What-A-Nights
Self Titled
Drunken Sailor (2013)
What-A-Nights are a Japanese four-piece punk group, mostly falling on the pop-punk side of the spectrum, with some tight Buzzcocks sensibility seeping in. Their self-titled full-length, first self-released in Japan and now brought to the larger masses by Drunk Sailor Records, brings ten songs of soaring melody, hooky guitar, and positive vibes.The songs, while labeled as pop-punk, utilize the guitar far more than vocals in achieving their hooks all the way down to the melodies. Vocalist Spalding has a roughshod voice with limited range. He does what’s required for the songs, but never stretches a note or creates his own melodies. Instead, it’s the guitar work that both he and Masahide exhibit that pulls the songs and helps them grow. For example, in “Nothing Funny, Nothing Serious,” there is an epic, building feeling that hits home, yet this comes without any flourishes on the vocals, instead through the two guitar attach and steady drumming. It’s got the singalong aspect down, but it doesn’t cheapen the songs with a gang vocal or whoa-oh, it just says its piece and keeps on pummeling. The beauty of the songs comes in their clean crafting and execution, not as much from the raw side … Read more
A Secret Policeman's Ball
Teenage Crimewave
MVD Audio (2013)
Who needs functioning eardrums anyway? A Secret Policeman’s Ball play post-punk indie music with new wave undertones, and there is … Read more
Infectious Garage Disease
Self Titled
Negative Reaction / MVD Audio (2013)
The gods of weird have unearthed yet another obscure group of misfits and re-unleashed them upon those of us that … Read more
Author & Punisher
Women & Children
Seventh Rule (2013)
The enigmatic figure of Tristan Shone, a mechanical engineer/metal sculptor, is the driving force behind the Author & Punisher project. … Read more
