Browsing Tag

UK Punk

Vagabond gave Forever the scratched-with-coming-of-age fervour of classic pop-punk

Posted on 13 August 2026

Get drunk on pop-punk nostalgia with Vagabond’s latest single, Forever. The York-based raw melodic punk trio, formed in 2023, brought classic pop-punk teeth into a modern bite, filling the track with the kind of emotional punch that proves punk still has blood under its fingernails.

The way the chugging chords swagger angst straight into the diehard romantic anthem, as the guitars audibly prime themselves to pounce in the chorus, and the vocals embody the scratched-with-coming-of-age fervour of 00s and 90s pop-punk, gives Forever a sense of old-school authenticity that many attempt to emulate but rarely encapsulate.

Vagabond remembered the secret ingredient for voraciously visceral pop-punk: sacrificing a slice of your vulnerable soul to the studio to bring into fruition an abrasive mirror of the pain you face when you cannot face the prospect of a temporary connection. The production keeps the band’s DIY ethos intact while giving the hook enough lift to feel built for sweaty pits in Northern venues and beyond.

Vagabond’s mix of playful observation and a proper working-class panache fire up their blistering riffs, relentless bass and pounding drums enough to give them a high-energy reputation that’s impossible to ignore.

Forever is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vagabond – Pretty Boy: MILF Melodrama with Pop-Punk Hooks and Rotten-Eyed Swagger

Posted on 19 June 2026

Vagabond orchestrated the ultimate MILF melodrama with Pretty Boy, a rough-around-all-the-right-edges melodic punk single that delivers one of the most honest depictions of youthful, unfulfilled lust. If you can imagine how it would have resonated if Stacey’s Mom carried the full weight of self-defacing teen testosterone, you would get a good idea of how sharp the raw contours of Pretty Boy feel, all hormonal voltage, smirking confession and bedroom-wall frustration. The York band take punk influence from both sides of the Atlantic, injecting bouncy, hook-impaled pop-punk euphoria into snarling energy that borrows a few echoes of Johnny Rotten-esque debauched angst.

Formed in 2023, Vagabond have built a name across the Northern music scene through explosive live shows, blistering riffs, relentless bass and pounding drums, balancing playful observations with emotional punch. Their DIY ethos runs through Pretty Boy with the same sweaty immediacy as the performance itself, keeping the track sharp and scrappy while leaving its rougher pleasures intact. With its collision of classic pop-punk fun, modern melodic punk edge and cheeky social theatre, Pretty Boy proves Vagabond can turn adolescent fantasy into a full-throttle anthem.

Pretty Boy is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TWO TONNE MACHETE Shattered the Illusion of Guaranteed Sanctuary in the Alt-Punk Anthem ‘HOME’

Posted on 8 May 2025

TWO TONNE MACHETE have palpably perfected the art of tempering scuzz with melody when alchemising kinetic alt-punk earworms that slither past the ear canal and right into the synapses and demand serotonin to fire. Lashed with distortion, charged with volition, and weaponised with vindication for the pain of people who can never contemplate the concept of ‘home’ without feeling an agonising sting, HOME tears through the comfort illusion in a way only TTM could.

The North West-based feminist punk band have built a reputation on putting unapologetic vulnerability into anthemic form, and HOME is no exception. Channelling grief—personal and political—through quiet/loud dynamics, grungy bass hooks and juxtaposing screaming guitar solos, this single hits the solar plexus while the message bites deeper. Inspired by the violence of displacement, with the brutality inflicted on those stripped of homes, lives, and identity, especially in Palestine, the emotional charge is never performative; it’s carved into the structure and spat out through Emily’s searing vocal performance.

It’s easy to see why TWO TONNE MACHETE are thriving in the UK alt punk scene; through honed songwriting and rancorous abandon in all the right places, they don’t just hit the spot, they tear through it and leave a sonic scar. With this single marking their first release since signing, and the momentum building through a series of 2025 shows, the stage is set for a summer where no injustice will go unheard.

HOME is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

70s Punk was Hooked by Power Pop in Twilight Avenue’s Seminal Release, Road Rage

Posted on 15 March 2024

Twilight Avenue, a band that embodies the spirit of unity and the thrill of discovery, has unleashed a potent force in their eponymous debut EP. At its heart lies ‘Road Rage‘, a track that bridges the gaps between proto-punk and power-pop and serves as a timeless anthem for the disenchanted.

This Southport-based quartet, comprising Myles Thompson, Alex Ormand, Kyle Chadwick, and George Fitton, has crafted a riotous production that echoes the punk ethos, breathing life into the rolling rhythms that are as fierce as the title suggests. For those yearning for a new punk-rock earworm, ‘Road Rage’ is a revelation.

With an endlessly energetic edge, Twilight Avenue pays homage to the 70s punk scene while infusing it with fresh fervour. The hard riffs, groovy beats, and alternating vox create a dynamic that is as infectious as it is efficacious. Hit play and get your fill of exhilaration.

Stream the debut EP from Twilight Avenue in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jump Jump Joan made sparks fly in their vintage tone-wrapped pop-punk hit, This Night

Posted on 6 November 2023

Jump Jump Joan cruised in on a riptide of surf punk with their stylistically exhilarant standout single, This Night, taken from their debut EP, This is Us, which hit the airwaves on September 1st.

By the time the palpitatingly sweet chorus hits, you’ll be wishing that all pop-punk hits were as vintagely hued as This Night; as momentum drives through the overdriven guitar lines, the lead vocals drape seductively magnetic harmonies over the rancour to create a natural anchor amidst the chaos.

There aren’t many outfits that can hold vocal candles to the likes of Debbie Harry and Dolores O’Riordan, but if any powerhouse can hold their own against the icons, it is the Somerset-hailing ensemble who are already making major waves across streaming platforms and winning favour from the likes of Blitzcat Records and Honk Magazine. We’re stoked to see Jump Jump Joan hold dominion over the UK punk scene in 2024.

Stream This Night on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FLEAS became agitated alt-punk icons in the making with the visceral rancour in their post-rock hit, Nightmare

Posted on 17 February 2023

Slip into the visceral disquietude of the latest single, Nightmare, from the Suffolk-based alt-punk five-piece FLEAS.

Starting with a raw spoken-word verse over sludgy post-rock guitars, the candid rancour slowly builds until you’re palpitating at the same pace of the frenetic arrangement that conceptually ties together to replicate the sensation of being torn from a dark trip curated by your subconscious mind.

FLEAS banded together while studying at West Suffolk College, which saw them put their own spin on an iconic track by Slaves and finding the inspiration to orchestrate their signature aggressively versatile sound. Since forming, FLEAS have been lauded by BBC Introducing, won the NMG award for the best rock act and supported major acts, including Fightmilk and Dingus Khan.

The reissue of Nightmare will officially release on February 17th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Honeybadger is out for blood in their biting alt-punk hit, Cold Wind

Posted on 6 February 2023

After hearing the ferocity of the grungy punk riffs in Honeybadger’s latest single, Cold Wind, there is no room to question how the Brighton-based sonic juggernauts came about their moniker.

With a tonal palette that makes Oh Sees sound sedate, Cold Wind is a high-octane psychedelically off-kilter whirlwind through the breakthrough act’s ingenuity and technical ability. Lyrically, Cold Wind spits venom at the type of frauds destined to trip over their contradictions after falsifying the truth to fit their insidious agenda.

Everyone has met one such protagonist, and Cold Wind is the ultimate vindicating middle finger with the boisterous rolling punches. Playing chaotically is one thing; orchestrating tightly disordered anthemics is quite another, and that is exactly where Honeybadger, who had a riotous 2022, excel.

Since forming in 2014, Honeybadger has stormed stages across the UK and featured on BBC Introducing, BBC Live Lounge and Wyatt Wendel’s Planet Rock show. Though we are sure the best is yet to come.

Cold Wind was officially released on January 28th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hybridic indie punks Junior Bill painted an anthemic picture of injustice with ‘Boys from Jungle’

Posted on 4 February 2023

With socially conscious lyrics as hard-hitting as the ones penned by Bob Vylan, Kid Kapichi, Meryl Streek, Junior Bill are way ahead of the trend of cuttingly observational and compassionate lyricism in their latest single, Boys from Jungle. Punk boomers who bemoan the wokeness of contemporary punk may want to save their blood pressure spiking by looking away from the hit that advocates the rights of asylum seekers and paints a stark picture of the injustice that greets them when they arrive on our blighted shores.

Rather than skating by on their lyrical wit alone, Junior Bill concocts awakeningly volatile alt-indie instrumental ensembles that are lightyears away from the usually brashy swagger of UK indie rock. With off-kilter guitars that wouldn’t be out of place in the alt-90s no-wave movement and the post-punk nuances tearing through the rhythm section, getting wrapped up in the hybridic punk aesthetic is non-optional.

Boys from the Jungle is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, Youth Club!, which more than has the potential to become the UK alternative album of the year.

Boys from Jungle officially released on January 27th. It is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skitz Wizards sharpened their knives in ‘Anger as a Weapon’

Posted on 25 January 2023

The title single from Skitz Wizards’ 2023 EP, Anger as a Weapon, is a vitriolic hardcore punk cut above the rest. There’s enough cathartic venom to make the reprehensible actions of our disaster capitalist overlords momentarily bearable.

With ample distortion in their arsenal, the Nottingham-based outfit, which says true to the virtue of early anarcho-punk, is abrasive enough to put Napalm Death in the same league as Ed Sheeran.

Founded in 2021, the duo set out to extend sonic escapism to the downtrodden. Given the socio-politically agitated environment we are all suffocating in as poverty becomes more prolific, it should come as no surprise that plenty of the increasingly disenfranchised populous is tuning into the raw distorted bass and breakdowns that can effortlessly match our own mental turmoil.

Anger as a Weapon is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Buzzcocks made it a little less grim up north with their single, Manchester Rain

Posted on 18 September 2022

‘When it rains, it pours’ seems to be the perfect adage to capture the deluge of dissatisfaction drizzling over the entirety of the UK. But Buzzcocks siphoned euphonic punk rock dynamism from the dismal atmosphere in their single, Manchester Rain, taken from their upcoming studio album, Sonics in the Soul.

Inspired by the relentless motivation of grassroots artists to keep the scene thriving in Manchester, Manchester Rain is a smorgasbord of riotous optimism. One that will stir even the most ennui-soaked souls through the blasts galvanic garagey guitars and assertively upbeat vocals that create hooks sharp enough to hang your leather jacket on.

In the tragic wake of Pete Shelley, co-founder and co-singer-songwriter Steve Diggle has kept the buzz reverberating through their iconic-since-the-70s-sound. Shelley would undoubtedly be proud of Buzzcocks continuing to stand at the vanguard of punk-rock euphoria.

Sonics in the Soul will release on CD, Vinyl and across streaming platforms on September 23rd. Until then, weather the precipitation in Manchester Rain on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast