" has Nothing to do with That Thing You Do, but it does Have Everything to Do with Bringing the Rock!
Their influences pull on that pop punk sound created by bands like Bad Religion and then taken to a different step by bands like Rise Against or Alkaline Trio with some of the rawness in the vocals at times that takes you to Chuck Ragan and Hot Water Music.
Germany's Sex Beat Brings The Rage in their Newest Single, "Call Me"
Sex Beat’s “Call Me” slapped my left nut right off the bat with its frantically fast, distorted guitar riff opening opening before the rest of the band joins the fray. The drums keep a simple beat which actually works well with the frantic guitar playing, the bass that hits dope accents and the slightly distorted vocal wails that venture into screaming shouts.
Spider's Newest Single, "Deathmatch", Goes for the Killing Blow
Spider hails from LA, and their sound is so reminiscent of bands like The Adolescents, Wasted Youth, early Black Flag (Keith Morris), and C3 that I feel like I’ve been transported back 40 years. This song would fit right in with the songs and bands on your bootleg copy of Decline of Western Civilization. This is the kind of shit that got me into punk in the first place, so it’s great to hear this old school sound done in a rad modern way.
Cat Valley's New Single, My Body, Off of their new album Bingo Queen, is a Scathing Indictment of Patriarchal Oppression
There is so much rage mixed with self-empowerment in this song. Coming on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, this song is a banner call to action and defiance in the face of government actions like South Carolina’s newest draconian restriction on a women’s right to choose.
Noah Hines’s New Single “Lately” is None Too Late
Hailing from CO with his recorded done at the well known Blasting Room operated by Bill Stevenson (The Descendents, ALL, Black Flag), Noah has mixed punk rock with indie and emo in a compelling way that just has been instantly wanting to sing along.
Hound’s New Single “Ghost In The Grey” is Out Now!
The song is catchy and has just enough heaviness to it to give it the edge I prefer in a song.
The Snouts Bring that Fun Melodic German Punk Filled with Humor!
Yes. I admit it. I have no idea what they are saying. I have no idea what the title of the song “Fang an” means, and yes, I could look it up, but I’d rather review this the way I heard non-English punk rock as a kid in the 1990’s i.e. just getting a feel for it. And this feels dope as fuck!