Sunken Monkey – Party Scars

Party Scars is the second album for Lancashire band Sunken Monkey. The band formed in the early noughties, and whilst the band has changed its line-up a few times over the years it would appear that they have found a formula that works for them. The group draws influence from a range of different punk bands, from NOFX to Rise Against to Four Year Strong, but unlike most bands claiming this, their output is far closer to the punk side of things than the ‘pop-punk’. This is not to say that their music isn’t primarily beer-fuelled fun, but I would argue it is less cheesy than most modern punk bands. They also claim not to concern themselves with ‘worrying about our image’, something many pop-punk bands are guilty of. This is not intended to have a dig at pop-punk, more trying to give an idea of the character of Sunken Monkey.

Party Scars is basically a very fun album. It is based primarily on ‘anecdotes from the band’s personal lives’, with ‘short, catchy tunes’ to back it up. This is a promise the album lives up to completely. I would say the album sounds a lot like a less Celtic version of The Dropkick Murphys, with energy and grit and honest lyrics and shouty vocals. The pace remains fairly constant throughout. My personal favourites are the first two tracks, This Town’s Too Big… and That’s What She Said (‘fuck you too..’), and the track Pissing In The Wind, a song which lends quite a lot to the style of the likes of A Day To Remember through its incorporation of metal into the mix. I also think ‘Til Death Do Us Party is the perfect way to end the album. It uses acoustic guitar very much in the style of Frank Turner, sending the album off in an almost reminiscent farewell, just like the end of a party. In fact, the album is almost sculpted into the form of a party throughout: It starts hard, fast and optimistic, throughout the middle there is a blur of messy energy, and ends in a fashion fit for the end of a brilliant night.

In all, I would describe the album as a party anthem. The energy, honesty and messiness all form the ingredients for a great party-punk record. I would argue that even the faults improve the album, after all punk was never created to be perfect. The individual tracks are also incredibly catchy, with true artistic talent behind every single second of music, not just distortion and guitar so fast that you can’t hear the music. I conclude that the album is driven by the spirit of true punk, the talent of the individuals in the band and, of course, alcohol.

Cerebral Ballzy – Jaded & Faded

Cerebral Ballzy have been hailed as the new kings of punk, real punk, since their 2011 self-titled debut, an album which landed the band festival slots and tours across the globe, in turn drawing attention to the group for their uncompromising and riotous live performances. One individual attracted to the character of this five-piece punk rock machine was Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and Cult Records, under whom the band have gone on to release this album. This has led to a subtle change in the tone of the output of the group, with an apparent intention to bring ‘more melody, more ideas, more thought’ to the table for this release. That said, punk rock and hardcore still very much take the centre stage, they haven’t changed too much.

The album totals roughly 26 minutes of run-time which, despite being 7 minutes and only one song longer than their first album, is a very short album. Songs like Lonely In America, only 3 minutes in length, feel extremely long. This is down to the speed of tracks like Speed Wobbles, managing to pack a ridiculous amount of music into only a minute. The album is as energetic and punchy as the first, however the promised melody is definitely present. For example, tracks like Fake I.D. open with incredible riffs before kicking into all out brutality. Although this results in the loss of some of the genuine feeling of their previous releases, it does improve the band’s style of music in terms of being genuinely good to listen to, in my opinion. Honor Titus’ voice is highly iconic, and forms one of the factors separating the group from other contenders in the punk rock game at the moment.

Fake I.D. is one of my favourites on the album, alongside Parade Of Idiots and Another Day. The skate-punk attitude makes the album pretty ideal listening for the summer, with thrashy punk vibes but more meaning and arguably more depth than pop-punk, while remaining relatively cheerful/ballzy.

There are a few criticisms of the album, however, for example some argue that the addition of melody has resulted in a loss of genuine feeling and some of the energy. The band are maturing out of their angsty teenage years, a stage which compliments this genre so well, but I would argue that they are not losing out as a result. For example, the change of focus from manic speed and intensity toward a melody is a solid move for the band, as this way they simply add to their sound to change as they change as individuals. However certain tracks, such as Better In Leather, do float a little too close to the inspirations behind the band, particularly The Ramones.

The album is strong, additions to the sound allow the sound to live on through changes to individual lifestyles of the artists. The music is good, and despite not being as much about anger and other, more distinctly teenage, emotions it is still very good, very fast and very raw skate-punk.

Beans On Toast – Interview

Beans on Toast has been making music since 2005, and has released 5 albums since. His latest album, Giving Everything, was released on the 1st of December last year and since then the man has been on his own solo tour around the UK. He is also about to embark on Frank Turner’s arena tour as support, alongside Flogging Molly. I asked Beans on Toast if he had time in his hectic life to answer a few questions, and this is what the incredible musician had to say.

How are you doing?
All good my man.

First things first, what was the last song you listened to?
Kids on the run – The Tallest Man on Earth
It’s the last track on the Wild Hunt album, which I listened through this morning. It’s fucking epic.

You released your latest album, Giving Everything at the start of December, how has it been received?
Seems to have gone well, once it’s written and out it doesn’t really feel like I have much to with it to be honest. I guess how’s it’s received is up to everyone else. But I’ve read some nice things and what not.

How do you find motivation when you write your music?
I smoke weed and pick up my guitar, I get bored of songs I’ve written, find it hard to sing other people’s songs so end up singing new ones.

Who would you quote as some of your biggest influences?
My favourite songwriter is a guy called Todd Snider, although I would say that life and everyday stuff is more of an inspiration than other bands, musicians and what not.

How did the track Death of a Festival with Slamboree come about? It is quite different from your music.
I saw Slamboree play at a festival at the start of the summer in 2012 was amazed by the gang mentality of it all, went up and asked if I could join the band, at the time it was a bit of a joke but me and Mike (Slamboree’s main man) became close friends and naturally did a tune together. Although it may seem that Beans on Toast and Slamboree are very different – for many reasons they are very similar as well.
Just for the record it was Mike from Slamboree that produced the new record as well.

Are you a fan of dance music?
Yes of course. And a fan of dancing in general. The idea of dance music as a genre is an odd one, surely you can dance to Jazz music if you were so inclined.

Do you have any dream collaborations?
I’ve been lucky enough to work with amazing people in the past, from Kate Tempest to Frank Turner to Slamboree. I’m happy I guess my dream collaboration will be whatever my next one is.

I think it’s fair to say that you speak your mind, but what’s the biggest trouble you’ve ever got into for voicing your opinions?
I’ve never been in any trouble for voicing my opinions, and rightly so.

What’s the most fun you’ve had at a gig?
Difficult question to tackle, although it’d probably be playing a Secret Garden Party, I’ve played there for years and the shows are always a massive highlight – it’s such an amazing place.

Any plans to return to the dance studio at Exeter Phoenix in the foreseeable future?
Hopefully yeah, I enjoyed that place – although next time we’re gonna pull back the curtains so there’s mirrors all around – that’d be odd.

Do you have a favourite story to tell about your antics?
I have loads, but they never seem right written down I’m afraid.

Have you heard about Russell Brand’s revolution, and do you think you could do it better?
I’m a big fan of what Russell Brand is saying / doing – turn out for the books cos I never saw that side of him before. I wouldn’t want to try to do it better and don’t think he’s in it for personal gain – the whole idea behind it is that it’s working together so trying to better someone is missing the point.

What was your favourite moment of 2013?
I played 101 shows in 2013 which is more than ever, it comes with a price though, I’ve forgotten most of the year probably including my favourite parts.

Any new music you’ve been listening to?
Tallest Man on Earth, Will Varley, Slaid Cleaves, Dizraeli and Downlow

Are there any questions you wish I’d asked?
No mate, I’m good with that.

You can find him here:

http://www.beansontoastmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/beansontoastmusic?fref=ts

Beans On Toast – Giving Everything

It would be an understatement to describe to musical style of this particular gentleman as unique. His ‘drunk folk’ music is distinctive and humorous, with lyrics ranging from American society to fracking and (most significantly) hard drug abuse. An interesting character, to only real way to appreciate Beans On Toast’s music is to see it live, in its rawest form. A man with true charisma, his shows can drift into the realm of a comedy performance at times, not simply a gig. He comes across well in all that he does, and I think it is fair to say that the music speaks for itself.

The album is good, not my favourite, but good all the same. His honesty and lyricism is what makes the album what it is, with punk style poetic rants and the simple chords of a punk song, from an acoustic guitar. The folk comes through in certain songs but overall I think this description undersells the man, and that his music goes far beyond one genre.

Harry In A Helicopter is, as you might have guessed, is about Prince Harry. A condemning song about the actions of the young man, it has a harsh song with genuine feeling in the lyrics, displaying very punk influence in the form of poetic anger. Things is essentially the classic happy Beans On Toast song, with a quick drum beat and a catchy tune. Again honesty shines through, stating that ‘I don’t know what fracking is, but it sounds really bad’, as the highlight of the song for me. Can’t Get A Gig At Glastonbury is a sad song, a ballad about how the festival scene has changed since he first did the festival. He actually sang this at Glastonbury this year, having written it after thinking he had not received a slot, for added humour. Favourite Thing I Own is essentially a love song to his guitar, with lovely lyrics directed at ‘Martin’. It would be a better world entirely if all musicians felt this way about their instruments. Who Is Big Jeff? Is an inventive song, with more cheerful music and a sing along choruses. Sold Out Shows has more production than any other song he has ever written, lamenting about the state of music today, with O2 Academies taking over from purer, smaller venues. Post Bestival festival Blues is almost bluegrass song talking about, you guessed it, post festival blues. It embodies exactly the feeling at the end of the summer. Charlie is a reggae track about not taking cocaine, and becoming healthier. A good song, but it suits his reggae voice better. Beans does reggae well, and the song is hugely successful. The American Dollar was written to appeal to the US audience before he went on tour there, however his girlfriend warned him he probably wouldn’t live until the end of the song if he tried it out there. His view on American politics is interesting, however I agree that Americans may not take it well. Throat Cancer is another simple, brutally honest song. Discussing the topic of giving up smoking and cocaine, as usual, however this time discussing giving it up. Keep You is the first love song on the album, or at least the first one aimed at a person. This is not as good as other love songs he has released, however it features more instruments.

The Bloody Beetroots – Hide

The Italian ‘dance- punk’ group known as The Bloody Beetroots, fronted by the Venom Mask sporting Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo (a.k.a Simone Cogo), are most well known for their single Warp, in collaboration with Steve Aoki, a single which amassed international acclaim and currently has over 25 million music video views on YouTube. Sir Bob received the attention initially with the release in 2008 of the EP Cornelius, part of an art project including music, videos and fashion. Rifo also worked with Steve Aoki in 2009 on a hardcore punk project named Rifoki (surprisingly it this project was generally passable). The experimental nature of this group shines through when looking through the tracklist of their latest album Hide, which features a vast and hugely eclectic range of artists including the likes of Paul McCartney, Sam Sparro and even Peter Frampton. The prospects for this album are interesting to say the least.

This full length is not for everyone, there are high points and low points. The concept is admirably experimental, attempting to merge two very different styles of music with general success. The album is definitely not a favourite of mind and I would not go as far as to recommend it, but it is generally fine in my opinion.

Spank opens the album with the sound of bees, which dives straight into the sound of an ‘old skool’ game of the likes of Tetris. The track features Tai and B. More. The drop is big and drives with real energy for an opening track. This has all of the elements of a pure commercial house song, but is made somehow more interesting. Raw actually features Tommy Lee. The Tommy Lee, from Motley Crue. The song features distorted guitars and hard hitting dance music, with Tommy Lee slagging it off over the top, an interesting combination of influences, to be honest. Runaway has the potential to be ultimately very cheesy house but the drop corrects that fact. It isn’t the best EDM song out, but it is largely passable, featuring a large collection of sounds, but has a lack of commitment, essentially, to any one sound. Chronicles Of A Fallen Love is a slower track initially, before leaping into more commercial house. The track features Greta Svabo Bech, who has the perfect voice for commercial house and frankly the better parts of this track are the parts where she is given space. The rest of the track is fairly unimpressive. The Furious opens with a protest over black rights, before entering into another hard hitting drop, which is better than the majority of the previous tracks on the album. This track is pretty much destroyed, however, by the fact that I cannot decide if it is racist or not. Out Of Sight, featuring Paul McCartney and Youth, opens with a riff, flowing into some classic rock, then into an attempt at anthemic, bass-heavy dance music with children singing ‘la la las’ over the top. This is the most interesting track of the album so far. Albion featuring Junior has more of a nod back to older house music and electronic music, with a hugely house-y drop. Reactivated opens like a hardcore trance song with another house orientated drop characterising it. The track is essentially a very good house song. All The Girls opens with a slightly off key beat and has the feeling of a cheerful summer song. Theophilus London has a voice like Frank Ocean and altogether the song comes together like one of the more soulful Odd Future tracks, another interesting track. Please Baby is very much like a Daft Punk track, featuring P-Thugg and computerised voices over heavy, funky bass guitar. Glow In The Dark has the very welcome vocals of Sam Sparro, adding levels to the track. The song is much slower and soulful than others on the album, an interesting track. The Source starts with guitar again, and the hugely electronic drop drives the track, providing a complete wall of bass, demanding much head-nodding. The Beat, featuring Peter Frampton, has to be one of the weirdest collaborations I have ever seen. The song is good, but plays very disappointingly little on the talent Peter Frampton could have provided. Rocksteady opens tensely with a slow, progressive introduction. The first track featuring Gigi Barocco is the heaviest of the album so far and is essentially huge. Volevo Un Gatto Nero feels a bit like a musical turned electronic to be brutally honest, I am less keen on the second collaboration with Gigi Barocco on the album. The final track on this album is A Prayer, and the second collaboration with Penny Rimbaud and includes more spoken word and is slower again, a largely unremarkable end to the album.