PUNKTASTIC 13.02

Hello and welcome again to the second edition of our monthly 2013 compilation series.

Similarly to 13.01, 13.02 brings together some of our favourite new bands and new music to create a mesh of wonderful styles for your expectant ears. I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to call this one a corker.

The weather could have impacted on our song choices this time around. You could probably call this a little “darker” than the last compilation - but it definitely isn’t dull.

We hope you enjoy it. See you again next time,– Tom & the Punktastic Team

INTRODUCTION

01. Abandoner - Feast For The Crows02. Come The Spring - The State Isn’t Important As Long As...03. Moose Blood - Drive04. Streetfight Silence - Low05. WEGROWBEARDS - Yukon Ho!06. Let’s Talk Daggers - Have A Gabble07. Hot Damn - Sleep Alone08. Demon Smiles - Arrogance Is Bliss09. Holland - Havant10. Nobody, Ever - Snap To Zero Weather11. Light You Up - Lifebox12. Stagecoach - Threequel13. Hop Along - Young And Happy!

TRACKLISTING

01. ABANDONERFEAST FOR THE CROWS

Originally slated for inclusion in our first compilation, Abandoner held ‘Feast For The Crows’ back a month so it could a) be the opener for 13.02 and b) be released as a single first (selfish).

Regardless, it’s an absolute belter, and one that’s sure to get the band plenty of attention.

The band formed in 2008, and after some ups (supporting Deaf Havana, Lower Than Atlantis and Young Guns) and some lows (tak-ing an extended break in 2010), the band returned with a clean slate, a new set, and a new single.

“This was the first song we wrote for the new set” says Rich, “It’s completely different to anything we had done up until this point [and] it’s more representative of our influences now. This song is a compass, in a way, in terms of [our] musical direction.”

From here on in, it would seem that the band have only one way to go, and with tracks like this under their belt, it could turn out to be a very good year for Abandoner.

facebook.com/AbandonerUK

02. COME THE SPRINGThe State Isn’t Important As Long As We’re One

Having formed in Brighton only last year, Come The Spring are looking to make waves quickly.

The band are partly formed from members of Rydell and My So Called Life, which means that despite being a new band, they’re not strangers to the ups and downs of working the touring circuit.

The band certainly have a bit of a melancholy side to them, and ‘The State Isn’t Important As Long As We’re One’ talks of the strains that touring can put on relation-ships, and also how it feels to

miss someone every second that you’re away from them.

We’ve made the track sound a bit downbeat there, but the distinc-tive vocals and excellent guitar-work make it a great counterpoint to Abandoners “kick the doors down” approach.

facebook.com/ComeTheSpring

03. MOOSE BLOODDRIVE

Swiftly rising emo/indie/whatever punks Moose Blood are set to release a new EP in March, and ahead of release, we snagged one of the tracks, ‘Drive’ for this month’s compilation

In the band’s own words, ‘Drive’ is a song about “being stuck in a car on the way home, listening to ter-rible music and having a pointless conversation”, which is something we can definitely all relate to - post Reading Festival drives, anyone?All in all, we reckon Moose Blood are one of the most exciting bands in the UK at the moment, and we expect to hear much more from them over the course of the next

year.

The EP is essential listening for the months ahead, and ‘Drive’ should be more than enough of an entice-ment to check out more tracks if you haven’t already.

facebook.com/MooseBlood

04. STREETFIGHT SILENCELOW

Formed in 2008 and hailing from Bracknell, Streetfight Silence have so far been doing things on their own terms.

Touring off their own backs and only signing a deal to indie label Angry Badger last year for their debut album ‘Cutting Strings’, Streetfight Silence have been heads down and working hard where others have been complacent. They’re look to convert their core following into a wider audience in 2013.

‘Low’ sees the band sounding somewhere between more recent

Deaf Havana and ‘Dirt’ era Kids In Glass Houses, and though you might think that means you’ve heard it all before, the band have been careful to craft their own twist on the alt rock genre.

In the band’s own words, the song is “a story of how rubbish it makes you feel when your best friends leave”, and features a rather excellent vocal performance from frontman Russ Merry.

facebook.com/streetfightsilence

05. WEGROWBEARDSYUKON HO!

Most definitely the gruffest band on this month’s compilation, WEGROWBEARDS are no strangers to our forums, and we first heard of the band whilst we were having a browse for new bands.

‘Yukon Ho’ is a short and sharp punk rock song that’s great for a boozey singalong, but the mean-ing isn’t quite as straightforward as you’d think, as guitarist Duncan explains;

“In the past our songs have pre-dominantly been about British history and British imperialism, but our next release is centred on

American history. ‘Yukon Ho!’ is about the Klondike Gold Rush in the late nineteenth century and the migration of European settlers to the Yukon in the search of gold. This migration forced the native Han tribe out of their traditional hunting and living space, and eventually ended in disaster with the realisation that there wasn’t enough gold to go around.”

Beats the classic “boy meets girl” stuff anyway, right?

facebook.com/pages/Wegrow-beards/154038337943057

06. LET’S TALK DAGGERSHAVE A GABBLE

Some suggest that UK math rock had its day in the wake of the suc-cess of Biffy Clyro (now more of a dad-friendly affair), but Let’s Talk Daggers have been working hard to shake that off from the South East coast.

The band’s imminent album is released on the rather excellent Tangled Talk records, and see the band in particularly fine form.‘Have A Gabble’ is typical of the band’s preposterously loud style, and features some erratic horn work to boot.

The track itself has a great mes-

sage, and the band’s own words are the best here: “It’s a song about believing in something, whether it’s a religious view or a personal belief, and not feeling the need to change for anyone but yourself. The lyrics are par-ticularly based on a fictional story of a Monk who breaks his vow of silence but the song acts as a metaphor for anyone who chooses to ruin their life to please others.”

facebook.com/letstalkdaggers

07. HOT DAMNSLEEP ALONE

We told you this month’s compila-tion had a bit of darker theme, and Hot Damn’s contribution might just take the prize for the darkest subject matter -

“The track is about a young boy’s father that has a drug and alcohol addiction and puts this addiction before his family and the love of his only son. The lyrics tell the sto-ry of how the boy is desperate for someone to look up to, for a father figure in his life, but all he gets is neglect.”

Not quite what you’d expect from the South of Wales usually, and definitely not what you’d expect

from a band describing them-selves as pop punk, but the Blae-nau based five piece are gathering attention around them quickly with songs for exactly those reasons.

Hot Damn’s EP of the same name arrives at the end of this month, and you can expect more of the same from them on the release.

In a scene satured with quite simi-lar sounding bands, Hot Damn are showing early on that they have plenty to offer.

facebook.com/hotdamnuk

08. DEMON SMILESARROGANCE IS BLISS

Partly formed on the mean streets of Cambridge a few years ago, Demon Smiles are a London based punk trio that makes fe-male/male vocal crossover punk of the scrappiest kind.

This song is an exclusive cut from their latest recording, where the band really came into their own. Vocalist Cat says the band bonded “through a shared love of melodic punk music, going to shows, high fives and drinking.”

“We’ve written some songs we’re really proud of, and as people keep giving us shows we’re busy

writing some more!”

Demon Smiles’ name comes from The Lawrence Arms song ‘Key To The City’, and Cat describes the backstory of ‘Arrogance Is Bliss’ as “A tale of two hearts finding a way to each other through the London riots of 2011 and the sad ending to their story.”

facebook.com/demonsmilesband

09. HOLLANDHAVANT

Being hailed by Rolo Tomassi as ones to watch, enjoying a spin on BBC Introducing and releasing debut single ‘Lovely Bones’ is all in a year’s work for Holland.

A band that are nowhere near as flat as their geographic namesake, Holland have managed to pack-age up the dark indie of Brand New and homespun shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine, adding a certain peppy melancholic spin a la Jimmy Eat World for radio friendly result.

‘Havant’, taken from the Bright-on 5 piece’s debut LP ‘Happi-ness Falls & The Bitter Blue’, is a

straight forward ‘I’m sorry’ song, but expect more up close and personal metaphors on the roll-ercoaster that death plays on the living.

Havant is a dark and twisty ode to grieving and its inexplicable way to make the extrovert insular, burning bridges along the way: “Havant itself is really just about trying to rebuild bridges with peo-ple you’ve pushed away, usually the people you need around the most.”

facebook.com/thisisholland

10. NOBODY, EVERSNAP TO ZERO WEATHER

“This is a new band, but we’ve been playing together for over 15 years. We grew up together and music is the bond that has kept our friendship strong through everything.”15 years together as musicians isn’t something to turn up your nose to, and Nobody, Ever’s debut release - which ‘Snap To Zero Weather’ is found on - combines Saves The Day and The Menzingers to make a highly listenable sound. At the same time, the themes under-neath are pretty sad, which is better said in Nick’s words about the track than anything else:

“This record on the whole deals with the sudden death of my fa-ther and grandfather this summer, or rather not so much their death, but my grief. I guess the main theme is that things are really not OK, I have no faith to fall back on, I don’t believe in the things that are meant to make you feel better. ‘Snap To Zero Weather’ is that feeling you get that you just wish you had a bit more time, and remembering little things about a person that for some reason seem really significant once they’re gone”

facebook.com/nobodycommaever

LIFEBOX11. LIGHT YOU UP

Light You Up have been doing the rounds in the UK scene for a while, often appearing at the lower end of bigger pop punk bills.

‘Lifebox’ is latest single taken from the band’s recent EP, and shows off their ability to blend the usual pop punk elements in with those from the melodic end of the rock spectrum.

The song’s curious title doesn’t really explain the themes of track at all, as vocalist Tom Napier ex-plains: “‘Lifebox’ has a very spe-cific meaning to us, but in general it’s about losing something and wanting it back, or wanting some-

thing that you can’t have.”

“It can kind of eat you up, but more often than not, in the long run, there is a moment where you realize that you are better off without. The song is about that feeling.”

The band are set to record an album this summer in the US, so expect plenty more from Light You Up in 2013.

facebook.com/lightyouupofficial

12. STAGECOACHTHREEQUEL

Whenever Stagecoach play a home turf show in London, you’ll probably hear us shouting out song requests. ‘Threequel’ - taken from their forthcoming album - sees them on usual fine form.

The band’s retro indie charm flows through the track as smoothly as it has done with their back catalogue, and it runs through the core of the track:

“Threequel is a song about vices.” says vocalist Luke. “It’s about enjoying the things you know are bad for you, and in return that feeds the machine and ensures

they continue to be produced. I used a movie Threequel as a metaphor for this. Rarely is a third movie in a series decent yet people still queue up and pay to see it.”

Safe to assume Luke isn’t looking forward to the 7th Star Wars film, then. But we’re all definitely looking forward to the new Stagecoach.

facebook.com/stagecoachu

YOUNG AND HAPPY!13. HOP ALONG

Hop Along, the latest addition to the evergreen Big Scary Monsters Records, are one of those bands that are hard to put your finger on stylistically.

Sharing traits with bands from both sides of the pond, Hop Along’s Philadelphia basedindie rock will have many UK fans excited, and there’s little doubt that they’ll feel right at home when they visit the UK in April this year.

The three peice have a particu-lar knack for making a song ebb and flow, and ‘Young And Happy’ shows a subtle dedication to dynamics that alludes to

a mature songwriting approach. That simple difference sets them apart from 90% of the bands that you’ll hear this year.

‘Young And Happy!’ should be more than enough to entice you into checking out their BSM released full length ‘Get Disowned,’ ahead of their shows.

facebook.com/pages/Hop-Along-the-band/303587787250

Thank you for taking the time to read this magazine and listen to our second compilation of 2013.

If your band would like to be on one of our monthly compilations, then please email a song and a bit about

yourselves over to tom.aylott@punktastic.com.