We Want The Airwaves Back: A brief look at the UK punk and hardcore bands on the verge of something special (feature)
Although it would be catastrophically unfair to say that the UK underground has been dormant for the last few years, it doesn't take a neurosurgeon to notice that the rise of bands like Gallows has provoked a hell of a lot more interest in homegrown punk and hardcore. A lot of this attention is quite probably ephemeral. The NME hype machine will roll on to pastures new, finding other bands to heap dizzying amounts of praise on. The initial media hoo-ha about violence along with the ridiculous connections to 'Broken Britain' (yawn) will subside, and there will be new buzz bands for the cool kids to list endlessly on their MySpace profiles. But this is a time where the cluster of bands just under the surface can step up to the plate and show the world what this country is really capable of aside from TV talent shows and cosmopolitan indie bands with fake London accents. I'm not talking about commercial prospects, just about making good fucking music and maybe making the tiniest of dents into the big, happy bubble we call mainstream culture.
This little exposure piece represents only the tip of the iceberg, but I've tried as much as possible to cover as many subgenres as I can, in the least patronising way. I don't know all there is to know about any of these bands, far from it, I'm just trying to pass on some knowledge from one excited music fan to another, and show that aggressive music doesn't have to be unintelligent music. Enjoy.
The Ghost of a Thousand
After the commercial success of Gallows, this lot were reportedly the first to attract attention from the majors. Musically not too dissimilar to their one-time tour partners, Brighton's The Ghost of a Thousand specialise in discordant yet infectious hardcore. They're as raw as sandpaper, not least in vocalist Tom Lacey's visceral barks that hack urgently at your eardrums the way Pete Townshend would trash his guitar. Although the songs are furiously chaotic, this is a band that owe nearly as much to classic rock n roll as they do to hardcore, and it's their punchy youthful energy and unapologetically hostile delivery that make these songs what they are. The inside sleeve of their debut full length, 'This Is Where The Fight Begins' (Undergroove, 2007, mixed by Kurt Ballou of Converge fame) reads "This record is a celebration of being young and listening to rock n roll", but unlike so many other bands of their ilk, that's far from an empty statement. These guys have more conviction and bile in their songwriting than you might expect. Currently touring with Reuben, and fresh from a February headlining stint with fellow UK bands The Plight, Blackhole and Hexes, expect even bigger things.
www.myspace.com/theghostofathousand
www.last.fm/music/The+Ghost+of+a+Thousand
Maths
The UK isn't famous for it's screamo output. The majority of the big names in the field have historically hailed from either America or mainland Europe, but Maths might just be the most exciting band of their kind that this country has ever seen. Alright, strong words, but just go to their site and listen. These are well-crafted, calculated blasts of edgy uncertainty that will rattle your skull. It's true that the genre itself is nothing new, but more than anything maybe it's just reassuring to know that there are bands on these fair shores who can get out there and do the business. Following on from bands like Pyramids and Daitro before them, Maths do more than just bawl their guts out, too. Each song is part intensity, part instrumental soundscape, at it's most prevalent and impressive on newer material like '2346'. Maybe I should lay off the superlatives; maybe it's just my relief talking. But I don't think it is.
www.myspace.com/mathsband
www.last.fm/music/Maths
Tortuga
There's no real way to describe Tortuga without sounding like an anxious pensioner. They are loud, threatening and unpredictable. These are colossal songs that come ready loaded with some lethal drop-tuned riffs and desparate, flailing vocals ripped from the very bottom of a gasping pair of battered lungs. Unsuprisingly featuring ex-members of November Coming Fire, one of the finest and most forward thinking hardcore bands to grace this island, they're due to release their debut album on CD and LP in May this year. Currently touring with US heavyweights This Is Hell.
www.myspace.com/tortugakings
http://www.tortugakings.blogspot.com/
The Computers
Stylistically different from the three bands already on this list, The Computers specialise in a stripped down blend of 50s rock'n'roll and 80s hardcore, and it works. It's intense, passionate and sincere, but retains a really strong melodic, almost danceable vibe amidst the frenetic screams and lightning fast drumming. Their own description of their sound - "Somewhere between Elvis Costello And The Attractions & Black Flag with some Rocket From The Crypt chucked in for good measure" - is pretty accurate, being as they are, a maelstrom of ridiculously infectious riffs, howl-along gang vox and deliciously twangy solos. These four lads are pretty much Devon's premier musical hopes for 2008.
www.myspace.com/thecomputersfromexeter
Honour Among Thieves
There are literally thousands of melodic hardcore bands. And nearly all of them sound like Champion rip-offs. In a genre not known for it's musical innovation or originality, the strength of the band is often found in the delivery of the material. Currently building a reputation for themselves with one of the most passionate and intense live shows around are London's Honour Among Thieves. They play unrelenting, melancholic hardcore permeated by film soundbites, purposeful gang vocals and melodic guitar lines. Catch them live if you can, if not then search on YouTube for a vastly reduced but still essential secondhand experience.
www.myspace.com/honouramongthieveshc
Dead Swans
Dead Swans are musically somewhere between the punk-metal crossover of Suicidal Tendencies, and the chugging riffs of Terror. It's abrasive, uncompromising and intense as hell. After releasing their debut full length 'Southern Blue' eariler this year, and a split 7" with Architects, they're currently preparing for a stint on This Is Hell's UK tour.
www.myspace.com/thedeadswans
Secondsmile
Frustratingly, it's been about 400 years since they've actually released anything (actually it's only two...it seemed longer than that), but that's all set to change this summer when they unleash their new disc, 'Years'. New material available via MySpace seems to indicate a further forray into calculated, expansive soundscapes, hinted at on wildly impressive debut 'Walk Into The Light and Reach For The Sky', which itself marked a departure from the more aggressive early material, showcasing jerky angular riffs (as in 'Our Great and Secret Show') alongside soaring rock numbers like 'Astronauts' and tracks like 'The Trees They Speak', which twists and turns through meandering post-rock and skims across genres as if boundaries never even existed. The fiery post-hardcore present on their early EPs has since been overshadowed, but every now and then it rears it's head, and their ability to combine the quiet with the loud and integrate them so seamlessly is what makes them unique.
www.myspace.com/secondsmile
www.last.fm/music/Secondsmile
By Rob Dand
Bookmark and share this page with:This little exposure piece represents only the tip of the iceberg, but I've tried as much as possible to cover as many subgenres as I can, in the least patronising way. I don't know all there is to know about any of these bands, far from it, I'm just trying to pass on some knowledge from one excited music fan to another, and show that aggressive music doesn't have to be unintelligent music. Enjoy.
The Ghost of a Thousand
After the commercial success of Gallows, this lot were reportedly the first to attract attention from the majors. Musically not too dissimilar to their one-time tour partners, Brighton's The Ghost of a Thousand specialise in discordant yet infectious hardcore. They're as raw as sandpaper, not least in vocalist Tom Lacey's visceral barks that hack urgently at your eardrums the way Pete Townshend would trash his guitar. Although the songs are furiously chaotic, this is a band that owe nearly as much to classic rock n roll as they do to hardcore, and it's their punchy youthful energy and unapologetically hostile delivery that make these songs what they are. The inside sleeve of their debut full length, 'This Is Where The Fight Begins' (Undergroove, 2007, mixed by Kurt Ballou of Converge fame) reads "This record is a celebration of being young and listening to rock n roll", but unlike so many other bands of their ilk, that's far from an empty statement. These guys have more conviction and bile in their songwriting than you might expect. Currently touring with Reuben, and fresh from a February headlining stint with fellow UK bands The Plight, Blackhole and Hexes, expect even bigger things.
www.myspace.com/theghostofathousand
www.last.fm/music/The+Ghost+of+a+Thousand
Maths
The UK isn't famous for it's screamo output. The majority of the big names in the field have historically hailed from either America or mainland Europe, but Maths might just be the most exciting band of their kind that this country has ever seen. Alright, strong words, but just go to their site and listen. These are well-crafted, calculated blasts of edgy uncertainty that will rattle your skull. It's true that the genre itself is nothing new, but more than anything maybe it's just reassuring to know that there are bands on these fair shores who can get out there and do the business. Following on from bands like Pyramids and Daitro before them, Maths do more than just bawl their guts out, too. Each song is part intensity, part instrumental soundscape, at it's most prevalent and impressive on newer material like '2346'. Maybe I should lay off the superlatives; maybe it's just my relief talking. But I don't think it is.
www.myspace.com/mathsband
www.last.fm/music/Maths
Tortuga
There's no real way to describe Tortuga without sounding like an anxious pensioner. They are loud, threatening and unpredictable. These are colossal songs that come ready loaded with some lethal drop-tuned riffs and desparate, flailing vocals ripped from the very bottom of a gasping pair of battered lungs. Unsuprisingly featuring ex-members of November Coming Fire, one of the finest and most forward thinking hardcore bands to grace this island, they're due to release their debut album on CD and LP in May this year. Currently touring with US heavyweights This Is Hell.
www.myspace.com/tortugakings
http://www.tortugakings.blogspot.com/
The Computers
Stylistically different from the three bands already on this list, The Computers specialise in a stripped down blend of 50s rock'n'roll and 80s hardcore, and it works. It's intense, passionate and sincere, but retains a really strong melodic, almost danceable vibe amidst the frenetic screams and lightning fast drumming. Their own description of their sound - "Somewhere between Elvis Costello And The Attractions & Black Flag with some Rocket From The Crypt chucked in for good measure" - is pretty accurate, being as they are, a maelstrom of ridiculously infectious riffs, howl-along gang vox and deliciously twangy solos. These four lads are pretty much Devon's premier musical hopes for 2008.
www.myspace.com/thecomputersfromexeter
Honour Among Thieves
There are literally thousands of melodic hardcore bands. And nearly all of them sound like Champion rip-offs. In a genre not known for it's musical innovation or originality, the strength of the band is often found in the delivery of the material. Currently building a reputation for themselves with one of the most passionate and intense live shows around are London's Honour Among Thieves. They play unrelenting, melancholic hardcore permeated by film soundbites, purposeful gang vocals and melodic guitar lines. Catch them live if you can, if not then search on YouTube for a vastly reduced but still essential secondhand experience.
www.myspace.com/honouramongthieveshc
Dead Swans
Dead Swans are musically somewhere between the punk-metal crossover of Suicidal Tendencies, and the chugging riffs of Terror. It's abrasive, uncompromising and intense as hell. After releasing their debut full length 'Southern Blue' eariler this year, and a split 7" with Architects, they're currently preparing for a stint on This Is Hell's UK tour.
www.myspace.com/thedeadswans
Secondsmile
Frustratingly, it's been about 400 years since they've actually released anything (actually it's only two...it seemed longer than that), but that's all set to change this summer when they unleash their new disc, 'Years'. New material available via MySpace seems to indicate a further forray into calculated, expansive soundscapes, hinted at on wildly impressive debut 'Walk Into The Light and Reach For The Sky', which itself marked a departure from the more aggressive early material, showcasing jerky angular riffs (as in 'Our Great and Secret Show') alongside soaring rock numbers like 'Astronauts' and tracks like 'The Trees They Speak', which twists and turns through meandering post-rock and skims across genres as if boundaries never even existed. The fiery post-hardcore present on their early EPs has since been overshadowed, but every now and then it rears it's head, and their ability to combine the quiet with the loud and integrate them so seamlessly is what makes them unique.
www.myspace.com/secondsmile
www.last.fm/music/Secondsmile
By Rob Dand
