There's an abundance of people grabbing an acoustic guitar right now and churning out folk punk like it's a brand new thing... Blame Frank Turner if you like or, if you're a little older you can blame Billy Bragg. The sad fact is though, not all of these acts are appealing in the slightest... Thank god for these two then:
Ducking Punches & Stick It Out - 2 talented lads that know how to craft a decent song. They keep the bells and whistles to an absolute bare minimum - never falling into that over produced self-indulgent territory that follows solo acts around these days like a spurned ex-girlfriend who simply won't take the hint. You can hear the passion in every line these guys sing and I'd take that over an abundance of samples any day.
Usual Players - Local bias aside, these lads have brought a musical honesty to a scene that for far too long was more proud of it's haircuts than it's tune writing. They play the sort of Ska that would have fit as well back in the heyday of Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker as it does now and fit it does - like the trilby you bought and never wore... Well, now's the time to dust it off - they've written the songs for you, might as well look the part.
Murder She Wrote are equally cursed and blessed - on the one hand they named themselves after the afternoon televisual sedative featuring some nosey old girl and her crime solving prowess - on the other though, they are mustard keen and show endless potential.
Hardcore has never sat well with me. Back in the day hardcore meant hardcore punk - bands like Reagan Youth or Bad Brains. Nowadays hardcore is all about beatdowns and attitude problems... At least in many cases this is true. Murder She Wrote however grabbed my attention by the throat and didn't let up until the song was through.
It's probably easy to dismiss these guys as 'yet another hardcore' band but if the tracks they have are any indicator, this lot are going to change a lot of peoples views on the genre - and that's a good thing.
