CHARGED G.B.H. : 1981-1984

 

Charged GBH, commonly known as GBH, is an English street punk band which was formed in 1978. 1982 saw the release of GBH’s first LP, City Baby Attacked By Rats which reached number 17 in the UK charts as well as Number 2 in the respected UK Indie charts where the bands singles had also taken up residence, leading to a memorable appearance on legendary UK TV programme The Tube doing “Give Me Fire” (UK Indie chart no 2). This 64 track 4 CD clamshell box set captures the most successful and influential years of the band and has an amazing booklet as well.

I first was aware of G.B.H. back in 1983 and first got an album of theirs in 1985, the classic City Baby Attacked By Rats. I put it on the turntable and was hooked right away with the power and intensity of the album. After all these years, the album still has that effect on me. The raw force of the band comes at you like a freight train and never lets up, a change from the more ’77 punk that I was listening to at the time. I then got City Baby’s Revenge and was happy to hear that they had lost none of the power that I loved from the first album, they had actually become tighter and stronger players. I later got Leather, Bristles, Studs, And Acne and loved the pure fire of the early songs. Disc 1 contains the band’s first release, the Leather, Bristles, Studs And Acne 12” which reached the Indie Chart Top Ten in 1981 and now comes with the addition of the “Sick Boy” and “No Survivors” singles. This is a great jumping off point to hear just how intense the band was at the time and how they still can make your hair stand on end after all these years. CD 2 is debut LP City Baby Attacked By Rats, which now comes with the addition of the UK National hit single “Give Me Fire.” This is one of the best albums I have ever heard and fills me with energy and thrills me to this very day. Continuing on with the speed and devastation of their first album, CD 3 is City Babies Revenge, the band’s second studio album, and an Independent Chart Top Ten smash, and it now comes with the bonus of the “Catch 23” and “Do What You Do” singles. The final disc is a 14 track live in concert from 1983 that gives the listener a taste of what this incredible band was like on a hot night.

The band is still going to this day and will continue to blow the punters away with their in your face performance. This is a dream come true, the best of the best and sounding great after all these years.

http://gbhuk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/GBH.official/

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/cherryredrecords

http://captainoi.com/

https://www.facebook.com/captainoirecords

SALVATION CITY ROCKERS: Too Young To Die…Too Fast To Live…Street Punk Is The Only Way Out!: LP/CD

French street punks Salvation City Rockers from Paris combine old school punk, some ska, a touch of reggae and street punk on this LP to great effect. It’s always a treat getting an album from a band that goes beyond your expectations.

This album is incredibly varied, and every song comes with a lot of feeling, emotion and melody. The fantastic guitar playing, pounding drums, driving bass and Hammond organ mix together for a collective sound that borders on terrific. Singer Alteau’s voice suits everything on here, from the punk rock songs, to the more 2-Tone tinged numbers. This has the sound of a touch of RANCID, and in turn THE CLASH as well, but it still sounds fresh and exciting. Song after song are tightly played and sung with conviction and power, making you want to keep replaying the album again and again. I can’t pick just a few songs that I like, since I enjoyed them all and will for a long time. They do a great cover of the Teddybears song “Punk Rocker,” and you get to see Bernie Dexter doing her great pin-up look on the cover and inside too.

This was a great old sounding street punk album that carries on the great tradition of Oi! into the future with a performance that makes your hair stand on end. Grab a copy, lace up the boots, and crank this bad boy up!

https://www.facebook.com/SalvationCityRockers

https://www.facebook.com/JoePogoRecords

http://www.joepogorecords.com/

RAZORBLADE: Days Of Glory: CD

Since 2000 RAZORBLADE has released six full-length albums on CD and LP, two compilation albums, a CD single, five 7” records, and contributed songs to numerous samplers and are therefore probably one of the most productive Oi!/streetpunk bands from the Netherlands.

You get eleven hard-hitting songs that drip with anger, power and energy that will definitely get you up off of your ass and bouncing off of the walls. The album is packed with anthemic chants and melodies, brutal power combined with singalongs, lyrics dripping with words about life and a message of survival and persistence. “Long Road Ahead” is a personal song Wouter wrote for his newborn son that I’m sure he will appreciate when he gets older. They throw in a great BADLANDS cover “Back In History” and just pummel you with a fantastic album that just gets better the more that you listen to it.

A great album that gives you the chance to hear a band playing at the top of their game and blowing away any and all pretenders to the throne. This shit is the real deal…buy it!!!

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRazorblade  https://www.facebook.com/rebellionrecords

http://www.rebellionrecords.nl/

THE HEX BOMBS: Collected Works: 2006 – 2013: Download

This collection is a download only and available outside of North America and showcases this fantastic street punk band’s tight and intense earlier releases. Twelve songs with great lyrics and power from this band from Kalamazoo, MI.

As soon as you hit play you get drawn into the intensity that this band gives to their songs. Every song is catchy, has a chorus that gets stuck in your head and has incredible gang vocals that will get you singing along to the album. This is the kind of stuff that puts a smile on my face and restores my faith in punk rock. There’s not a duff track on here and this is one of the few bands that constantly has one great release after another without any lowering of quality. From the production to the playing and the vocals, this is the real deal and every replay of this album just gets better. It makes me want to grab a pint, stand up and shout along with them and slam dance like a maniac.

I really can’t give this band enough praise, I love them and will be a fan forever. If you can grab a copy of this, or the original singles they put out, do it!!!

https://www.facebook.com/thehexbombs  https://www.facebook.com/PiratesPressRecords

http://www.piratespressrecords.com/  https://www.facebook.com/eastgrandrc

https://www.facebook.com/eastgrandrc  http://eastgrandrc.com/home.cfm

THE HEX BOMBS: None Shall Be Forgotten: 7″

THE HEX BOMBS formed in 2006 in Kalamazoo, MI and have been putting out great music since then. This new two song single has the added bonus of Mike McColgan (STREET DOGS) lending his distinct vocal talents to the song “None Shall be Forgotten”.

Tight street punk with energy, gang vocals and harder than the steel toe Dr Martens that kick you in the head when you fall down drunk on the dance floor, the first song just blows you away. “None Shall be Forgotten” is one of the best songs that I’ve heard in a long time and the added vocals of McColgan just give it the extra edge that makes this an instant classic. The powerful playing, full of energy and the emotive singing all wrapped in a one of the catchiest songs ever…wow! Now with such a great start, you’d think that they couldn’t match it, but they do on the next track that just blazes. “Destination U.S.A.” is a great, biting song that rages from start to finish.

What a great single, two blistering songs that are some of the best music that I’ve heard all year, regardless of genre. You need this single, I need more from them, buy this so they can make more music…simple!

https://www.facebook.com/thehexbombs  https://www.facebook.com/PiratesPressRecords

http://www.piratespressrecords.com/  https://www.facebook.com/eastgrandrc

https://www.facebook.com/eastgrandrc  http://eastgrandrc.com/home.cfm

 

DOG COMPANY: A Bullet For Every Lie: 12″

DOG COMPANY were formed in early 2004 and put their first album out in 2008 and now have their sophomore release out. They play streetpunk / Oi! with short, punchy songs that get their message out to the listener as quickly as possible.

The band gets right down to business with their biting lyrics and fast-paced songs that include quick solos, lots of cool riffs, thick bass, hammering drums, gang vocals aplenty, and slightly gruff at times lead vocals. The band really gives us a ton of catchy choruses and melody galore on this release. The high energy songs are perfect for raising a beer or three to and grabbing your buddies and having a slam dance . The only problem is that the songs go by so fast that you really need to put this on repeat and listen to it a few times in a row, I just want more music from them damn it!

A very cool release on colored vinyl that will get your ass moving and get you shouting along with. It was also really cool to get a CD copy included with the vinyl.

https://www.facebook.com/dogcompany  https://www.facebook.com/contrapunkrecords

http://www.contra-net.com/record/index.html

VOI!CE OF AMERICA: Volume One: 7″

Voi!ce of America is a new series of 7″ compilations from Oi! the Boat Records highlighting Oi! bands from different parts of the country. Volume 1 tackles the southwest of the U.S.A. and features THE WARLORDS, BRICKTOP, THE TOUGHSKINS, and ALL CITY BOOTBOYS. Each band gets one song to give us all that they have and win us over.

First up is THE WARLORDS with “Aggro”, a hard-hitting bruiser of a song with great, gruff vocals and a chorus that will get you singing along and hyped up. BRICKTOP gives us “Walk Away”, a song with gang vocals aplenty, great guitar playing and a fast pace that continues and even ups the energy level from the first song. THE TOUGHSKINS rip through their song, “Numb” with urgency and a nice fuzzy guitar sound. ALL CITY BOOTBOYS are last on the bill and their song, “Sleeping Where We Fall” starts off with terrific bass guitar, a bit of guitar, then the drums kick in and off we go! A great song with energy and nice gruff vocals and gang vocals that made this a perfect end to a great EP.

Four songs that are all meat, no fat or gristle here at all, tasty and still leaves you wanting more. This is a great way to hear some bands that may be new to you and then go out and get more from them. A great sampler from a label that never fails to release winners.

https://www.facebook.com/oitheboat  http://www.oitheboat.com/news

VICTORY: Laced Up: 7″

This is the debut four song release from VICTORY, a street punk band from St Paul, Minneapolis. The band is composed of ex-members of THE SUBVERSIVES, EIGHTYSIXED, THE VIRGIN WHORES and PIST & BROKE.

This was so well promoted that it completely sold out one hour and 45 minutes after the preorder started and had a second pressing done…pretty damn sweet! “Laced Up” is about skinhead pride and you can hear the sincerity in the singer’s voice while the band rips things up behind him. “American Nightmare” is a song that wants to put the boots to shitty state of affairs in America for the working stiffs and is a damn fine angry song. “Glory Days” has a fantastic chorus, the band is playing with conviction and has you remember your glory days. “Real Heroes” opens with the “I love the smell of napalm…” sound bite from Apocalypse Now and was written by WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Piché who passed away in 2011. It is a very strong and intense song about fallen heroes and what they gave for the world.

With only four songs, it really leaves you wanting more and going back to re-listen to it again. They really are showing everyone how good Oi! can be and how powerful it can be to get your message out.

https://www.facebook.com/oivictoryoi  https://www.facebook.com/oitheboat

http://www.oitheboat.com/

STRONGBOW / DOG COMPANY: Split: 7″

Dresden, Germany’s STRONGBOW have found their complement in Dallas, Texas’ punk outfit DOG COMPANY. Both bands play punk rock with a nod to a more classic, straight forward approach mixed with street punk energy and they do it well.

STRONGBOW’s “These Nights” and “Blind” both showcase a tight band with great energy and enthusiasm and two memorable songs. Great stuff. DOG COMPANY’s “Not Dead Yet” and “Everybody’s Your Best Friend” are the demo versions on the vinyl and the finished release on the download, which is a very cool pressing error. Both versions are great fun and full of kick in the teeth power. Of course the production and sound is tighter on the download, but I enjoyed both versions.

The split is a definite treat with both bands putting their own spin on punk rock and giving us a taste of their catalogue and it makes you want to go out and grab more from both. Check this out and sing along with a couple of bands that prove you don’t need to be trendy, just good.

https://www.facebook.com/Strongbowpunk  http://www.strongbow-punkrock.de/

https://www.facebook.com/dogcompany  https://www.facebook.com/blackholerecs

http://blackholerecords.bigcartel.com/  https://www.facebook.com/contrapunkrecords

http://www.contra-net.com/

DOG COMPANY: Self-titled EP: 7″

DOG COMPANY was formed in early 2004 and have tried to keep up the tradition of political punk rock with no frills and no bullshit. This Texas band throws down two songs stick to those core values in spades and gives you a reason to love punk again.

“Burn Washington Burn” and “Last Call” are two barn storming songs that have a bit of street punk and a lot of verve and energy to get you rocking out while listening to intelligent lyrics. The band plays tight and keeps the power going on both songs and really made for a great single.

These guys need to put out an album and I need to go and see them live because if they are this good on this single, they must really kick ass live. Grab this and support real, honest to goodness punk rock.

https://www.facebook.com/dogcompany  https://www.facebook.com/brasscitybosssounds