Punk Rock Saturday III
I have long been opposed to “PR companies” who prey upon artists, offering nothing more than inflated numbers, fake spins, and prewritten, cookie cutter blog entries– all for an ROI that the artists may never see. However, there are a handful of decent PR firms that send us beautifully packaged emails, full of tidy photos, links, downloads, and, most importantly, artists that they actually seem to believe in. Earshot is one of these companies. All three of today’s bands came to us from Earshot and all three are f’ing winners. As you know by now, we do not blog about music that sucks, our content cannot be bought, and we have a soft spot for punk f’ing rock.
Without further ado, give it up for Swedish skate-punk heroes No Fun At All and their latest single, “It’s Not A Problem.” For those of you who grabbed ahold of the singing style extended forth by Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, this track is going to be a real treat. While the lyrics may not encompass the same, hard hitting opinions on politics, science, or religion, listeners will be greeted with the familiar, Graffin-like energy that has graced our eardrums over the years. Look for their LP, Seventh Wave, in late 2022.
Next, we have Wolf Rd repping Chicagoland, and although they have been known to incorporate some danceable electronic synths into some of their tunes, their latest single, “Burn All Of Your Bridges” is simply some of the hardest hitting stuff that modern punk has to offer. These days, I am generally not a fan of music that screams at me, but lead singer Chris Hoffman also has a pretty smooth tenor and, vocally, this track will take you on a rollercoaster ride through a potential anxiety attack and right back out again. It’s probably best to listen to this before you’ve had your coffee, because it’s gonna wake you the F up:
From the midwest, travel with me to SoCal, where we will find CodeName: Rocky and their latest ska-punk single, “Silos.” Strangely enough, this is the first ska track that has been submitted to the blog. It has all the usual ska-larly (see what I did there?) ingredients and navigates some very relevant subject matter; according to band member Justin Picon: "Silos is a song about inclusivity & acceptance inspired by the social unrest of the BLM movement.” Come for the message, but be sure to stick around for the “Whoa-oh-oh’s,” because they are freaking glorious:
Until next time, stay hydrated, pet every dog you meet, and don’t take any wooden nickels.
-TM