Browsing Tag

Proto Punk

LUXTHEREAL has unleashed the alt-rock soundtrack to our destruction, Humanity’s Fall

Posted on 26 June 2022

The latest single, Humanity’s Fall, from the Phoenix Arizona hailing artist LUXTHEREAL, sonically resonates like a sombre-breakup track but the only thing that has departed is the promise of an empire that will stand the test of our destruction. The concept is stunning; the execution of the atmospherically hooky harbinger is equally sublime.

With a touch of proto-punk, garage rock and post-punk, there is a protestive vein running right through the intrinsically melodic body of the single, which forces you to contemplate our failures. And sure, it’s nice to dissociate and shop for your favourite nerd items on Amazon while the anthropocene raises the temperature and the parasites with shoes, otherwise known as our world leaders, carve out a new ring of hell on this side of the earth’s crust, but we can only hide our heads in the sand for so long before they boil in there. Kudos to LUXTHEREAL for being true to their moniker and delivering raw realism.

Humanity’s Fall Remastered by LUXTHEREAL is available on SPOTIFY & ALL major streaming services, you can view the video here!

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Prods struck a satrical pose in their punk-meets-Britpop hit, Catalogue Model

Posted on 20 May 2022

White-hot frenetic punk guitars meet Sleaford Mods-Esque satirical animosity in The Prods’ latest single, Catalogue Model. With a bite of Blur in the Britpop nuances, Catalogue Model throws texture from all across the alt-spectrum to originally outscore every playfully scathing hit to precede it.

I just wish I could have been in the room while the concept of a track around the swagger of a 1980s catalogue model was born. The London-hailing outfit is clearly a cut above the rest when creating ridiculously immersive pop-hooked punk hits.

Catalogue Model officially released on May 20th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Weimar started an art-rock riot in their off-kilter ode to the glamour of the American Dream in ‘The Girls of LA’

Posted on 27 March 2022

Manchester’s most Avant-Garde art-rock collective, Weimar, came in with all glamorous guns blazing in their latest single, The Girls of LA, which increased the anticipation of the things to come in their eagerly awaited debut album, Dancing on a Volcano.

With a shift from their usual baroque post-punk style, The Girls of LA is a departure from what the airwaves acquiesced to before but Weimar knew exactly what they were doing by bringing this riotous bop-worthy track to the aural table in turbulent times. Sonic escapism doesn’t come much sweeter than when its off the back of the sunset strip.

The energy parallels that of the most enlivening tracks by the Ramones but with their signature artful gravitas, its proto-punk as you’ve never known it before. As the lyrics reflect on the high-class American dream, the endlessly off-kilter instruments drive up the discord into infectious heights. It has all the makings of an alt-rock earworm paired with the finesse of a muso’s Achilles heel.

Girls of LA will officially release on March 25th; you can check it out by heading to SoundCloud and Weimar’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Schoolboys have released their very 2022 new-wave-meets-proto-punk love song, Think About It

Posted on 2 March 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjps0bKXZZ0

So many of the greatest songs have been written on hard and fast infatuation. The Schoolboys evaded all the usual tropes that have long since been outdated in their latest new-wave-meets-proto-punk single, Think About It.

If I told you the track itself was as sweet as the lyrics, “Isn’t this just what you asked for? I see you give up too fast, you should never walk away when there’s still something you want” would you even believe me?

The Schoolboys originally formed in 2021 as an alt-rock band in Reading, England, under the influence of the Strokes and the Smiths. Based on Think About It, the nostalgically-minded outfit had no trouble finding their own warmly overdriven sonic signature. Any fans of the Violent Femmes, Joy Division and Modest Mouse will undoubtedly want to pay attention.

Think About It is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Proto-punk bites back in Underdog’s seminal punch-drunk alt-rock track, Over and Over

Posted on 10 January 2022

Over and Over (Northern Lights) is the seminal proto-punk track from Boston’s most boisterous alt-rock powerhouse, Underdog. It may be harder for new artists to register as obsession-worthy from the first hit, but the college radio rock vibes mixed with the lo-fi scuzz and energy that stems from the frustration that resounds around monotony makes a riotously magnetic track out of Over and Over.

Thankfully, the band that has been charting as the top alternative band in Boston since establishing in 2013 didn’t allow their creativity to buckle during the quarantine. Their album, Trans Global Amnesia, is due for release in the Spring of 2022. Any fans of the New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers and the Ramones will want Underdog on their radars – it is only a matter of time before their moniker becomes unfitting.

Over and Over is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kilo Bravo speak for the Gen Z generation in their scuzzy proto-punk track, Personality

Posted on 28 September 2021

Long Beach, CA fourpiece, Kilo Bravo, has released their scuzzy proto-punk single, Personality, which takes a cynical look at our soulless social fabric and makes a fiery yet self-aware and grounded stance against it.

With lyrics such as “I don’t know what I don’t know, but I’ve got soul” and “everyone has a white picket fence, and I’m still living with my parents, it’s hard not to be drawn in by the mindful candour. Personality truly epitomises the sense of hopelessness that is becoming endemic in Gen Z. We honestly couldn’t be more excited by the potential of Kilo Bravo.

Any fans of Teenage Fanclub, Weezer and Pavement will want to delve into Kilo Bravo’s debut album, Chew This Show.

Personality is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt-Rock Pioneers Roulettes Have Released Their Racorously Cold Proto-Punk Single, Fading Sun

Posted on 24 September 2021

The Roulettes’ fourth single, Fading Sun, from their album, Demosphere, will be music to the ears of proto-punk, post-punk, garage rock and indie fans alike.

Straight off the bat, you’re plunged into a cold atmosphere orchestrated by throbbing basslines, harsh snares and rancorously overdriven guitars. Around the glitchy electronica, psych-rock tendencies start to flourish as the single unravels and warmth seeps into the mix through the vocals that carry the same enamouring appeal of Julian Casablancas (The Strokes).

The New Zealand-based duo’s album may have never seen a recording studio, but discernibly, that didn’t get in the way of the prodigal sons creating one of the most exciting alt-rock albums of 2021. Save room on your radar.

You can check out the official video for Fading Sun via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The raconteurs of enigmatic garage rock Damn Jackals have released their proto-punk earworm, Lovely Nuthin’.

Posted on 22 July 2021

Outside of New York, garage rock and proto-punk seems to lack the same raucously charming bite; that wasn’t a concern of Brooklyn, NY-based 5-piece Damn Jackals; they eclipsed the frenetically vintage vibe with their latest single, Lovely Nuthin’.

The enigmatic raconteurs of rock n roll take influence from 60s Garage Rock, 70s Glam and CBGB-style-Punk to leave your soul as fuzzy as the lead vocals and guitars. When the chorus hits, the same hook-filled magnetism of modern indie-garage rock outfits such as the Strokes draws you even deeper into the single that every outlier will want on their playlists.

Check out Damn Jackals on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast