Tag: Incisions

Podcast: Tree from Manchester Punk Festival

We talk DIY, dogs and new music with Manchester’s tallest promoter.

As DIY giants Manchester Punk Festival have just announced the first installment of their 2019 line-up, we thought it was time for Ian ‘Tree’ Robinson to join us on the podcast.

Tree’s a staple of the Northern punk scene, known for booking regular gigs through the Anarchistic Undertones collective and tours via AU Tour Booking. He’s got years of experience in DIY bookings, plus a Northern attitude that makes him quite an entertaining guest.

We discuss Manchester Punk Festival’s changes, what he’s learned from 10 years of booking punk shows and some of our current favourite bands and labels. We also talk about Propagandhi. A lot.

P.S. The star of tonight’s show is our cover model, Bernie, who you can follow on Instagram @dci_burnside.

Continue reading “Podcast: Tree from Manchester Punk Festival”

Podcast #8: Crawl-of-Death, Bribery, Masturbation and Unfulfilled Promises

Tune into the next instalment of the Shout Louder punk podcast! Tunes from Eat Defeat, SKIV, Wolfrik and Hummer.

Podcast #8 sees the return of everyone’s favourite: Mark Bell! This episode is all excitable Mark and Sarah music banter – we cover a huge range of topics, including all the gigs and punk rock antics we’ve experienced lately. We’ve play tunes from Eat Defeat, Wolfrik, SKIV and Hummer.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Soundcloud and many other good podcatchers. Alternatively, listen direct here:

We midly lay into Jimbob from Pizzatramp in a tale that involves a crawl-of-death, public masturbation, bribery and unfulfilled promises. We lament the passing of MySpace as a medium, Mark asks Sarah to dissect some poorly auto-tuned rap lyrics and Sarah shares Personal Worst story from Podstock 2 involving pratfalls, poo and pints.

Mark gives us the gossip on Hell Hath No Fury Fest, with Bolshy, Natterers and Brassick. Sarah chats about gigs she’s been to in Manchester, including Tim Loud, Custody, Holiday, Bear Trap and Incisions. Continue reading “Podcast #8: Crawl-of-Death, Bribery, Masturbation and Unfulfilled Promises”

Shout Louder’s June 2018 Playlist

Listen to our Spotify playlist for all of June’s hottest tunes!

The whole team at Shout Louder is addicted to music, whether that’s live, on record or just sung badly in the shower. There’s not enough time in the world to review every record we love, so we’re going to share a monthly Spotify playlist with you.

Enjoy this month’s selection of tunes – featuring many of the bands we’ll be catching live this month. Here’s what we’re listening to:

 

Podcast #5: Jamie from Aerial Salad Chatting Utter Shite

Jamie Munro joins us a guest for this no-holds-barred episode, bonding over a love of drinking, punk rock and conversational tangents.

On Episode #5 Mark and Sarah are joined by the Aerial Salad’s loquacious frontman Jamie Munro. If you’re not already familiar with Manchester’s freshest pop-punks then this is a great chance to get to know them better.

Join us in Sarah’s living room as we bond over a love of conversational tangents and talk utter shite about the UK punk rock world. Share in the laughter as Mark ‘Hunkasaurus’ Bell makes a failed attempt to rein Jamie and Sarah in!

We cover myriad topics, including Jamie’s wholesome adventures in Disneyland, alt-girl-specific paedophilia, drug-induced escapades, an ex-girlfriend crying during Jamie’s set and a prediction for Jamie’s miserable future. We also share our love for Triple Sundae, Fastfade, Burnt Tapes, Incisions, Clayface, Pizzzatramp, Astpai, Sham City Roasters and many more.

We’ve even got an exclusive unreleased Aerial Salad track and an announcement for their upcoming European tour with The Raging Nathans. We also celebrate the line-up announcement for Polite Riot festival, including the addition of Apologies, I Have None to an incredible line-up that already features Teenage Bottlerocket and A Wilhelm Scream.

If that’s not enough for you, we’ve even got music from EAT DIRT, Two Houses and The Affect Heuristic.

Continue reading “Podcast #5: Jamie from Aerial Salad Chatting Utter Shite”

Top 5 Punk Festivals of 2017

Shout Louder’s selection of the most raucous punk get-togethers in the UK and further afield.

Article by Sarah Williams.

The only thing better than an all-day punk show is multiple days of punk shows. Festivals are undoubtedly the most important part of my year. You get to see your favourite bands, discover new ones and if it’s a bigger event there’s a good chance that your friends will travel from far and wide to party together. I love how punks from around the UK are drawn to gigs like Manchester Punk Festival or Wonkfest like a big punk rock Mecca; there’s nothing better than weekends spent watching bands, catching up and crashing on mates’ floors.

Admittedly, I’ve only been to a handful of major festivals this year. This Top 5 is intended to be a personal and somewhat self-indulgent recollection of my favourite bigger events of 2017. Hopefully reading it will bring back some positive memories for you too.

#5: Wotsit Called Fest

  • When: September 29th – 30th
  • Where: The Palace, Hastings
  • Festival Highlight: Matilda’s Scoundrels’ riotous set

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2017 saw the second Wotsit Called Festival – a little DIY fest run by a collective in Hastings. It was a wonderful weekend away by the seaside, without a dull moment musically.

Friday was the huge party, serving as Matilda’s Scoundrels‘ release show for As The Tide Turns. They played an absolutley storming set full of dancing, crowd-surfing, human pyramids and all that malarkey. Following them were Nosebleed who caused their usual well-dressed ruckus, including a stage-invasion, getting out into the crowd and generally causing chaos. Getting to witness two of the UK’s best live acts all in one place in such an intimate setting was really rewarding.

The diversity of the line-up was what bumped Wotsit Called into the Top 5 for me. I greatly enjoyed starting the day with some skiffle covers, followed by melodic gruff from The Dead Anyways and then gradually descending into the entropy of Riggots via Pizzatramp, Natterers and The Crash Mats, among many others. This is still a relatively small punk gathering, but definitely one to watch for next year.

Check out our reviews here: Friday and Saturday.

 

#4: Wonkfest

  • When:  June 1st 2018
  • Where: Tufnell Park Dome and The Boston Arms, London
  • Festival Highlight: The raucous Pizzatramp pit

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At the start of Wonkfest I was joking with a friend that it might be funny to find the drunkest person at the festival at attempt to interview them. Later in the evening, I reached the unfortunate conclusion that the drunkest person at the festival may actually be me. As such, my memory of the headline bands is a tad hazy (Wonk Unit played, right?) and on the way home I fell backwards over my own bicycle and got trapped in a hedge for ten minutes. I’m not proud, but I did greatly enjoy waking up bruised, broken and covered in gold glitter. In hindsight, perhaps drinking vodka on the train at 9.30am wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.

Although it’s the drunken debauchery that will stick in my memory, the festival itself was as fantastic as it is every year. The gig is split between two stages, running 20 minute sets back-to-back with few breaks. It’s a format that works well, although you do have to skip a band if you want to eat, smoke or drunkenly make out with someone. Matilda’s Scoundrels opened the show with an aggro-folk riot, Spoilers were the closest things to Snuff that you’re going to find apart, perhaps, from Simon Wells playing a sweet acoustic set downstairs. Nova Twins were my highlight for the second year running; they’ve got an unprecedented amount of swagger. Aerial Salad and The Kimberly Steaks played exciting and energetic sets, between them managing to be so close to early Greenday that I felt justified in jeering at all the people paying to watch Greenday at Hyde Park the same night. Finally, the pit for Pizzatramp was one of the most wonderful, enjoyably violent experiences I’ve had all year. We got a huge rowboat, people crowd-surfing on inflatable pizza slices and general elbow-dodging chaos. What an incredible rollercoaster of punk fun. Continue reading “Top 5 Punk Festivals of 2017”

Top 5 EP Releases of 2017

Shout Louder’s picks of the best short releases of the year.

Article by Sarah Williams.

It’s been an extremely strong year for releases in the world of punk. For the Shout Louder end of year round-up, I’ve decided to embrace the classic Top 5 format. Over the next few days you can enjoy all of the following:

First up are my Top 5 EPs of the year. This was a real struggle. As a cheaper and easier alternative to a full-length album, it seems to be the format of choice for many of the bands I favour at the moment. There were more EPs vying for the top spot this year than there were albums.

Just short of making the cut was Alaska Alaska’s Another Planet’s Hell. I have also listened to No Trigger’s Adult Braces a hell of a lot, however it’s mostly on the strength of one song – Dogs On Acid. I ought also mention On A Hiding To Nothing. They are one of my favourite live discoveries this year, and their EP Formaldehyde is stupidly fast, complex and awesome.

Without further ado, here are my Top 5 EPs of 2017.

#5: Incisions – Quit Now

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Incisions are a gutsy foursome from Manchester who create proper, noisy fast-punk full of swagger. It feels like they’ve taken a rowdy punk band and added a hard rock guitarist, driving the songs with irresistible riffs and grooves. Jordan Lloyd’s coarse vocal and snappy fuck-off lyrics tie it all together, dripping with attitude and agression.

Absolutely zero fucks were given in the making of this record. Or, at least, that’s what the attitude in the lyrics convey. In reality it clearly takes a lot of talent to make an EP this good while making it seem effortless. I loved this the first second I heard it, and my only regret is not seeing it played live until November. Live or recorded, Quit Now has an undeniable power to make you to rock the fuck out.

 

#4: Toodles & The Hectic Pity – Call In Sick

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I have to thank Colin Clark’s impeccable music taste for this one. He recommended this band to me earlier in the year, shocked that they only had ~100 Facebook followers despite producing an incredible record. It’s five tracks of bouncy, fast acoustic folk-punk that’s pleasantly uplifting, in a similar vein to bands like Jake & The Jellyfish. Call In Sick has shed a bright beam of positivity on 2017 for me, and I want to share it with everyone.

Coming from Bristol, Toodles & The Hectic Pity produce quick, snappy and percussive punk ditties, overlaid with witty lyrics, delivered in a vocal style that cracks and strains and makes you want to sing along. My favourite song is by far the title track, hitting a real nerve with me with the words, “You shouldn’t have to work so hard to barely get you by.” The theme of the song in part gave me the confidence I needed to leave my job and change my life this year. Well done, Toodles, it’s an incredible record. Continue reading “Top 5 EP Releases of 2017”

Gig Review: Pie Race Festival – Sunday

Sunday is recovery fun day at Leeds’ annual pastry-punk showdown, featuring Queen Zee & The Sasstones, Incisions, Pizzatramp and more.

Review by Sarah Williams. Photos by Hold My Pint Photography. Videos nabbed from Razmoyork’s YouTube page.

Firstly, check out our review of Friday and Saturday’s Pie Race.

The Sunday mood at Pie Race is notably subdued. People slowly return to Wharf Chambers, begrudgingly accepting the need crack on with the drinking and pie consumption once again. The day starts with a bar full of bedraggled punks nursing mugs of coffee or gingerly pushing their way through their difficult first pint. That said, there is still a buzz of excitement for more noisy nonsense to come. Today’s bill has a distinct sense of fun – plenty of ska, no brutal hardcore – exactly what you need on a rough morning.

I am pleasantly surprised by Plot 32. They spent Saturday spreading the word about their band via the excessive distribution of badges, but playing themselves down by explaining they were so new to music that they’d only just learned to play their instruments. As such, I approached their set with very low expectations and was wowed to discover one of my favourite sets of the whole weekend. The room is full of warmth for this band; they play good, simple ska with a party vibe, perfect for the recovery that the crowd are in need of. They throw a little medley of Operation Ivy and the Vengaboys, plus a perky cover of Catch 22’s Keasbey Nights that’s deeply enjoyable. Just the injection of skanking fun you need after a wild Saturday night.

Whitby’s Panda Lasagne follow them with some standard-but-solid punk rock, apparently playing their first gig in Leeds for 11 years. They’ve got demonstrable hangovers much like the rest of us, but they’re still fun and fast. Tunes like Housewives’ Choice are fun, but it’s rock ‘n’ roll tunes like Witness that really get the room going.

The Crash Mats are exactly what my hangover needs right now. There is nothing remotely sad or downbeat about this brilliant little ska-punk band, it’s all funky bass lines and jumpy upstrokes (with a few bursts of fast hardcore thrown in for good measure). They start off strong with Terry Funk Forever and Party At Lou’s Place early on in the set. They know as well as we do that it’s time for some silly punk shenanigans, and they use all their I’ve-got-a-microphone powers to make it happen. Baz suggests that rather than a human pyramid we create a human sphinx: a concept that’s better in the imagination than it is in practice, although the eager crowd make a valiant attempt. We’re a lot more successful at creating a reverse wall of death – starting off in a mosh pit and ending the song in two neat rows. Soppy Love Song remains my favourite tune, but their closing track Get Me Off This Ride is a close second, describing an LSD-fuelled rollercoaster experience, completed by Baz’s demented laughter over a backing of jumpy ska-core.

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Next up are Snakerattlers, which is the moodier reimagining of The Franceens. They open with a song that is instrumental apart from a series of howled guttural noises, slightly bewildering the audience and warning them that they’re in for a wild ride. There’s a dusty Tijuana vibe to much of their death-punk stylings, conjuring a taste of hot sand and desolation. They perform with just a distorted electric guitar and drums stripped back to a snare, floor tom and a crash cymbal. It doesn’t sound like a lot written down, but it’s played with a captivating spit-in-your face attitude that’s impossible to ignore. Much like a rattlesnake, they’re slightly intimidating, although songs like Let You Go are catchy and danceable. Guitarist/singer Dan Gott falls backwards out into the crowd with his guitar for Rattlerock Rumble, bringing a more intimate element to the performance. It’s extremely cool, sultry, swagger-ful stuff.  Continue reading “Gig Review: Pie Race Festival – Sunday”