Punk Portfolio

A promising debut single that demonstrates a solid foundation for their future.

So at the moment we’re all pretty fucked. We can’t go out and see mates, the Covid death count is increasing and Americans are drinking bleach. In times like this we need something to keep morale up and luckily for us there are a fair few artists out their that have managed to bank on some new tracks to release in order to keep us all sane, and Red Brick are one of them.

These guys are new to the scene and given that they couldn’t have arrived at a worse time (With all music venues being closed whilst humanity is staring down the barrel of a loaded gun) they had to make sure their debut single was enough to attract a decent amount of attention purely digitally and without the helping hand of live performance. And i have to say, these boys have demonstrated good value in their debut single ‘Spiceland’.

The track, seems to remind me of a more raw and punk version of Kasabian, with a clear embrace of the English alt-rock style, whilst still incorporating a more aggressive delivery. The lead guitar riff provides a more post-punk aesthetic, in order to pull the track away from being ‘just another alt-rock’ song, giving the song a touch of character.

Now of course, when listening to an artist that only has one track, its very difficult to determine whether or not these guys really do have their own sound. However, its still possible to hear their personality and potentially envision what direction they’re hoping to go with their music. If any future tracks follow suit of ‘Spiceland’, I can see Red Brick attracting a great deal of success if and when their debut album drops. They have clearly demonstrated a professional level of skill in song writing and band chemistry, as well as a great deal of care in their production. Now they just need a fair few gigs to… oh wait… The worlds ending.

In all seriousness, once this lock-down ordeal is over these boys are gonna take off, especially when they can get back in the studio (Provided they are currently indoors working on honing their sound, which i’m sure they are as they don’t have much of a choice).

A raw and filthy album about sun and booze, in which the aesthetic is so potent I began to drink half-way through writing this.

At last, Australia’s mighty pub-friendly trio has dropped another album of short but sweet bangers amid the period of self-isolation. I’m very happy to say that these boys haven’t tampered with their winning formula of simplistic lyrics and riffs, accompanied with their tongue-in-cheek nature and multiple references of alcoholism. There’s something about The Chats that, by their very nature, you just can’t fault them. They don’t exactly push the boat out when it comes to musical venture, but they don’t need to. As Eammon Sandwith (Lead vocalist and bass player) stated in an interview for Consequence of Sound; “We don’t make songs for people to look at in a fucking emotional or intellectual way. We just make songs for people to jump around and have fun to” It’s because of this attitude that these boys have cultivated a sound that’s so difficult to find in today’s industry. They make it sound easy… because it is. It’s the subtle art of not giving a fuck. But it must be maintained to the point where people realise that that’s exactly what you’re doing, and that is what makes these boys so loveable.

With the album clocking in at only 28 minutes in length, with 14 tracks featured, The Chats take you on a joyride of quick and playful tunes that will have you gasping for a beer in the sun. Now it kind of sucks that 5 of the best tracks on the album have already been released over the past year but I guess when you’re a shed-rock band that has an immense growth in popularity, you have to keep people interested somehow. And to be honest, I don’t think these guys care when they release their shit. Just listen to it and boogie.

The opening track ‘Stinker’ instantly assures you that, like every song these boys release, there isn’t going to be any fancy affects, over-production or cheesy lyrical content. Only filthy punk. The songs lyrical content couldn’t be better suited to the band’s aesthetic, with the subject matter being about putting up with the blistering hot sun of Australia. This theme is of course amplified by Josh Price’s surf rock guitar solo, making you resent the present situation of self-isolation during the start of this perfect spring. The following track ‘Drunk and Disorderly’ continues the iconic Chats sound, with a catchy chant thrown in the middle to satisfy those groups that are in fact drunk and disorderly.

The following tracks ‘The Clap’ and ‘Identity Theft’ (Songs in which the lyrical content is exactly what it says on the tin), are perfect examples of why The Chats have become increasingly popular. The lyrics in both are so simple, sloppy and hilarious that you almost feel like it’s an audio file of a song that your mates have written and recorded in their garage and sent to the group chat. And let’s be honest, the majority of people reading this (Whether you’re a fan of The Chats or just a fan of punk rock in general) will relate to ‘The Clap’ on a personal level.

Disclaimer: To honour the spirit of this album I just cracked open a cold one.

‘Kids Need Guns’ is probably as political as these guys will ever get. With its satirical implication being clouded by the upbeat sound and nature of their music, I don’t think anyone is going to be referring to the second amendment to criticise this song. Just another sunny banger really.

For me, ‘Dine N Dash’, ‘Pub Feed’, ‘Do What I Want’ and ‘Better Than You’ are the daddies of the album, with the latter taking the throne as number one. All songs are just as sweet and catchy as each other but there’s something about ‘Better Than You’ that makes it stick out amongst all other songs by The Chats. For this one they decided to go a little less aggressive and a little more light and summery, making it the perfect song for cruising on a skateboard during a sunny afternoon.

The rest of the songs work as filler for the album. I don’t mean to take away from these tracks at all. In fact, these “filler” tracks are just as sweet as the rest of the them, it’s just that there’s little more to say about an album that manages to keep such a consistently simple and catchy sound through-out.

I don’t think any of us can see these boys slacking any time soon. They’re the perfect example of a true modern-day punk band who will always write songs for themselves and nobody else. Whilst it is true that punk has become more of an ideology these days, The Chats have come back with a sound that reminds people where it all started (Whilst maintaining that precious essence of attitude). As long as they continue to love what they’re doing, we’re going to continue to love watching them do it.

Verdict 5/5

A variety of sounds that will make you anxious, excitable, depressed and overwhelmed.

About a week ago, shortly after I posted my previous post on the similarities between punk and trap, I received a DM from a guy named Johnny about his band Anorexia Isan. He sent me link to a music video of a track called ‘A Morning Overture’ (a song off of the bands latest album, ‘The Sad Album’) and I was ironically joyful to find that it was an emo-punk tune, throwing me back to my Modern Baseball days of self-loathing.

Naturally interested, I got up their album on Spotify and what I came across was not what I expected.

You see, these guys are a band that cover all bases for you edgy kids out there. The first track on the album, titled ‘The Wake’, starts off with a woman reciting poetry over Beethoven’s ‘Fur Elise’, instantly making me ask myself “Shit, have I come to the right place?”. By the time I had double checked that it was in fact the same band I had been referred to, a filthy metal riff blew off my earholes. I can’t say personally that the song was to my taste, but it did get me excited that these guys were going to provide an arsenal of different styles.

Tracks such as ‘The Party Singer’ and ‘Shambles’ had a raw punk aesthetic to them with a quick and upbeat sound, making it exactly the kind of track you could put on the speakers at a skatepark (with the chorus of ‘Shambles’ being an addictive chant for the fellow drunk skaters sat along the halfpipe).

Now I wouldn’t have made the previous statement that this album covers all bases for edgy kids if there wasn’t a fair few grunge tracks, which of course there are. ‘The Sad’, ‘Summer Rain’ and ‘Home Away’ are probably the best examples of what this band can accomplish with a traditional, saturated distortion on the guitar, and some Kurt Cobain styled vocals. The track ‘Find Me’ comes in with spoken word vocals and some filthy guitar licks that really get your nuts (or bean) shaking, throwing itself into an even heavier riff as the drums drop in. We all know that when it comes to songs repeating the same phrase over and over again (as this one does), the accompanying riff needs to be nasty enough that you can feel the angst among the simplified lyrical content. This riff definitely does the trick, making this track something special for the mosh pits.

The rest of the album is fairy hit and miss (for me, anyway). Certain tracks such as ‘We Are the Weak’, ‘The Covenant’ and ‘My Mistake’ seem promising at first, until the vocals come in with an effect that makes the lyrics inaudible and difficult to appreciate. However, with ‘My Mistake’ the effect is much more suited to the psychedelic aesthetic during the first half of the song.

So, there’s enough variety of sound and sub-genres within this album that ties nicely with the overall aesthetic of the band, making it worth listening to in order to find those golden nuggets that you’ll end up putting on your playlists. These guys seem to have really honed their expertise in grunge and punk, making their tracks in these genres the perfect skate tunes. Perhaps an album or two later they’ll have nailed the whole shebang.

Verdict 3.4/5

A lot of punks are probably disgusted at this title but just take a minute to read.

A couple days ago, after a good sweaty rehearsal session, my bandmate and I sat down and decided to whack on the new Lil Peep documentary ‘Everybody’s Everything’ on Netflix. Neither one of us are fans of trap music but Netflix is killing it with documentaries at the moment, so we knew it would be worth watching. I found that the whole time I was watching, I was mesmerised by the similarities it shares with punk. Not necessarily music-wise, but aesthetic, attitude and (to a certain extent) image. I felt gratified when this train of thought was reinforced by artist Slug Christ in said documentary; “Punk isn’t a type of music. It’s an aesthetic. It’s an energy.”

Like any genre falling upon the untrained ear, trap music all sounds the same to me. Which of course is a very cheap criticism because all that says is “I don’t listen to this kind of music enough to know what I’m supposed to be looking for”. Whilst I did enjoy a couple of songs that featured on the documentary, I don’t see myself pursuing a trap musical venture any time soon. But maybe it’s just a matter of time.

I noticed there was a point at which Sum 41’s ‘Fat Lip’ played, with Gus (Lil Peep) miming the lyrics. So clearly this trap star moulded his musical taste on a love of music with attitude. In fact, there’s a video available online of Gus covering ‘Dammit’ by Blink-182. I also remember being dragged to a $uicide Boy$ gig with a few of my mates in Birmingham a couple of years ago (a rap group that supposedly grew up with Lil Peep) and to my surprise they did a cover of ‘What’s My Age Again?’. So, one would assume that an interest in punk music was prevalent in a fair few of these trap stars as they began to pursue a career in the industry.

This to me says that there must be a similar appeal when it comes to fans of punk and fans of trap, which I would put down to the aesthetic, energy and image. If you were to watch this documentary on mute, it would be hard to distinguish whether the interviewees were discussing a trap star who OD’d or a punk rocker who caught a vicious STI. The whole image is way too similar. The mosh pits, the brightly died hair, the excessive tattoos, the underground venues. You can tell that the people featured are proud to be part of something that many other people haven’t learned to appreciate.

And it’s no surprise that its popularity is ever growing. In this new age of digital media all you need is a laptop and the right torrent file, and you’ve got everything you need to start producing beats. In the same way punk rockers had to get themselves started with crappy recording equipment and karaoke machines (giving that constant white noise looming over the audio track), modern day Soundcloud rappers just need some knock-off production software and a good enough mic.

Essentially, punk is to rock, what trap is to hip-hop; a DIY branch of a genre of music that consumed the taste of the populace. Think back to when rock was big in the 70s. Back when lead singers were cultural sex icons and every band member had luscious manes. You had big names like AC/DC, Led Zepelin, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith. These are the artists that inspired a generation of punks to pick up a guitar and start writing whatever they could. Yeah it sounded messy compared to the production standards of rock-stars at the time, and whoever hadn’t heard it before would cringe at the screams and distortion on the guitar, but it was their own music. 

The same goes for hip-hop and trap. Hip-hop has been around since the 80s and has been climbing up in popularity ever since. With hip-hop growing alongside RnB in the noughties, we quickly arrived at a new formula that immersed itself within the pop music that we hear today. In the same way punks were inspired to pick up a guitar, trap artists were inspired to download production software and create whatever beat they could. In many cases it would be a simple beat with a simple hook. Just like how a punk band would keep the same ‘boom-cha-boom-boom-cha’ groove on the drums and repetitive chords on the guitar, then play as fast as they could till their fingers bled. Both genres are filled with clutter that may all sound the same initially but when you learn to appreciate the genre, you find yourself in a community that actively separates itself from the norm.

So, it would seem that trap and punk kids have a lot in common with their lifestyle choices. Perhaps the mingling of cultures will eventually give birth to the perfect blend of punk-trap music that will send us down an even deeper pit of misfit tendencies. Which we both clearly love. But for now, I’ve learned to appreciate the nature of the genre and the communities it produces. Perhaps I’ll be sipping lean and getting face tattoos in the coming years, but I’ll try not to get ahead of myself.

As I opened my laptop yesterday morning, with the mission to find a new punk album to review, Spotify hit me with one of the best notifications I’ve received in a long time…. “Four Year Strong have released a new album!”

The gloriously bearded and scream friendly metalcore/pop-punk band are back, and they haven’t changed a bit. These guys have been one of my favourite bands for a very long time. For me, they’re one of those artists that have a massive nostalgia factor. I remember listening to their self-titled album on repeat back when I was 16 (The prime age to develop your musical taste). Their catchy lyrics and vocal melodies hit their peak with the ‘God Down in History’ EP, (The perfect combination of pop-punk and metal, to get that delish warm stew of melodic hardcore) and their filthy, weird, obscure and, above all else, signature guitar riffs were really honed in their self-titled album. So, when I heard that they’d dropped a new album, I was very much excited to feel like I was 16 again.

The first track ‘It’s Cool’ instantly delivers with the classic FYS sound with the guitar riff, and it couldn’t be a better opener for the album. With tranquil vocals leading up to the explosive double-time punk beat at around the halfway mark, you can’t help but think “These boys haven’t changed”. This thought is immensely reinforced by the end of the track which, of course, slips seamlessly into a metalcore outro.

My optimism that FYS have really stuck to their sound and not messed with their winning formula is instantly underlined with the next track ‘Get Out of My Head”. This is the kind of track that might slip its way into a playlist of someone who hasn’t really heard of Four Year Strong due to its memorable hard-rock sounding guitar riff. What’s especially delicious about this riff is when it is played as the breakdown after the chorus, with the lead guitar filling in the gaps left out by the original riff. This is the sort of song writing that can only occur when bandmates have a certain kind of chemistry. The kind of chemistry that guitarists Alan Day and Daniel O’Conner have mastered throughout their career.

The album reaches its peak with the tracks ‘Talking Myself in Circles’, ‘Learn to Love the Lie’ and the metal inspired ‘Brain Pain’. ‘Learn to Love the Lie’ has to be my favourite track of the album. This was the moment I began to really feel the nostalgia. Maybe it’s the signature sound on the riff or maybe it’s the perfectly infectious vocal melody in both the verses and the chorus. In fact, yeah. That’s exactly what it is. That’s what makes these guys who they are. There’s something about the perfect balance of all these factors that make FYS so different to other alternative rock bands out there, and these three tracks underline this originality.

‘Mouth Full of Dirt’ and ‘Usefully Useless’ are the tracks for all you pop-punk purists out there, and neither one will disappoint (Even with the cliché title ‘Usefully Useless’).

However, the track ‘Be Good When I’m Gone’ really doesn’t do it for me. To be honest, most slow/acoustic songs that are done by alternative rock bands tend to make me cringe. Bands like this have to really hit a sweet spot when they decide to slow things down on an album (Especially one that’s been rupturing your eardrums with fast riffing and palm mute up until now) and I don’t thing the boys stuck the landing on this one. I’m still trying to get over the fact that they decided to use violins for this.

The same goes for ‘Young at Heart’. I appreciate that they’re trying something different here but, up until this song, it was like the whole album was trying to say, “We know what you love and here it is”. This point is then undermined by a psychedelic dub instrumental with Biffy Clyro styled vocals. I mean it has a decent enough riff in the middle, but this is merely gold among the dross.

Aside from these couple of slip-ups at the end, this album will probably end up being my March soundtrack. Most of the songs on this album are a remind Four Year Strong fans why they started listening to their music in the first place.

Verdict: 4.6/5

This album is like a scary acid trip. But the kind of trip that you take something good away from the experience.

Let’s start off by stating that I’ve never really listened to much psychedelic grunge before. To be honest, it creeps me out. Which I’m pretty sure in most cases is kind of the point. But SPILT’s latest album ‘No Ball Games’ is interestingly different, yet catchy enough to work as a gateway album for a genre of music that is very much an acquired taste.

I’ve been listening to SPILT for a few years now and I’ve always been impressed with their singles and EPs. So, when I heard they would be releasing an album, I was excited to have a wide array of something different and new to add to my skate playlist. You know, songs that can join a number of SPILT’s classics such as ‘Acid Baby’ and ‘Catnip’ (A couple of filthy and gritty tunes with some delicious guitar riffs). Low and behold the album does supply you with some signature SPILT noise.

The album opens with the track ‘Pokit’, consisting of a Pink Floyd styled intro that can only be described as liquid noise. This intro slips seamlessly into a mellow guitar riff, provided by Mo, and is quickly followed up with a catchy vocal melody. Of course, it wouldn’t be SPILT if this mellow vibe wasn’t suddenly undermined by an explosive riff that’s heavy on the chorus pedal. The boys didn’t disappoint. The track then continues as abrasively as possible (Making me kind of worried for Mo’s throat, considering the number of screams that I could only assume would continue for the rest of the album).

The following track ‘Funny Money’ reminds me of a sinister HMLTD track with its obscure rhythm on the guitar riff, accompanied by an unnerving effect on the vocals. To be honest this is one of my favourite tracks on the album, mostly because it’s nothing like anything I would normally listen to, yet it almost has a hypnotic essence to it which makes it impossible to not intently listen to every second.

The rest of the album continues with more samey SPILT abrasiveness, accompanied with a couple unnecessary audio tracks that feel like they’re only there to gratify the band’s notion of being eccentric and different, such as ‘(Bit.Head)’ (an audio track of a dodgy Londoner trying to sell a watch).

But then we get to the daddy of the album, ‘1984’. This song came out a few months prior as a single, and for good reason. It has an instantly catchy intro that then throws you straight into the chorus of (yup, you guessed it) screams. I particularly like the effect on the guitar after the lead riff that follows the chorus. It almost gives you a sense of impending doom through its echoey influence, dragging you through a hole of sinister thoughts that leave you shaking… the track still fucking slaps though. 

Now if you’re looking for a SPILT song that doesn’t suddenly turn on you and melt your ear holes, then ‘Canalboatredeo’ is the track you’ve been waiting for. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any other SPILT track that doesn’t involve a left turn into grunge filth out of nowhere, so this really was a nice change. Joking aside, it really is a perfectly relaxing track. One that will be smoked to in due time. 

Out of the last few tracks, ‘Order’ is probably the last one I really enjoyed. Nothing against the following tracks, it’s just that there’s only so much samey grunge that the untrained ear can take in. I guess it’s because ‘Order’ sounds similar to the likes of a Fidlar tune, but still a SPILT song in its own right due to the signature vocals.

Overall, this album is a fantastic debut for a band that has adopted a very obscure path to take, in terms of their genre. However, what starts off as an interestingly different and dark album begins to sound contrived towards the end. But like I said before; this isn’t really my kind of music, but it still got my attention. Let’s also bear in mind that these guys are still young, and very much hungry for more. I’m excited to see just how weird these guys are willing to get. 

Verdict 3.7/5

An indie/punk fusion that will prematurely get you ready for festival season.

Ok. So, I’m a couple weeks late on this one. When Spotify notified me about this new release, I was excited. But I was amid one of those music-listening routines where you have a certain playlist of new songs that you can’t wait to listen to on your way to work in the morning. And so, I put the album on hold and forgot about it until a couple of days ago (Just when the sun started coming out, which couldn’t have suited the theme of the album better).

Let’s start off by stating one fundamental truth. The Australian music scene is going off right now. With bands like The Chats, Violent Soho, Dune Rats and many others all releasing new music, one must wander what it is about the land down under that brings out some of the best in rock music. Maybe it’s the Aussie charm of not giving a fuck, or maybe it’s the number of dingers they’re popping. Whatever it is, Dune Rats are doing it too.

This album, and its beautiful balance of indie-rock and punk, is the perfect example of Australian charm. With songs like ‘No Plans’ and ‘Rock Bottom’ highlighting this bands familiar theme of being a happy-go-lucky slacker, you can’t help but somewhat long for the feeling of cracking open a beer on a Monday morning in order to fuel that inspiration to find the best spot to smoke a joint later. ‘Rubber Arm’, being on a similar thematic thread, really demonstrates the trios ability to hone a pop-punk sound whilst writing a catchy chorus that will have you itching to see these guys lives, just so you can scream that same chorus back to them.

Now a real pleasant surprise with this album was the feature of American singer-songwriter K. Flay on the track ‘Stupid Is As Stupid Does’. Now I’ll admit I hadn’t heard of her before but hearing some female vocals on a song by an all-male boisterous trio was pretty refreshing. Plus, there’s something about the song itself for me that’s almost reminiscent of the glory days of Bowling for Soup (One of the many gateway pop-punk bands out there).

There are also a few quick and upbeat songs with a jocular matter about them for you punk-purists out there, such as ‘Crazy’ and ‘If My Bong Could Talk’.

Overall, I’m excited to continue to listen to this album for a while and even more excited to stick it on the aux (should I be trusted by my peers) when the sunny days begin to role round. It’s as if this album was made to listen to in the outdoors with a can of warm fosters in hand, making any future festival gigs for the Dune Rats even more perfect.

Verdict 4.5/5

Kinda messy and loud. But different and worthwhile.


When I first heard the single ‘Father of All…’ my immediate thought (like everyone else) was that this song didn’t sound anything like a Green Day song. It seemed to have more of an element of The Black Keys, but nonetheless it made me excited to hear what new sound these boys will be exploring this time round (With a voice infliction no Green Day fan has heard Billy assimilate before). The sound was abrasive and fast, but still kept within the punk aesthetic of the band.

And then the second single ‘Fire, ready, aim’ came out. Which sounded exactly like The Hives… like… EXACTLY like The Hives. I defy anyone to listen to that song and, within the first 10 seconds, not think of those gnarly Swedes all suited ‘n’ booted in their less than conventional attire. Which doesn’t make the song any less of a decent tune, its just something a bit different for the taste buds.  

So, so far it doesn’t sound like much of a Green Day album at all. But Green Day have always been a band that keep their punk rock essence within their aesthetic, whilst incorporating more generic elements of rock. Sometimes it lands, like their penultimate ‘American Idiot’ album. And sometimes it doesn’t, like their ‘Revolution Radio’ album (Which, to me, seemed like ‘American Idiots’ younger brother that didn’t get enough oxygen at birth).

However, this album does well enough in exploring other sub-genres of rock, whilst occasionally going back to the more familiar punk sound we’re used to hearing (Tracks such as ‘Stab You in The Heart’ and ‘Sugar Youth’ are good examples of this). There also seems to be a heavy influence of Armstrong’s son’s band SWMRS in the track ‘I Was a Teenage Teenager’.

There are a few slip ups on this album for me though. Songs such as ‘Meet me on The Roof’ and ‘Oh yeah!’ seemed too far away from the original sound that Green Day have honed in recent years for me to not think of any other pop-rock band. And, to be honest, the track ‘Junkies on a High’ sounds like a generic rock song that would be used on the trailer for a new crime series on Amazon Prime.

Overall, it’s the kind of album that I will enjoy listening to, but not for very long. This is because it’s a mixture of decent songs that seem to jump from one sub-genre to the next, barely holding onto the thread of essence that establishes what Green Day really is (or at least used to be).

Verdict: 3/5

An old-skool skate punk album that promises a bright future for these guys.

So, I was scrolling through Instagram the other day, aimlessly and gormless, when I came across this gnarly little hardcore band from Barcelona named Nuraghe. They had a fair few posts of some steezy looking artwork that was promoting their new debut album they’ve recently dropped, Ubuntu. Naturally, I was intrigued by the initial colourful-punk aesthetic they were giving off, so I gave them a search on Spotify. I was delightfully surprised!

With their tracks currently clocking in at less than 1000 listens, these diamonds in the rough are really picking up on an almost forgotten skate-punk sound of hardcore instrumentals with harmonious melodies (without any over-production or fancy affects), really reflecting the underground punk scene of Barcelona. I mean it’s no surprise you have a sound like this coming from one of the worlds most beloved skate cities.

The album opens with the explosive track ‘You Are the Runaway’, instantly throwing you back to the old skool Californian-punk sound of Blink-182 and NOFX. As soon as I heard this track I had the sudden urge to crack open a beer, play an old Tony Hawk game and shred a half-pipe as a robot-alien (instead I opted to listen to the rest of the album and shred later).

As the album continues, we get even more playground-esque melodies with a hardcore deliverance. The playful yet intense sound is consistent throughout the album, with the shit-hot guitar licks of ‘Trending Topic’, right through to the boisterous tongue-in-cheek nature of ‘MILF’. These boys haven’t just written some satisfyingly simple (yet ambitiously quick) skate-punk tunes. They’ve also latched on to an attitude of not taking themselves too seriously whilst also delivering an aggressive image.

True punk.

Keep your earholes open for these guys in the future. Because once the local skaters of Barcelona get a-hold of this album. These tracks will be featuring on the next series of ‘King of The Road’ in no time. I’m genuinely excited to hear what these guys will be doing in the future.

So the other day I wrote a review about a small punk band from Barcelona called Nuraghe and their debut album, Ubuntu. Well the boys saw and appreciated the review and so i caught up with drummer, Charley, to get a better idea of the bands inspirations and aspirations.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN TOGETHER?

The band as we know it today started very late in 2016, making their first show the following year on Feb 4 in Barcelona. There were previous testing line-ups that didn’t work due to the fact we couldn’t get along together so we can say Nuraghe was born in December 2016.

WHO ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?

We all study music and many different genres so our influences are really varied and kinda loon. Related to Nuraghe sound we must mention bands like NoFx, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Frenzal Rhomb and the early Propagandhi but we hope that those are the bands that report us as their influence real soon.

WHAT’S THE BEST GIG YOU GUYS HAVE PLAYED SO FAR?

We did play a massive gig at a festival in Madrid. We’ve also played several places in Spain, butthis should be the most important one to date. It took place at Gruta 77, mythical venue in the capital. Madrid is the capital, Barcelona is not.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU GUYS TO WRITE UBUNTU?

That’s a good one. Some songs were written like 8 years ago, like ‘Whispers’ or ’20 secs’, and some others just a few months before going to the studio. Our composing way is kinda particular, or that’s what we at least think, when it comes to thinking about song writing.

HOW DO YOU GUYS TEND TO WRITE YOUR SONGS?

Well, talk of the devil, each one of us mostly compose and arrange the full song itself on their own and then bring it to the rehearsal place to check if it sounds alright. As we all are really neglecting it always takes longer than wished. That’s the way we’ve been working so far, and we all agree it’s been quite successful. At least, we’re really pleased with how things are going for the moment.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG OFF THE ALBUM?

As we’re a four-piece, we’ve got different choices. Rodri goes for ‘Tall Guy’, Xavi thinks ‘Big Blue Whale’ is too cool, Charly is the bizarre one as he loves ‘Never Starting Tale’ and Carlos is always on when it comes to playing ‘WIWTWIWD’.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NURAGHE?

Well, first of all we still have to play the Ubuntu release gig in 3 weeks. Then we are seeking for venues in Spain ‘coz strangely enough there are people willing to catch us out on the road but one of us is waiting for a little human being, and we have to keep her arrival in mind. When that little person will be able to go touring with us, we want to take our music to as many places as possible. Then we need to record our new stuff as well, which is even cooler than what we’ve already launched. And, why not do an acoustic album featuring some of our hits?