Tag Archives: punkrock

Reviews

(review) No Option – ‘I Hope This Finds You Well’

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No Option are US hardcore band and this is their new release containing four songs . What to expect here? This is hardcore like I used to listen when I was growing up to. Street smart influences and atmosphere and something we used to call new school back in the nineties, being metallic hardcore with lots of changes in tempo, breakdowns but also straightforward punk influenced song parts. Vocals are angry and screaming with occasional excursion into clean singing waters. Of all these four songs somehow my favorites are ‘302’ and the title song. This is hardcore that you feel energy when you are listening to, so that means good hardcore little record. Hope for more music by this band in the near future.

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Reviews

(review) Newport Ave – ‘Valenswine’

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Newport Ave are from West Australia and I still think that I have much to explore about their underground punk scene which delivers so many great punk and hardcore releases all the time. Anyway, this little EP contains five songs, one being kind of instrumental intro called ‘Meet Me After Tryouts, We Need To Talk’. Then the record continues with one of my personal favorites pop punk/melodic punk anthem ‘Travel Pants’ with emotional vocals, mid tempo melodies and lyrics about being who you are not hiding behind mask and costume. ‘Mutiny Scrutiny’ is a surf punk influenced noisy little miniature with haiku lyrics but great melody at the end of the song about losing mind hehe. Other one of my personal favorites is ‘Medusa Seducer’, song about hypocrisy and fake love and affection with great guitar melodies and anthemic feel, true pop punk hymn. The production is great, I love harsher sound of guitars and vocals are cool for this kind of punk rock. ‘Cofee Cart Broken Heart’ speaks about separation and longing and going on with your life and this is a great little EP and I love every single minute of it.

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Reviews

(review) NONTHEWISER – ‘NONTHEWISER’

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The day has arrived and Swedish punks NONTHEWISER who were already featured on the pages of this webzine released new record. As you might know, Sweden has, besides all those metal bands who are great, also awesome punk hardcore scene with Misconduct, No Fun At All, Satanic Surfers, Astream, 59 Times The Pain, Intensity, Atlas Losing Grip immediately coming to mind. Well, NONTHEWISER are from Gothenburg, birthplace of melodic Swedish death metal, but on this album there are 15 songs of melodic punk hardcore and I must admit this is the one of the finest record I have listened this year so far. Besides playing old school nineties influenced melodic punk/skate punk, NONTHEWISER let us hear in their song structures they are from Sweden with THAT sound of guitar in some songs, like fast Iron Maiden like tuned guitars not unsimilar to Gothenburg’s metal bands, like in awesome fast ‘Perplexed’ or ‘Hang us high’. Vocals at times remind me a bit of Koca from Croatian Fat Prezident and I love that kind of voice, emotional yet at times angry and screaming, shouting. Melody lines are perfect, both vocal and guitar main melodies and hooks. Though I am a fan of more faster songs if possible on the album I listen to, there are also some superb mid tempo punk rock anthems on this one, hitters like ‘Grind down hope’ or ‘The good of man’ having that sweet, sweet melody. This is a lesson in melodic punk.

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