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Submerse Demo

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Submerse are a small four piece band from the wonderful city that is Oxford. Taking into account that this CD was made a while back on a £20 budget, it is a damn good CD! This CD has gotten them many gigs and although they have since progressed into a more Hardcore band, this is still a quality CD with good tracks. Track 1, ‘I really like your mum’ is obvious in what the lyrics are about, and has a fast tempo with rhythmic drumming, and comical vocals in a very Punk style by the singer here. The song title makes it sound like it could be another Blink182 copycat band but the actual tune does not reflect this. Track 2, ‘Harold in Wonderland’ has the same kind of style guitar riff as the first song, keeping with the fast tempo drumming, but this song seems more Hardcore than the first song with faster, more hard hitting vocals. The third song, ‘Who are you?’ changes slightly with the Guitar and drumming as they seem to go a bit slower. To me, this track sounds kind of like track 1, but with a less catchy beat and it really doesn’t do it for me. I am not dismissing this song though, because the lyrics are still comical. Track 4, ‘strip club’ again has quite fast drumming, but the vocals don’t seem to come through too well which is probably due to the £20 budget! The fifth song, ‘M.B.W.I.T.O.Y’ really stands out on this CD as the drumming comes through very well to accompany the guitar nicely. The vocals come through awesomely on this song and the whole tune just comes out well making it a stunning track. Although this CD was made on a very low budget, most of the tracks still seem to come through quite well making it an ace Punk CD.

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Stud Lisa CD

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This is a 4 track CD from the 3 piece Punk band Stud Lisa. The first track, ‘Weekend’ is a good track with good vocals about the average sort of weekend. It is a pop punk track with some good Punk vocals, steady drumming and a good strong guitar beat. Track 2, ‘Duncan Says’ is another Pop Punk song with a great chorus. It has some strong drumming in it and very powerful guitar chords, to fit in with the Punky vocals from Al to make a great catchy tune. Track 3, ‘Captured By Your Honesty’ is another Punk tune with a catchy beat, not so serious vocals and a good instrumental side. The vocals again are very Punky in a Green Day kind of fame and have a medium kind of drumming pace. Track 4, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is also a Punk song and you can tell that this band are never goiung to pen out a serious song, which is cool becuase you know that their sould purpous is to entertain and are not going to share with you the story of death to people you know and try and depress you which is cool because the songs are not in a depressing tone and songs like this would not suit the style of the music. All in all I think that this is a good Pop Punk CD and this band have a lot of potential in their career. The vocals are good, but at times can be a little bit overpowering as they sometimes block out the instrumental side a bit and it just seems to drown it out.

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Stanxa – Yuck Fou

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This is a 7 track CD from the band Stanxa, from Dover in Kent. This music is hard to put a genre to because there is so much to take in but if I had to categorize it I would call it Melodic Emo/Punk. I like the way the vocals are sung because the style is very unique and is really melodic as well as sounding quite diverse , and I just really love the way these songs are sung. Track 4, ‘Family Values’ is a lot faster than the other 6 songs on this CD and takes a much more Punk approach than the other songs, and this works quite well making it one of the best songs on the CD in my opinion. Song 6, ‘Becky’ also differs from the other songs on this CD because the sound of the vocals changes and you get a much slower pace for the tune. The bass and guitar work well to provide a good base for the vocals to lie on, and really do make the vocals sound great, the drumming is also done really well and gives the songs their oomph. The songs are all really melodic and there is not a single song on here that changes in this way. This band knows what kind of sound they want to create and succeed in creating it making this a good CD and of great quality. I really enjoyed listening to this CD because it is easy to listen to, is very melodic and just generally has a good rhythm to it. I would expect that the band is very pleased with what they have achieved here because they have gone into the recording studio and produced some amazing songs. What makes it even better is that they are from Kent and it really shows that the music scene in Kent is very strong with some talented bands. I will try and get along to Dover to go and see this band live.

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Squad 69 – Ev’rything Sucks

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Squad 69 are a rock band that live in the West country. Before this cd they have released 2 c.d’s and a 12”. The 12” being ‘Shadowstalking’ and the 2 c.d’s being ‘Overchill’ and ‘Channel 5,’ so they are not new to the recording process, and have been in existence since 1994. They have a female lead vocalist for the first three songs that sings well and the vocals fit in well with the instruments, making it all fit together nicely to make a good rock c.d. On the fourth song, the style is slightly different and they choose to have a male vocalist which works well. The vocals are mainly sung in a more traditional rock fashion, although bits are more hardcore, and this is very noticeable in ‘If It Aint Metal.’ Whereas ‘Roaches’ takes a much softer approach and the vocals and instrument style used are much more gentle. I think that the standout song on this 4 tracker is the title track ‘Ev’rything Sucks’ because it is very melodic and it just seems to stand out among the four of these songs on the c.d. So if you like rock music, check out this c.d. or at least get onto their website and start downloading some MP3’s.

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Southpaw – Bite Size Life

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I really like this album because it seems to combine melodic emo with punk and the two just seem to gel really well together here making some top quality studio songs. There are 9 tracks on this CD and they are all top quality tunes. The first song, ‘Bite Size Life,’ the title track is an excellent song with a storming chorus with the words ‘Bite Size Life’ being stretched out and it sounds really cool, this song is definitely one of the best songs on the CD. So with this CD you get the besty song right at the beginning and it is really great to be launched straight into this melodic masterpiece. This song shows exactly what is to be expected and straight away this CD grabs your attention and has you hooked. The vocals on this CD are really melodic and mind soothing and just shows the great quality of the bands Emo. Whereas the vocals, to me sound more punky than Emo but at the same time they have an emotional and heartfelt feeling. You are kept entertained from start to finish with the melodically soothing vocals and the cracking instrumental side that makes the s ongs sound even more emotional. The guitar and bass work great with the drums to form a dish for the vocals to be served onto and the whole thing comes together nicely to provide tunes that are not only emotional and melodic but also kind of punky. This is a really good CD and i think that you should check this band out as they really are a cool band and deserve recognition for the out standing music that they play. I hope that their next release will be just as good if not better than this one. Punk is not dead, it is still living but it just exists in many different forms now and is constantly giving birth to new types and sounds.

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Sniper Wolf Demo

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Sniper Wolf, a punk band from Middlesex who take influences from such bands as The Ramones and The Buzzcocks, and you can definitely hear it in their songs. You can especially hear The Ramoes in their music which is not surprising because in both photos i received of them, at least one of them had a Ramones t shirt. Here are 7 proper punk songs and these days proper punk is quite hard to come across with all the pop punk going around. I enjoyed each of these songs and they include some really good drumming, the drum beats really get you tapping your feet and then there is also the awesome vocals and power chords on the guitar that really get you singing along. Considering this band only formed in May, they have come along way as they have already played some shows and have all these songs written and put together well. This really is some excellent music and i cant wait to here some more from this London threesome abd i will definitely be looking for them in the future.

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Shuriken – Arch Nemesis / Omega Red

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Shuriken are a four piece band that combine melodic Punk with Rock to create their own unique sound. This is a single containing two tracks and is available for you to buy from HMV. The first track, ‘Arch Nemesis’ has melodic Punky vocals, with a storming drumming beat and a strong Guitar riff. This song has some great lyrics and has a superb chorus. The vocals are kept melodic at all times and they really manage to pull off something very special here. The second track, ‘Omega Red’ starts off with a great guitar riff before driving you into the vocals. Again, it is a melodic Punky Rock song and is carried out superbly. The vocals are excellent and along with the instrumental side make way for a storming tune. The guitar playing here is excellent and along with the drumming it provides a really good base for the vocals. The band have written on the inside cover ‘TS’ and with this ‘This CD has been classified TOTALLY SWEET,’ and I definitely agree with their classification. If you are looking for an exciting Alt-Rock / Punk band then check this one out as they are awesome and are definitely not to be missed. Check this band out while they are touring and I am sure that you will not be disappointed! Trust my judgement on this one and go out there and buy the single!

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Walking With The King – Initial Release

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Here is a four track CD of poppish punk from the band Walking With The King and although the songs are quite good, they just seem a little bit too long for my liking. They have a Green Day mixed with NoFx sort of sound and I think that it sounds pretty cool. It is quite an upbeat CD so if you ever get a bit down you could try listening to this band and perhaps that would cheer you up a bit. The songs combine fast drumming with strong guitar riffs with Punk vocals sprinkled on top just to finish it off. To be honest I had never heard of this band before I received this CD, so that is quite cool because I have not got a biased past with them or anything. Track 4 is slightly different to the other songs on this CD as it takes a different approach and comes out more like a Voodoo Glow Skulls song than a NoFx song. I reallly love it and think that they should make more of their songs like this one because to me it really stands out to be the best song out of the 4. If their next CD has more like this I will be really pleased and it could be a stunning album rather than an OK one. Adding everything up it is quite good for what it is intended to be, but track 4 shows that they have a lot more potential than what they are showing and could be a completely different band if they wanted. I will definitely be listening to this CD again though and it will not be just sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

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Mybe – The Shite Album

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Mybe refer to themselves as ‘Pop Punk Wankers’ and have titled this album ‘The Shite Album’ so something tells me that their ego’s are anything but big… They are a pop punk band from Chesterfield and play some catchy and also comical songs. They may not appeal to everyone but I enoyed their humour on ‘The Shite Album,’ and if this band play their cards right they should make it to the big time. All 6 songs on this c.d. are packed with humour and have a truly catchy beat, which gets you tapping your feet and singing along to the songs. I particularly enjoyed ‘Mary Warner,’ ‘Dumbing Down,’ and ‘Together I Stand.’ At the end of ‘Mary Warner’ you can hear one of them having a piss and another calling him downstairs which shows what kind of humour they like…toilet humour!! Be honest with yourselves, everyone has a good laugh about toilet humour, I bet even the Queen makes jokes about turds! “Master Harry has spent the last half hour on my thrown…curling a Mr Whippy!” – Extract from a day in the life of the queen video. So Mybe are a hilarious pop punk band that play a great live set, so if you ever get the chance of going to a Mybe show, go to it!

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Muwk – Progress…?

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Before I reviewed this CD I thought they were going to be another mediocre pop punk band but when this CD arrived through the door I was glad to see that they were not a New Found Glory copycat band. This band plays punk in its true form and sort of sound like The Ramones. There are 4 tracks on this CD, none of which lasting too long with repetitive vocals. So this was straight up punk with reasonable length songs, it is great to have found a band offering this and their music really put a smile to my face. Track 1, ‘ELFLS’ is a good Punk song with some strong guitar and bass lines. The drumming is very fast and exciting, and then the vocals are very Punk and not too soft, and not too hard either. Track 2, ‘Ink’ also has frantic drumming pace, but with this song the guitar and bass are not so hard-hitting but vocals are kept the same. Track 3 ‘Nowhere Fast’ is different because the vocals are sung in a slightly different style, they seem really cheery and upbeat and this sound is also a rather awesome one. Yet again the drumming is superb and is as fast as ever with a good rhythm and great style. Track 4, ‘Thanks For Nothing’ is also a good Punk track with very Punk vocals, with fast drumming and hard hitting guitar riffs and bass lines. I enjoyed this CD because it offers some great Punk and just has some generally good tunes. Check this band out for the ultimate Punk experience.

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