Category: Band Profiles

Band Spotlight: Hurricane Season [Interview]

Austrian punks Hurricane Season talk influences, lyrics and their debut album ‘Nice To Need You’.

Hurricane Season are an Austrian whirlwind (sorry, I couldn’t resist) of punk rock energy. They released their debut album Nice To Need You via SBAM Record in March 2019. We got to know the band better.

How would you sum up Hurricane Season for someone who’s just discovering you?

It’s a mixture of all the music we listened to as kids and, of course, what we listen to nowadays. So all the good pop stuff mixed with the punk music we all love. Maybe like Roxette meets No Use For A Name meets Bob Dylan meets Weezer meets The Beatles meets Ramones?

What inspired you most when writing Nice To Need You?

Even if it sounds pretty lame, I think the thing that inspires me the most when I’m writing songs is life itself. All the things I’ve experienced, all the things I’ve been through and all the things I’m going through at the moment, whether they are good or bad. But probably most of the times bad or sad, so I think those hard and challenging moments inspire me the most. Writing seems to help me getting over those kinds of dark times.

Also the people I met, or that surrounded me over the last 8 years (yeah, a few of the songs are that old) and influenced me, seem to be a big part of this record. Again, either in a bad or good way. So maybe that’s why the name Nice To Need You came up, which leaves space for interpretation. Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Hurricane Season [Interview]”

The Deadnotes: Tackling Beauty Standards [Interview]

We spoke to German indie-punks The Deadnotes about their new single ‘Make Up’ and their UK tour.

Interview by Sarah Williams.

The Deadnotes are an exciting indie-punk four piece from Frieburg, Germany. They joined us in the UK in February, including shows in London, Glasgow and Brighton.

Now in their early 20’s, The Deadnotes have been playing together since they were 14, and they’re due to hit their 500th live show this year. After working hard, they caught our eye with their latest single Make Up, which delivers a hard-hitting message about beauty standards. They’ve released it via their own label, 22Lives Records.

We spoke to vocalist/guitarist Darius Lohmüller to learn more about this fresh band.

Welcome to Shout Louder, guys! How would you sum up The Deadnotes for someone who’s just discovering you?

Someone just sent me a message today describing our style as ‘courageous music for weirdos’ – this is really something I can relate to! I’d say we are a groovy/poppy indie-punk band trying to write songs as genuine and straight from the heart as possible. We write angry songs when we want to and we write bloody cheesy songs when want to.

I enjoyed your latest single Make Up. The song and the video talk about how the beauty standards we uphold have had a negative impact. What’s the message you’re trying to convey?

I think the main message we are trying to convey is pretty simple, and I hope a song like this can encourage the right people to take more care of each other and open their minds: ‘You are beautiful just like the way you are’. The song is definitely a socio-critical song and tackles modern and current beauty ideals. I think the issue itself has been discussed quite often already and is nothing new, but most of the time only relates to the outer appearance of people. However I think that the resulting mental struggles people have to deal with has not been talked about enough already.

A main focus was the bitter conflict too many people have: being insecure and not accepting oneself, whereas your brain is rationally well aware of how irrelevant other peoples opinion or judgement is regarding the way you look, think or act.

It really kills me to see so many people, even with my peers or close friends, who get lost in self hate, hurting themselves psychologically and physically. Unfortunately this sometimes is an even bigger issue in the punk rock scene that usually calls itself open minded and tolerant.

Continue reading “The Deadnotes: Tackling Beauty Standards [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: City Mouse [Interview]

Soulful Southern Californian punks City Mouse are a breath of fresh air. We had a quick chat with Miski Dee to learn more.

Southern Californian punk trio City Mouse have crept into the hearts and minds of punk fans in the last few years, humbly becoming a more familiar name. You may have caught the in the UK in 2018 as part a tour with beloved Scottish power-punks The Murderburgers – they’re a treat live!

In support of that tour, Little Rocket Records released the latest City Mouse album Get Right in a limited edition crimson vinyl.

We spoke to vocalist and guitarist Miski Dee to learn more.

Your latest album, Get Right, gives a big tug to the emotional heartstrings. Was that something you sent out to do when you started writing for it?

No. I’ve always used songwriting to work out heartache. It’s not intentional. It’s just something I absolutely have to do to help myself.

What inspired you most when writing for the album?

Just life and loss, really. Continue reading “Band Spotlight: City Mouse [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: The Friday Prophets [Interview]

Introducing Swedish punk rockers The Friday Prophets. FFO: The Bouncing Souls, Not On Tour, Green Day.

Interview by Sarah Williams.

The Friday Prophets are a Stockholm based punk rock band who ooze energy, positivity and good times. They’ve recently released their second album In The Key Of Sublimation via their own label Holy Howl Records. It’s exciting, upbeat punk rock with heart of gold that’ll appeal to punkrockers worldwide!

We spoke to Mattias Robertson to get a proper introduction to the band.

How would you sum up The Friday Prophets for someone who’s just discovering you?

I would say that we are a punk rock band from Stockholm that tries to unify the harmonic part of punk rock with the more gritty side of it. Then I would recommended some songs to check out! Which songs? I would say Reason, Where Are You?, La La La and With You. That oughta be enough for a start!

What inspired you most when writing your album, In The Key of Sublimation?

First of all, I would say music in general. I listen to a lot of music and it just inspires me and makes me want to pick up the guitar and start writing something on my own.

Regarding the sound, there have definitely been some albums that have been particularly influential and these are: Lifetime‘s self-titled album, Green Day’s Dookie, Against Me!‘s Transgender Dysphoria Blues and The Bouncing Souls‘ self-titled album and How I Spent My Summer Vacation. To me these are exceptional records, the kind of records that you can rediscover again and again. Continue reading “Band Spotlight: The Friday Prophets [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Nieviem [Interview]

Lincoln’s newest skate-punks Nieviem are definitely one to watch.

Fans of UK melodic hardcore should kee their eyes peeled for Nieviem. Having formed in Lincoln in 2016, they’re a reliatively new group that breathe life into 90’s-style melodic skatepunk with a does of heavier, nu metal influenced backline.

We spoked to guitarist Bart Stanczyk and vocalist Hope Bateman to learn more.

How would you sum up Nieviem for someone who’s just discovering you?

Hope: A Tony Hawk soundtrack, or as I think we’ve previously been described, think of Bad Religion with a lass on the mic.

Bart: Female-fronted mixture of Pennywise, BigWig, Millencolin and Bad Religion.

Tell me a bit about how Nieviem came to be – how did you meet?

Bart: I met our previous drummer Tomek at work. As far as I remember we started jamming together in 2010. Few years later our bassist Kuba joined us but we still used to play covers just for fun. Nieviem were officially established when previous vocalist Vicky joined us in on April 2016. One year later she had to leave the band due to health issues, but thanks god we found Hope and we carry on until now together. Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Nieviem [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Lay It On The Line [Interview]

South London’s Lay It On The Line deliver ferocious melodic hardcore. We spoke to vocalist, Alice, to learn more.

Interview by Sarah Williams.

South London’s Lay It On The Line are a brutally fast melodic hardcore quintet, adhering to the popular double-time skate-punk template but twinning it with frenetic, furious anger and a unique combination of male and female vocals.

We spoke to vocalist Alice to learn more about this ferocious band.

Hey! We really enjoyed The Black Museum – it’s heavy as hell! How would you sum up Lay It On The Line for someone who’s just discovering you?

Pretty simply really, we’re fast melodic hardcore. I think every member of the band is a fast punk rock fan so we probably couldn’t play it much differently if we tried! Dual vocals between myself and Mike gives an extra edge to the sound as, whilst we both sing and scream, we do it quite differently.

There’s also a little sprinkling of the occult in there too – Mike is influenced quite a lot by the Process Church of the Final Judgement in his writing and this comes across in a lot of his lyrics, as well as a few song and release titles. The title The Black Museum itself is a direct reference to one of the writings from The Process that talks about how we are obsessed with day to day life and luxuries, forgetting that humanity does a lot of damage to the world.

For me, the thing that sets Lay It On The Line apart from other bands is the combination of your vocals – how did that first come about? Do you think it’s harder writing for two vocals parts?

Mike first asked me to do some guest vocals on some old tracks and it just worked. It was quite organic and when we wrote together for the album it was actually really easy – our ideas just seemed to fit together and in the case of the first track (Level Up), myself and Mike actually found that we’d written about similar experiences without even consulting each other first. Maybe it was just luck, but the whole process was remarkably easy – we’re both pretty open to the other’s ideas and not afraid to say when we don’t like something so it came together very quickly. We only finished the lyrics and arrangements in a few hours the night before we recorded!

Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Lay It On The Line [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Molars [Interview]

Introducing Molars: new emo/pop-punk from Nottingham. FFO: Tiny Moving Parts, Neck Deep and Modern Baseball.

Molars are a new alternative / pop-punk / emo band from Nottingham with a fresh and exciting sound. We spoke to them to learn more.

You’re releasing your very first EP Tight, But Not Groundbreaking soon. How long has it been in the works?

Dec: We recorded the entire EP in June at Phoenix Sound Studios. Since then we’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, such as filming our own music video.

Is the title what you’re aiming for, or are you predicting the reviews?

Matt: Funny story – after our first gig in Nottingham, a bloke from one of the other bands came over and said we sounded tight, but not groundbreaking. This seemed like a really weird thing to say to a band after they played their first ever set (however true it may be!), so it seemed only right to name our EP after this interaction!

How would you sum up Molars for someone who’s just discovering you?

Chris: I guess we come under the banner of pop punk for the most part but with some elements of emo with some of the guitar parts and lyrics.

Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Molars [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Bring On The Storm [Interview]

Calgary’s Bring On The Storm bring fast, melodic hardcore to the table. FFO: A Wilhelm Scream, Belvedere, Darko.

Interview by Sarah Williams.

Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Bring On The Storm are yet more fuel on the fire of Canada’s jealousy-inducing skatepunk/melodic hardcore scene. They’re planning to self-release their debut album Altruism later this year; it’s eight tracks of upbeat melodies and intricate guitars, taking cues from bands like Belvedere, Propagandhi and A Wilhelm Scream. Although there’s a clear mix of influences, Bring On The Storm put their own twist on the classic skate-punk sound: one with poppier melodies and a touch of classic rock.

We fell in love with Altruism, so we spoke to bassist Josh Wallace to learn more about the band.

Heya! How would you sum up Bring On The Storm for someone who’s just discovering you?

Hey Sarah, thanks for taking the time to chat with me! We play fast melodic skate punk with bleak song titles and uplifting messages.

You’re releasing your debut album Altruism on November 4th. Can you tell us a bit about the journey that has led you up to this release?

We’re currently an independent band so everything we do is very DIY. That makes self releasing an album a massive undertaking and we have been working day and night to try and make this release something special.

The album was recorded from March to April of this year and the last five months have been a whirlwind of planning. From getting the artwork and album layout finished, to putting together a pre-order package that we think people will be excited about, there is a huge amount of work that goes into it. But at the end of the day it’s super rewarding and we can’t wait to start showing off the new songs! Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Bring On The Storm [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Buenos Treehouse [Interview]

Nottingham’s Buenos Treehouse are an upbeat new melodic pop rock band, FFO: Weezer, PUP and Jeff Rosenstock

Interview by Sarah Williams.

Nottingham’s Buenos Treehouse are a band new pop rock band, who’ll go down a treat with fans of Jeff Rosenstock, Weezer and PUP. As they launch their new single Low, Shout Louder spoke to guitarist/singer Will Bailey and bassist Duncan Muggleton to learn more.

Hey! You’ve recently put out your first single, Low. What makes that song the best introduction to Buenos Treehouse?

  • Will: I think Low has got a bit of everything that we try to do as a band – it’s pretty catchy, has a huge chorus and we’re super excited with how the video came out. We asked Dave Lankester to make us a video – who directed of all the Heck/Haggard Cat videos – and it looks great! The lyrics to Low are pretty depressing, so we wanted a contrast of loads of colour… it’s all very over the top.
  • Dunc: We produced it ourselves, too, so it captures the DIY element of our initial approach to the band. But we also put a lot of hours in to getting it just right, and couldn’t be happier with the results!

How would you sum up Buenos Treehouse for someone who’s just discovering you?

  • Will: I think if you’re a fan of early Weezer, the energy and live show of PUP/Jeff Rosenstock and three part Beach Boys/Bracket-esque harmonies then you’ll probably be into us! The line we’ve put on our socials is “Harmony laden pop-rock” – we’re kind of a punk band too, but we’re not that punk… If you’ve only just heard of us and like what you hear, definitely try and make it down to a show – we’re one of those bands that feel much more at home on a stage than in a recording studio. We’ve really got our live set down now, especially after playing 5 shows in one day for the single launch.

Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Buenos Treehouse [Interview]”

Band Spotlight: Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind

Introducing geeky, gruff punk with healthy dose of emo from Thessaloniki, Greece. FFO: Hot Water Music, Iron Chic, Sunny Day Real Estate.

Interview by Sarah Williams.

There’s nothing quite like a confusing band name to occasionally make you take notice. We were chuffed that we did with Hoi Poi Farplane Wind as their EP Dread and Vision turns out to be a great slice of gruff, melodic punk, ideal for fans of Iron Chic, Hot Water Music or Sunny Day Real Estate.

Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece, Hoi-Poi have a fuzzy, nostalgic and geeky take on modern punk that’s instantly appealing. We quizzed the band to learn more, and were entertained to find them recommending Japanese melodic hardcore, offering cures for the Greek music scene and referencing Dragon Ball.

Where on earth did the name Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind originate from? It’s quite an odd choice.

Well, we want to destroy the world with our music, so we Frankensteined items from franchises we loved as kids and teens (hoi-poi capsules from Dragon Ball and Farplane Wind from Final Fantasy) and we ended up with a WMD of a band name that also serves as a handicap against bands with actually cool names – it gets our competitive drive going! We’ve been recently pulling an Uncle Acid and going by just Hoi-Poi for shortness, though.

How would you sum up Hoi-Poi for someone who’s just discovering you?

We’ve been using a new motto lately: “Bad for health – good for nothing”, which we believe sums up the Hoi-Poi experience. To elaborate though: emotive punk/hardcore delivered by the four unluckiest dudes you’ve met. Rarely party, often brooding, constantly memeing, never taking ourselves too seriously. And the shows are demented sweatfests.   Continue reading “Band Spotlight: Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind”