Das Kapitans kick off their 2026 EP ‘Elvytys’ with one of their sharpest tracks to date. Allowing no time for the listener to become acclimatised, ‘This T-Shirt Fights Sweatshops’ hits with a performance that couples a fast tempo with a hard edged lead guitar, sharing something that sounds a little like a DIY version of an old Bloc Party track. For the fan, it creates immediate thrill; for anyone previously unfamiliar with this UK indie-punk act, it offers something that should more than pique interest. The verse’s angular approach shows off a very tight quartet, with Ollie Prescott’s mechanical drumming pushing forward with an effectively mechanical edge, while Stephen Potter’s guitar adds a really busy post punk tone. The main hook offers a superb contrast, tapping into Das Kap’s shoutier aesthetic, allowing a booming voice to attack with the same huge presence felt on the chorus of the previous EP’s highlight ‘Just A Dream’. In short, this is peak Das Kapitans: a song that deserves pride of place at the lead track on a release, but also the kind of number that runs the risk of making everything else come up short.
Tag Archives: socks on records
OUR SOULS – DIY Misery EP
Towards the end of 2023, Leicester’s Our Souls released ‘I Won’t Tell You The Same Lie’, a five track blast of indie punk that valued high octane sounds, and also demonstrated some sharp but pleasingly ragged playing. In approximately fifteen minutes, the DIY release showed why the band made perfect label-mates with the hugely prolific Das Kapitans and garage punk heroes Get The Fuck Outta Dodge.
DAS KAPITANS – Get Up
Whether approaching an early Mudhoney aesthetic (‘MTV’), adopting a sound that blends the melodic indie of early Franz Ferdinand with heavier, almost grung breakdowns (‘Always Here’), delving into something much moodier and channelling Pavement (‘Sausage’), or throwing themselves head first into a world of minute long, punky bangers (the bulk of 2021’s ‘Ten’ “long player”), Das Kapitans often guarantee their audience a good time. For those who’ve followed the band since near the beginning, it’s been interesting to watch them grow.
RUDIMENTARY PASTE – Six Examples Of The Wilhelm Scream EP
Affiliated with the independent Socks On Records, Rudimentary Paste are label mates with brilliant noise makers Das Kapitans, Get The Fuck Outta Dodge, Al Pacinos Sister, and Soviet Films. That fact alone will give some listeners a reasonable idea of what to expect from the band’s ‘Six Examples of The Wilhelm Scream’ EP before even going in. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but even though this band actually features a couple of faces associated with other Socks On acts, the Paste sound isn’t just a carbon copy of their peers.
GET THE FUCK OUTTA DODGE – Just Keep Looking Forward EP
Get The Fuck Outta Dodge’s third full length album ‘It’s Not Our Fault Your Boyfriend’s Stupid’ marked a step forward for the garage punk duo. Recorded with Arctic Monkeys engineer Alan Smyth and released in 2022, the material presented a warmer, fuller sound, making the Dodge boys sound a little more professional but without taking away too much of their rawness. Their 2024 EP ‘Just Keep Looking Forward’, somewhat ironically, doesn’t really maintain that progress or forward motion, but instead opts for going further back to their roots, with the best of the recordings sounding more like vintage Dodge circa 2020. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.