Italy isn’t short of great punk rock bands. The Manges have gained a big cult following with their Ramones-obsessed schtick, enough to secure them a US released split with the legendary Queers; Killtime do almost as good a job at being Screeching Weasel than the Weasel themselves; then in addition to those who’ve broken through to the US, there’s a whole scene of hardcore bands… Hailing from Piacenza, The Nuts are another Italian band on which to keep a very close eye. The three piece band are yet another outfit that take four chords and an unhealthy obsession with Joey & Johnny, but like so many others borrowing from such a timeless source, the results are absolutely first rate. On their 2014 EP they capture four lightning bolts of punk guaranteed to please.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
THE BREAKDOWNS – Rock ‘n’ Roller Skates
The Breakdowns are a four piece power pop combo from Nottingham, but despite their roots, can be heard indulging in some very transatlantic sounds. They’ve released a couple of excellent albums (with 2011’s ‘The Kids Don’t Wanna Bop’ being particularly worth seeking out), they’ve supported Ginger Wildheart and each year increases their cult status. 2014’s ‘Rock ‘n’ Roller Skates’ [issued early 2015 in the US under the name Los Breakdowns on Rum Bar Records, sometime home of Kurt Baker] takes their previous musical blueprint and polishes it a little, delivering eleven old-style power pop gems in the process.
FOR THE GIRL – Kick It EP
For The Girl are a five piece indie-rock band from Nottinghamshire. As part of the promotion for their self-released EP ‘Kick It’ (their second of 2014), the band received good exposure supporting UK pop-punk/emo act Orchard Hill on a short tour of academy venues. Since each night of the tour was free entry, the four night stint showed a rare generosity, most welcome in the times of hardship facing chunks of the UK during the end of the year.
KURT BAKER – Brand New B-Sides
Following several EPs, new-wave revivalist Kurt Baker released his first full-length LP ‘Brand New Beat’ at the tail-end of 2012. It’s half hour of tunes recalled strong links with Joe Jackson, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello and often felt musically familiar, but was not any the less enjoyable for wearing its influences so obviously. The sessions also yielded a truckload of extra material; ‘Want You Around’, an upbeat number featuring Dan Vapid, provided the lead track of a 7” EP (and also appeared as a bonus track on the French CD pressing of ‘Brand New Beat’), backed with three cover tunes, including a spot-on version of Billy Joel’s ‘Sleeping With The Television On’. Discounting these four recordings, Baker was still in possession of an album’s worth of other tunes, most of which were collected on this 2014 release.
LEVEL 10 – Chapter One
Making their debut in 2015, the (mostly) European metal band Level 10 features a few familiar faces. While not quite stepping up to the true supergroup mantle, with its coming together of members from Symphony X, Masterplan, Primal Fear and Sinner, the band includes personnel that should be more than familiar to hard rock fans.