PUNK FACTION : BHP ’91 to’95 by David Gamage

Punk Faction, BHP ’91 to ’95, is a 280-page book collecting together the articles, interviews and reviews from the punk music and alternative lifestyle fanzine.
It contains interviews with Goober Patrol, Angus Bagpipe, Pseudo Hippies, Green Day, Hard-Ons, Ramones, SNFU, Quicksand, All, MTX, Sugar, Alloy, Samiam, Compulsion, Down By Law, Rancid, Shelter, Jawbreaker, Pennywise, Civ, Riverdales, as well as Daniel Clowes and Steven Jesse Bernstein. It also contains tour and scene reports, and articles on everything from censorship to prejudice, hunt saboteurs to third world debt, vegetarianism and the environment, as well as hundreds of live and record reviews.
Now collected into one book, with an introduction from the editor/author and a foreword by Frank Turner.

David Gamage says in his introduction that some of the things he wrote back when he was doing this zine that some parts were a little naive on his being so young, but it is a snapshot of what was going on in his area and in his heart and mind back then. The book is a collection of the complete zines from this time period, warts and all, and in the case of the first few issues… a lot of warts. The first few issues while interesting, suffer from being hard to read because of the poor fonts, bad printing from the time period, small size and the confusing and jumbled layout. As time moves forward, things start to improve and it becomes a lot clearer and easier to read everything. Even though it seems like a complaint, it is cool to see the zines in all their glory. The writing is pretty good, lots of info in the articles, interesting and humourous interviews and cool reviews of shows and music. Some of the political articles sound preachy, but that’s how most of them still sound today. While not agreeing with everything written in these zines, it’s easy to skip over the things that I don’t care about, just like reading the originals and focus on the more interesting, at least to me, stuff. I can see the hard work that was put into these when they were originally done, and for that, I salute you and all the effort put into them.

A great snapshot of bands that have gotten bigger, gone away, or just forgotten, and a scene that didn’t get a lot of press in the larger zines of the time. Of course, it’s always sad to see zines go away, but at least this one will not be forgotten with this fantastic collection that everyone interested in punk and hardcore should get.

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ARTHUR WALWIN: For One More Night: CD

Arthur Walwin is a singer, songwriter and producer from South East London, and has struck out from his band Paige to release his first solo EP. Arthur Walwin started on YouTube recording covers before writing his own original music and has put seven original songs on this release.

“Blame it On the Weather” starts with great piano before the drums kick in and gives you an idea of what the rest of the EP has in store. “All For You” has a great piano and rock guitar riff that makes for a beautiful balance of songwriting. I am amazed that more people have not heard of Arthur Walwin, he is a great singer and musician with real emotion in his music. “Older Posts” adds a female vocalist who gives the track a nice extra sound that makes for a real treat. “So Nice To Meet You” has some great guitar riffs and keeps the great music going. “Wisteria Lane Poker Club” is a heavier track on the EP and has strong guitar, confident vocals and precision drumming that is full of emotion and power. Final track “Don’t Lean On Me” is a great song that ends everything perfectly.

This was a very nice look into Walwin’s music palette and it’s full of colors that will brighten your day. Give this EP a spin and let the sound grab you.

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I.R.I.S.: Out of Fiction: CD

Kent, U.K.’s IRIS is a rock band that has some punk and post hardcore leanings in their music and it adds the crunch that adds a lot of flavor to this EP. Their name stands for IN RETROSPECT I SEE.

This first official release from this four man group has a lot of energy in its six songs that are full of hooks and have a big sound for such a new band. They sound like they want to play big venues with the way the production was done, lots of clear, clean guitar work, bouncy bass, the drums crashing away and the soaring vocals from lead singer Adam Smart. You get some snotty vocals, some screaming from Smart as well as a ton of woah-ohs thrown in the songs throughout the EP. The last song “Thicker than Water”  is an acoustic track with some really nice guitar work, harmonized vocals and heartfelt vocals from Smart.

Check out this album, they’ve done a really good job with it, and they deserve to get their name out there internationally.

https://www.facebook.com/Iris.Official.page  https://www.facebook.com/engineerrecords   http://engineerrecords.com/

THE AFTERPARTY: Restless: CD

This five piece pop rock group from the U.K. has four really catchy songs on this four song EP. They’ve been around since early in 2010 and show a lot of promise on these songs.

These guys are very poppy, but not cheesy, with bouncy and catchy songs that stuck with me after just one listen. “Sticks And Stones” shows off the band’s talent with it’s energetic playing, a chorus perfect for singing along with and is contagious. “So Much To Say” starts off a bit more mellow, then is goes bashing out into yet another catchy chorus, “Diamond Eyes” starts a bit mellower before building up into a punchy chorus, and “How To Let Go” is a perfect way to end the EP off with. They have driving guitars, soaring choruses and great drumming that propel the songs along at a quick pace that made me have to listen to the EP again.

They aren’t one of those over-hyped up bands that want to change the world, they are a band that’s bringing you great music with no pretensions, just have some fun and listen to us. It’s a refreshing change to hear a band that has talent, good songs and makes me feel good while listening to them, instead of crying about how crappy everything is all of the time.

https://www.facebook.com/theafterpartyofficial  http://afterpartyuk.bigcartel.com/   https://www.facebook.com/engineerrecords  http://engineerrecords.com/

WE CAME FROM WOLVES: Cope:

This five song EP from Perth, Scotland’s WE CAME FROM WOLVES has put out a really cool bunch of songs that have massive potential for getting a room full of people to sing along with them.

You can hear the Scottish accent in the vocals which was a nice thing to hear for a change since most vocalists try to sing without an accent, I think that it added something to the songs, some personality that’s missing from a lot of other bands doing rock music nowadays. The band puts out a great rock sound with some modern touches and a bit of a punkish underbelly, but never veering too far that way. The songs are very melodic and catchy and will be getting played more often in my car so I can sing along and soak up the energy and love that they’ve put into the music. The title track “Cope” draws you into the album with energetic and melodic choruses and great lyrics and vocal hooks.The band is really tight and have the groove locked down which is great for such a relatively young band. The drummer is doing such a good job bringing the right amount of thump to the songs, the guitar is nice and sharp, with great bass playing as well.

I really thought that the band put a lot of effort into this release and it shows with how well the entire package was, from production, songwriting, and the playing. This is a definite winner.

https://www.facebook.com/wecamefromwolves   https://www.facebook.com/engineerrecords   http://engineerrecords.bandcamp.com/   http://engineerrecords.com/

MAKER: Self-titled: CD

MAKER is a five piece band from Springfield, MA that plays basically a mix of modern rock, post hardcore, and some almost screamo elements all mixed together. They put out their self-titled five song EP and it has a lot of energy and a lot more melody than I was expecting.

The vocals have a screamo feel at times, but they temper that with more subdued and melodic vocals in their songs which is really nice. The guitar work is nice and crisp, the drums are thumping away nicely in the back and the bass is fluid throughout the EP. The songs are actually fairly catchy which made the EP stick with me after I stopped listening to it. “Shadows” and “You Know Who You Are,” are catchier than the songs on the previous release, which was an interesting change, if this is where they are going on their future releases, it should be very cool.

These guys have taken a turn toward evolving their sound since their last release Mirrors and it really works for them. It should be interesting to see where they go from here, hopefully going in this direction and still keeping the power and excitement that they brought to this release.

https://www.facebook.com/MAKERMA  https://www.facebook.com/engineerrecords   http://engineerrecords.bandcamp.com/   http://engineerrecords.com/

THESE DAYS: Souls: CD

THESE DAYS play modern rock with a bit of pop flair mixed into their songs. This four piece from England put out their debut album with ten tracks of punchy and engaging music on it.

These guys formed in mid 2011 from a collective of various Salisbury bands DANCE KARATE, DROWNED BY OCEANS and I MET NATURE. The album starts off fairly relaxed with the song “Only You”, which has some nice vocal harmonies on it and keeps getting better as it goes on. The band has touches of pop in the instrumental pieces in some of their songs and with the catchy vocals which keep the harmonies going along the album. The album is chock full of hooks and the more you listen, the more they stay with you. The band steadily gets harder and faster as the album goes on, but not too hard to wreck the vibe that they lay down. The guitar work is full and the drummer takes care to bash away with just enough verve to make you nod your head along without going too hard, and the bass is very fluid and bouncy in places.

It took me a couple of listens, but I really got into this album, and really like it. Grab a copy and check them out.

https://www.facebook.com/TheseDaysrock   https://www.facebook.com/engineerrecords  http://engineerrecords.bandcamp.com/    http://engineerrecords.com/