A lot of punk today avoids the classic or more traditional sound. It can be a lot poppier or dance friendly. Australia's The Chats missed that memo and are sounding like classic punk on their new single. "Struck By Lightning" is loud and fast. The video is just over two minutes and the song is shorter than that. It's buzzsawing guitars, shouted vocals, and plenty of gang vocals. It reminds me of an amped up version of the Buzzcocks. There may be just the beginning traces of pop punk in here, but early punk was pretty poppy if you really listen to it.
Eamon Sandwith talks about his band's new song, which is about being struck by lightning:
“People can't grow their hair back and shit. It’s weird – especially the whole no-eyebrows thing. That would be really scary! I'm really hoping that this doesn't happen to me, now I've written a song about it.”
You can watch the video for "Struck By Lightning" below. For more on The Chats, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Thu. Mar. 17 - Brussels, BE @ La Botanique Sat. Mar. 19 - Southampton, UK @ Southampton 1865 Sun. Mar. 20 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Tue. Mar. 22 - Dublin, IR @ 3Olympia Theatre Wed. Mar. 23 - Belfast, UK @ The Limelight Thu. Mar. 24 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Fri. Mar. 25 - Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop Sat. Mar. 26 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy Sun. Mar. 27 - Leeds, UK @ Leeds University Union Mon. Mar. 28 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol Tue. Mar. 29 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk Wed. Mar. 30 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Thu. Mar. 31 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Thu. Apr. 14 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Fri. Apr. 15 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Sat. Apr. 16 - Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre Sun. Apr. 17 - Roseville, CA @ Event Lawn at Virgin Hotels * Mon. Apr. 18 - Las Vegas, NV @ Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Tue. Apr. 19 - Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall Wed. Apr. 20 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (EARLY SHOW) Wed. Apr. 20 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (LATE SHOW) - SOLD OUT Fri. Apr. 22 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Sat. Apr. 23 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues Mon. Apr. 25 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace Tue. Apr. 26 - Houston, TX @ The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Wed. Apr. 27 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin Thu. Apr. 28 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues - Cambridge Room Sat. Apr. 30 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East Sun. May 1 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre Tue. May 3 - Columbia, SC @ The Senate Wed. May 4 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage Thu. May 5 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Fri. May 6 - Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s Rhythm Grille Sat. May 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Sun. May 8 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore - SOLD OUT Tue. May 10 - Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Électriques Wed. May 11 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground - SOLD OUT Thu. May 12 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop - SOLD OUT Fri. May 13 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar Sat. May 14 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Sun. May 15 - St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall - SOLD OUT Tue. May 17 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Wed. May 18 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Fri. May 20 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre - SOLD OUT Sun. May 22 - Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville 2022 Wed. May 25 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon - SOLD OUT Thu. May 26 - Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Fri. May 27 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre - SOLD OUT Mon. Jun. 27 - Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie Tue. Jun. 28 - Brussels, BE @ La Botanique Fri. Jul. 1 - Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter 2022 Mon. Jul. 4 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Tue. Jul. 5 - Berlin, DE @ SO36 Wed. Jul. 6 - Hamburg, DE @ Moltow Backyard Thu. Jul. 7 - Cologne, DE @ Gebäude Fri. Jul. 22 - Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Showground Fri. Jul. 29 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Sat. Oct. 8 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival * supporting King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it. “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
Photo by Cecil Sykes Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience. You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website .
