Pretty Vicious - Are You Entertained

1. Who are these fresh faced buccaneers come to save the sinking ship of rock’n’roll?

 Pretty Vicious are an indie rock/punk band from Wales. They have been playing together since 2014. Are You Entertained (Oct’18) is a cynical re-release made in the hopes of drumming up interest in the band’s debut album due in 2019.

2. What kind of tune is Are You Entertained? 

Are You Entertained strives for urgent and angry punk rock and almost lands there. It's a day late and a dollar short in every department but worthy of a golf clap.

3. Who do Pretty Vicious sound like? 

Pretty Vicious are similar to The Manic Street Preachers, VANT, and The Struts. 


4. What have the cut and paste merchants said about Are You Entertained?

“Unapologetic, raw sound” – Born Music Online.

“A primal howl of a single, crackling with electrifying energy” – It’s All Indie.

“Another new anthem” – Discovered Magazine. 

5. Which bands influenced Pretty Vicious? 

Pretty Vicious are influenced by the Sex Pistols, Iggy and The Stooges, and The Bananas.

6. Why should I give Are You Entertained a listen? 

Because it hits an amusing sweet spot lying between the god-honest anger of punk bands like (early) Manic Street Preachers and the theatrics of cock-rockers like The Struts. 

7. What are Pretty Vicious' best songs? 

National Plastics and Cave Song.

8. Any more words?

Are You Entertained is produced by Dan Austin (Twin Atlantic, Maximo Park, You Me At Six).

131's - Distorted Images

1.    Who are they? 

131's are a punk rock band from Melbourne, Australia. They have been together since 2016. Distorted Images (Dec'16) is a standalone single. 

2. What kind of tune are they peddling? 

A powerful punk song with a driving rhythm and some classic Aussie rock trimmings. Catches on after a few listens and becomes essential ammunition.

3. Who do 131's sound like? 

Rancid, The Clash and even The Choirboys.

4. What have the press said about Distorted Images? 

1.    “Displaying their signature guitar growl, impassioned vocals and kinetic drumming” - Around You. 

“Fucking great tune” – You Tube Comments.  

“Kick ass” – You Tube Comments.  

5. Which bands put the fire in 131's belly? 

The bands that influenced the 131's are Rancid, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Birthday Party and Rose Tattoo. 


6. Why should I give Distorted Images a fair crack of the whip? 

Distorted Images is the finest kind of punk rock; social commentary without a baseball bat to the head and ripping riffs. Killer key change in the last chorus too.


7. What are 131's best songs? 

This Ain't Culture is their debut tune and remains their finest. 


8. Any more words? 

Singer and guitarist Luke Yeoward fronted rock'n'reggae band King Cannons. 

“That don’t mean much to me”

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Stacked Like Pancakes are a ska punk/brass rock band from Towson, Maryland. The band started in 2007 and six or seven of the band members got degrees at Towson University. Stacked Like Pancakes sound like Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake. They are influenced by Reel Big Fish, twenty one pilots and Cage The Elephant. Dangerous Beginnings is an album track from THIS IS US (2015). Dangerous Beginnings is the perfect ska song borrowing from familiar ska punk tropes and twisting them into inventive new shapes. An improbably inventive song. 

“If you choose me tonight,

You’re gonna like what I do to you”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Pretty Vicious

On the rare occasions I’m tempted to muse on the disappointing nature of a world that allows genocide in Burma or a six year civil war in Syria with 200 000 dead and a million refugees, my friend will punch me in the arm, with a knuckle extended, in an often successful attempt to give me a dead arm and this sage advice, “harden the fuck up.” National Plastics (Sept’15) is the musical equivalent of that dead arm. The tune only has one gear, fast and furious. This song took me back to the day in 1991 I put the needle down on The Manic Street Preacher’s first release “Motown Junk” and was blown away by the blistering assault that announced the arrival of one of the greatest rock and roll bands in the world at that minute. Both bands are from the Welsh valleys. Just saying. National Plastics is a song about grabbing life by the scruff of the neck and has been called a “...tour de force of incendiary, visceral and youthful guitar rock.”

 

 

Pretty Vicious are an indie punk rock band from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and have played some big festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds. Pretty Vicious started in 2014 and are all 16 and 18 years old. National Plastics is their second single, the band have been signed up by Virgin EMI and are hot shit with people who matter everywhere. The band have been compared to The Clash (early doors), The Libertines and NME said Pretty Vicious sounded like Jake Bugg fronting the Arctic Monkeys with Sex Pistol's anarchic spirit. Pretty Vicious' influences are The Sex Pistols, Iggy and The Stooges and The Bananas. The band called National Plastics "a ball breaker" while others commonly throw around adjectives like "incendiary" and "visceral". National Plastics rocks harder than prison rape and is one of the best indie songs of 2015.
 

“Moping around
The time will come when you will see
That hangin' about don't bring no opportunities!”

 

 

Shit you need to know:

Pretty Vicious's music has been called by Clash magazine "...a series of indie punk anthems."

Amazing Radio felt the band are "...one of the hottest prospects in music at the moment."

The band say their influences are, "everything."

The band supported the Manic Street Preachers this year.

When the band signed to EMI they were given the original contracts the Sex Pistols signed and signed copies of Never Mind The Bollocks.
 

Pretty Vicious will take to the stage next week at The Brixton Academy in London with The Vaccines and Palma Violets. Good company to keep.

 Other Pretty Vicious songs that burn with righteous indignation are Cave Song , It's Always There and Are You Entertained.

 

 

 

Slippery seconds is from Welsh alternative rockers, and one of the greatest bands to walk the earth back in the day, The Manic Street Preachers. This is their finest Repeat (UK) (1992) from their never equalled first testament Generation Terrorists (1992).

“Repeat after me
Fuck queen and country”