Punk & Disorderly – The Dead Thatchers, Trumpton Riot, The Fuck Ups, Smalltown Tigers, Black Bombers, Rancid, Hateful, Ex-, Litterbug, Year Zero.

Punk comes in many shapes and forms, as the Don Letts 2005 documentary attested to, it was never really about a musical “style” per se but as the title of the documentary suggested, it was all about the Attitude.

There was no blueprint about what a punk band should look or sound like, and that message is still relevant today, the spirit being kept alive by those who got, and get, it, although there are those who don’t and never did get it and would have some of their own “heroes” turning in their graves when they demonstrate behaviours and attitudes that are a volte-face from what they stood for.

The original spirit of punk is needed more than ever just now with right wing fascists taking to the streets recently to riot in an attempt to win support for their “cause”, and largely failing miserably, unless a few free steak bakes was their overall aim. The punk attitude and spirit came to the fore in Blackpool as those in attendance at Rebellion stood against the fash and in the spirit of solidarity with the people of Blackpool were witnessed cleaning up the aftermath of the scum on the streets.

Anyway, this blog post is a round up of a variety of punk albums and EPs from different stations along the spectrum of punk that I’ve been enjoying this year but for whatever reason (mostly due to work pressures and bouts of poor mental health) I’ve never got around to writing about. The punk spirit is alive and well in many forms and these albums represent some of the highlights of my listening.

The Dead Thatchers

The disorderly element in the title comes to light here, the randomness of album and blog posts I have actually managed to put up over the course of this year demonstrating huge gaps and a lack of consistency and planning.., I’m embarrassed to say the first album here came out in December LAST year, in the shape of Neon Dystopia, The Dead Thatchers follow up to their 2021 Nae Pasaran Ya Bass album. This is a hauntingly atmospheric album of cutting edge, often close to the bone, poetry/spoken word performances set to music. Opening with “Better” featuring Muhammad Ali the album has 19 tracks of varying in length from around 30 seconds to eight and a half minutes, and sometimes it is the fleeting tracks that pack the biggest punch. Take Fattening the Trust as an example, the imagery in the short verse bringing a huge feeling of guilt to this meat eater. As well as the “guest” spot from Ali, the album also features appearances by Girobabies/The Twistettes/Jackal Trades/Miverva Wakes songwriters and vocalists Mark McGhee and Jo D’Arc alongside the contributions from Dennis Ramone, Francis Rafferty, Alex Smith, ALiENPIG, Adam-Son, Rebecca Eaves, Chas T Frazer and Fred McNeill. If you’ve not already checked this out, it’s never too late.

Trumpton Riot

Even further back than last December came the Bunker Mentality album from Falkirk’s Trumpton Riot which is well over a year old now, and is a far more welcome riot than those instigated by the right wing meatheads in more recent weeks. Depending on your age or musical learnings your first thoughts when you hear the bands name might be of Windy Miller or Pugh, Pugh, Barney, McGrew or of wanting a Dukla Prague away kit for Christmas. What you get in Bunker Mentality is an album that displays an earnest passion and compelling guitar driven melodies that come from a long line of punk bands with Celtic (with a hard-C) roots and origins like SLF and The Skids, with some of the guitar lines on Change in particular giving off major Skids vibes. If you like your punk music intensely ardent with an impassioned vocal delivery and with lyrics that come straight from the heart with a genuine sincerity behind them, then Trumpton Riot is for you.

Gutterblood

Another end of 2023 release that I never got around to writing about was the December EP release from Peebles/Leith’s Gutterblood. Having impressed with their anti-coronation/smash the monarchy anthem with Bonnie Prince Bob Gardyloo earlier in the year and in it proving that they “mean it man” much more than Lydon and his increasingly disturbing right-wing leanings, The Hard Ghandi EP brought Gardyloo together with the EP’s title track. Hard Ghandi is a slow burner whose intro adds elements of Mogwai to the mix before launching into a diatribe soundtracked by crushing guitar riffs. The EP also includes two updated versions of songs from their debut self-titled album, Mr X and Old Town Young team, these tracks giving off a hard-edged blues/stoner/proto-punk vibe, Mr X including what feels like a nod to Arthur Brown, and the guitars on Old Town Young Team owing a debt to Tom Morello. The band were due to play a benefit for Palestine which had to be cancelled due to the ongoing gentrification of Leith, hopefully to be rescheduled soon. Gutterblood have another EP coming later this year.

Rancid

To the US and Rancid with their debut self-titled 5-track EP, originally only available on 7″ vinyl earning its first streaming release. The pre-Lars Friederiksen early incarnation of Rancid formed by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman following the break-up of Operation Ivy saw them go down a more hard-edged route than the ska-punk of their previous band. I listen to this and re-live memories of many excellent Rancid gigs in Glasgow and wonder if we’ll ever see them on the Barrowland stage again, having seemingly shunned us, never returning since they were due to support Green Day on the ill-fated last minute rain-stopped-play cancellation fiasco.

Ex-

Not being happy with already releasing a top quality album in Forewarned is Forearmed this year, Meek and Co in Ex- clearly don’t like to rest on their laurels following up the album with EP 16, featuring four songs heavy with melodic first wave of punk rhythms of the quality you’ll have come to expect from the mighty Ex-. Live favourite You’re Doing My Head In, leads off 16 in style a tune packed with melodious riffs which continue into Luv U, Bye with it’s questioning lyrical delivery, the intensity of the song building to its close. The songs titles suggest a theme, with the clamorous resonance of Ultimatum following Luv U, Bye before finishing on Ended Up Somewhere a reflectively contemplative song with an wide open sound. (The CD comes with a remix of album track Gonna Do a Runner at the end)

The Fuck Ups

If you thought I was far behind, then you ain’t see nuthin’ yet, I’ve been listening to an album recently that was released a year past January… You only need to look at the title of the album and names of the songs on this release from The Fuck Ups to know it isn’t for the “lets keep politics out of music” brigade. Always enough to go to war, never enough to feed the poor is 15 songs of in yer face full throttle hardcore anarcho-punk, there is certainly no hiding from the ire and the messages behind the songs, messages which are unfortunately just are as valid nearly two years down the line. Divide and Conquer with it’s almost ska-like break could be re-written to reflect the recent riots instigated by those with power who then sat back and watched the results. Reclaim the Streets rails against the Tories bill to reduce the right to protest, basically aimed at everyone that didn’t agree with what they said, anyway, it was those with right wing tendencies that caused all the recent troubles… A few of the songs have appeared before on the bands Lies EP, it’s title track, Council Scheme and State of Society explores the roots of why we are so fucked up as a nation, while Monarchy is a song in support of the Windsors… aye right. Last word on Stop the War, a song title which is always all too relevant, maybe in the current climate Stop the Genocide would be more appropriate.

Black Bombers

If you were pigeon-holing here, Birmingham’s Black Bombers are probably more proto-punk than what many would describe as “classic” punk with their solid heavy sound owing more to the likes of The Stooges, with added elements of post-punk/goth/Killing Joke/New Model Army along the way. The band waste no time in launching into No Pity, a strident and insistent album opener that smashes and crashes its way into your consciousness setting you up nicely for the spiritedly rowdy journey that follows. This rumbustious nature continues throughout the album, particularly on tracks like the irrepressible turbulence of Good Times Gone. Elsewhere, songs like Last Bite lose none of the forceful perseverance but take the bands sound more in direction of the post-punk goth sound of the early 80s, and while on What Do You See? the band bring down the pace but not the intensity. There may be dark lyrical couplets and themes throughout Vive La Revolution, but Black Bombers prove that to care and vent doesn’t mean you need to be po-faced, with the album closing on a raucously boisterous cover of Bowie’s classic Boys Keep Swinging

Smalltown Tigers

From Birmingham to Italy and Crush on You from power punk trio Smalltown Tigers. A band unafraid to shy away from their roots of playing Ramones covers, the influence of the NYC punks being apparent in their frenetic sound, and the penultimate song on the album is titled Joey. The influences also run to The Ramones habit of treating the listeners to short sharp shocks, the album’s title track and the likes of I Want You being cases in point. They even take off Joey’s famous 1,2,3,4 intro on Monster, a song on which the intense riffing and energy verges on L7 territory, while elsewhere there is a real Runaways glam-punk stamp on Dressed Right and Skinny. One of my favourite songs on the album bucks the trend of the rest of the album slightly, perhaps owing more of a debt to the blues rock of Bo Diddley mixed with Thalia Zedek’s post Live Skull band Come, the albums bluesy garage punk closer Killed Myself When I Was Young is also featuring a fierce and snarling lead vocal and dissonant saxophone on the outro.

Year Zero

Like Black Bombers Year Zero hail from the Black Country, but are an entirely different kettle of fish musically, with more of a foot in the melodic first wave of punk camp. The five songs on the Louder You Scream EP start with a criticism of the state of the country of their origin and the Little England mentality and cleverly crafted to be released around the time of the Euros and General Election, including a tongue in cheek football type chant in the chorus. The theme in the song filters into the following track You Don’t Know referencing the “clusterfuck” that the country has become. The closing song on the EP is perhaps my favourite, Beach Boys & Bikini Girls with it’s summery melodic Ramones meets old school Rock n Roll vibe and vocal harmonies.

Litterbug

I was a late convert to the sounds of Litterbug, with the band first coming to my attention with their 2020 album Abstract Melodies Saying Terrible Things. Surfing the Chaos feels like a progression in the bands sound, and has Stuart Diggle & Co in fine form both musically and lyrically. The album title sums up the shitshow of the last few years living in these fucked up nations, the only way to survive it is to surf the chaos and not get dragged under. The titles of many of the songs give an indication of where the songwriting inspiration comes from, take the likes of Haves and Have Nots, Petrol Situation 2024 and Stealth Tax. I have to admit I had a wry smile when I listened to the quirky Why Can’t You Be Pissed Off Like Me? relating to every word and realising why my missus gave me a t-shirt bearing the words “Only Happy When Moaning.” Musically Litterbug take their lead from “old skool” bands like 999, Buzzcocks leading the charge with rhythmic buzzsaw guitars and the like, but adding elements of 90s alt rock to the mix taking in elements of grunge to some of the more eccentric idiosyncrasies from left field US acts such as Pixies, something the band acknowledge on their closing track Too Alternative for Punk, which is perhaps also a sideways dig at the surfeit of punk by numbers bands that tirelessly peddle their wares. The band are heading to Glasgow in September to play an afternoon gig with Hateful and 2 Sevens in Ivory Blacks on the 21st hosted by the Saturday Punk Club.

Hateful

Talking of Hateful, up until now if you’d asked me I’d have said Noize From the Streets was the best Hateful album, I’d now have to say You Just Got Fooled Again now perhaps pips that to the post. Another album from 2023 (I know…there’s a theme here now…) featuring fifteen gargantuan slabs of muscular thunderous punk rallying cries, the theme of the albums title running through several tracks over and above the title song, like the “told you so” message of V4AC and the following song Braindead the lyrics spat out with a a vehemence fitting of the disdain in the chorus. There are references to many bands from the “classic” punk era the song has a Stranglers-esque running through its core, elsewhere on the likes of Chain of Command there are nods to both The Clash in the outro and X Ray Spex with the added saxophone. The chorus of Audio Ammunition is a terraces chant that Sham and The Alarm would have been proud of while Narcissistic Puppet Master kicks off like a full throttle pedal to the floor driving anthem, but has a few unexpected but most welcome twists and turns along the way, like Alex Harvey meets Elvis with Fear Factory also bucking the trend and adding a different feel and texture to the bands sound, dare I say with a nod to Ruby Tuesday.