Do you like buzz-saw guitar sounds and supercharged riffs? Are you ready for something that sounds like a cross between Fast Cars and The Hives? Then you love The Cavemen.
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Tag Archives: punk
REAL GONE GOES OUT: Shonen Knife, Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 9/4/2018
We live in an age where music feels ever more disposable. Bands no longer have the luxury of multi-album contracts to hone their style and with streaming services all the rage, “the album as an art form” is dying. The very idea that Shonen Knife have endured for decades is fascinating. Since the release of their debut album back in the 80s, countless bands have formed, recorded, toured, disbanded…but the Japanese pop-punk/bubblegum power pop band have genuinely gone the distance. They’ve had line up changes – aside from ZZ Top, who hasn’t? – but they’re still with us and on the basis of tonight’s show in Ramsgate, they’re better than ever.
Perhaps part of the appeal of tonight’s show lies with the venue itself. With a capacity of under 150, the Ramsgate Music Hall is the very definition of intimate and it allows an opportunity to witness bands up close. Really, really up close. When Shonen Knife take the stage, there’s immediately a feeling that tonight will be special.
Killing Joke to celebrate 40th anniversary with expansive vinyl & CD box sets; tour dates
The legendary Killing Joke will celebrate their fortieth anniversary this year. As with most other things they’ve approached, the anniversary isn’t being dealt with in a half-hearted manner.
There are a run of live dates, but perhaps just as exciting is the planned release of a career spanning box set, ‘Laugh At Your Peril’, available in both LP and CD formats and containing a world’s worth of bonus tracks.
RENE SG – Fucko EP
“If it’s too fast…you’re too slow!” proudly proclaims the blurb behind Rene SG’s 2018 EP. “Fast” isn’t exactly the word: these dutch punks give Zeke and Speadealer a run for their money by packing a whole album’s worth of tunes onto just seven inches of plastic.
Not all of the tunes are new at the time of release, however. ‘Fucko’ reissues the whole of RSG’s debut and throws in a few other tracks for good measure. That said, the bulk of the material will still be unfamiliar to those outside of the Netherlands, so any kind of reissue and re-promotion seems welcome.
ZEKE – Hellbender
Most people’s introduction to hardcore speedpunks Zeke was the ‘Super Speed Racing’ LP back in the mid 90s. It was an album that did exactly what it said on the tin: by packing in over twenty tracks in almost as many minutes, it wasn’t so much a long player as a sonic thrill ride set to shake teeth and bowels loose, all with a knowing grin. Zeke continued to bash out similar albums and sought after 7”s much to the delight of fans over the next decade, before bowing out with a final album ‘Til The Living End’ in 2004. A handful of retrospective tracks crawled out after that, but it seemed we’d heard the last of Zeke…but, to be fair, it’s impossible to keep up such a pace without reaching burnout. Thinking about it, it’s amazing they lasted as long as they did.