Despite Procol Harum’s newly recorded output being rather scant since their first reformation in the 90s, the band managed to maintain something of a public profile. Gary Brooker and associated friends kept themselves busy on the road, while fans got plenty to enjoy during the recording drought thanks to various super-deluxe reissues and a couple of excellent box sets. Their ‘Still There’ll Be More’ set – released by Cherry Red Records to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary – was especially wonderful, bringing together classics, rarities and various live shows on DVD for the first time. For those who could afford the expensive price-tag, it was a genuine treasure trove.
Watch the new video from Talk Show Host
When billing as power pop punk, the new single from Toronto’s Talk Show Host might seem like an oxymoron, but in many ways, it’s a fairly accurate description. ‘Crisis Actors’ features the kind of buoyant vocals – and vocal filtering – you’ve come to expect from so much twenty first century pop punk, but musically, the track comes with much bigger boots.
THE OWEN GUNS – EP2: Electric Boogaloo EP
Following a couple of hugely unsubtle singles (the hardcore rant ‘Fuck Cyclists’ and the Rose Tattoo meets Hard-Ons rocker‘It’s Too Late’), Aussie punks The Owen Guns unleashed a furiously angry six track EP in the summer of 2020. It was everything the previous singles suggested it would be: brash, crass and – most importantly – loaded with massive hard rock/hardcore punk crossover riffs. The band’s furious verbal attack on the then US president (‘The Ballad of Cheeto Hitler’) even outdid most of their lyrical assaults. In a little over ten minutes, the relentless haranguing that drove the bulk of ‘Violating Community Standards’ set The Owen Guns in place as a band you just wouldn’t – and probably shouldn’t – argue with.
HERZSCHLAGER – All The Nights Are Done EP
A new band for 2021, Herzschlager capture a brilliant hardcore sound where the speed and bowel rattling elements of crustpunk collide with the crunch of classic hardcore, and the aggressive side of bands like Cancer Bats battles against a few early Machine Head-ish breakdowns. It isn’t exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from two members of Allfather – one of the UK’s best extreme metal acts – but, then again, what are side projects for, if not an excuse to branch out and experiment?
Radio Days share new single featuring Kurt Baker
Italian power poppers Radio Days waved goodbye to 2020 with an excellent three track release, ‘I Got A Love’, presenting two very sharp self-penned tunes and a spirited cover of The Jam’s ‘In The City’. Although bite-sized, the release gave fans everything they could hope for from a new Radio Days disc.