RAT BOY - Mob Mentality

 

1. Who are RAT BOY? 

RAT BOY is Jordan Cardy from Chelmsford, England. He has been making music since 2012 and Mob Mentality (Oct, 2024) is one of a handful of songs to get a release and video from his third album Suburbia Calling (Oct, 2024). RAT BOY's music started out as a blend of hip hop and indie rock but veered toward Rancid style ska and punk rock since signing to Hell Cat for the second album Internationally Unknown (2019). 

2. What kind of tune is Mob Mentality? 

Mob Mentality is Madness style ska in the verses and a Clashesque chorus. The song wears it's Madness influences on it's sleeves. It is what it says on the tin. 

3. Which bands do RAT BOY sound like? 

Jamie T, The Specials, Madness, Rancid.

 4. Which bands have influenced RAT BOY? 

The Clash, The Streets, Beastie Boys, Rancid, Blur, Kasabian. 

5. What have the press said about Mob Mentality?

"Their chaotic youthful sound captures the sound of debauchery" - When The Horn Blows. 

"Scrappy punk meets Brit-pop" - Epitaph. 

"Leans hard into it's British roots, pulling on the sounds of Britpop, 90's indie and 2 Tone ska" - Atwood Magazine. 

"Mob mentality that's reality, murder she wrote,

Call the policeman when you hear the spray cans,

No where left to go"

Dial Drive - Burning Bridges

 

1. Who are Dial Drive? 

Dial Drive are a pop punk band that embrace a variety of genres but rock out of Orlando, Florida. Playing tunes together since 2017 Burning Bridges (Aug, 2024) pops off their second album of the same name Burning Bridges (Sept, 2023). 

2. What kind of song is Burning Bridges? 

Burning Bridges is a stereotypical early 2000's pop punk song with all the bells and whistles but a carries a fair bit of genuine anger at cutting a bad relationship out of your life.

3. Who do Dial Drive sound like?

Blink 182, Sum 41, Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday. 

4. Which bands have influenced Dial Drive? 

Some of Dial Drive's influences include NOFX, Pennywise, Taking Back Sunday, Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto. 

5. What have the press said about Burning Bridges?

"A fantastic sound that is upbeat and full of energy" - The Metal Asylum. 

"A loud, brash declaration of emancipation" - Medium. 

"Just banger after banger" - Find No Enemy.

"And when I said I had enough,

You told me then to suck it up,

I'll need a knife to cut you out of my life"

Grade 2 - Under The Streetlight

 

1. Who are Grade 2?

Grade 2 are a punk band from The Isle of Wight, England. They have been making music since 2013 and Under The Streetlight (Nov, 2022) is the lead single from their third self-titled album Grade 2 (Feb, 2023). 

2. What kind of song is Under The Streetlight? 

Under The Streetlight is woe to go a Rancid rocker saying something about seize the day and have fun. There's a smidgen of the maudlin English indie rock storytelling tradition in there to spice it up and make the classic punk sound their own. It's a belter and the most popular song Grade 2 have.

3. Who do Grade 2 sound similar to? 

Rancid, Gimp Fist, The Interrupters, Dropkick Murphys. 

4. Which bands have influenced Grade 2?

Some of their influences are Rancid, The Clash, Lions Law, The Jam, The Specials, Dropkick Murphys, Green Day, Offspring, Buzzcocks ... 

5. What have the cut and paste merchants said about Under The Streetlight?

"High enery track with a spirited, hopeful melody" - Indie Punk and Alternative.

"Blistring punk music lace with passion, angst, humor and despair" - Prelude Press. 

"Confidence and unrelenting swagger" - Punktuation.

 "We've had our share of these trying times,

So tonight, we're gonna leave them behind"

Gimp Fist - Seventeen

 

1. Who are Gimp Fist? 

Gimp Fist are a street punk band from Bishop Auckland, England. They formed in 2005 and Seventeen (June, 2024) is the lead single from their tenth album Losing Streak (July, 2024). 

2. What kind of tune is Seventeen? 

Seventeen is more pop punk than Oi but it still whips past as fast as a Cheetah's dick. Something about being a retard at school and nostalgia for records. 

3. Who do Gimp Fist sound like? 

The Old Firm Casuals, Booze & Glory, The Last Resort.  

4. Which bands have influenced Gimp Fist? 

Gimp Fist's main influences are Cock Sparrer, The Clash, Rancid, and The Business. 

5. What have the press said about Gimp Fist?

"Fast and furious working class punk rock" - Indie Punk and Alternative.

"Rousing old school UK skinhead rock'n'roll & street punk sound" - Rough Trade.

"An over-arching sense of angst and urgency" - Louder Than War.

The Clause - Weekend Millionaire

 

1. Who are The Clause?

The Clause are an indie pop rock band from Birmingham, England. They have been playing together for over five years and Weekend Millionaire (Sept, 2024) is the lead single from their third E.P of the same name Weekend Millionaire (Oct, 2024).

 

2. What kind of song is Weekend Millionaire? 

Weekend Millionaire is a instantly catchy, radio-friendly indie pop song that steadily builds up to a ever so slightly rowdy crescendo. Weekend Millionaire also captures that wistful, vaguely maudlin, slice-of-life tone captured by indie rock bands like The Courteeners, James or even The Smiths, that get juxtaposed with bright and bubbly choruses. 

3. Who do The Clause sound like?

James, The Reytons, The Courteeners.  

4. Which bands have influenced The Clause?

The Clause's main influences are The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Kasabian, and ABBA. 

5. What have the press said about The Clause?

"Effortlessly combine huge hooks with gritty choruses" - Norwich Box Office.

"Limitless amounts of swagger and the seal of approval from Jane's Addiciton frontman Perry Ferrell" - Totalntertainment.

"Among the most exciting up-and-coming indie bands in the U.K." - Northern Exposure.

Chain Cult - Harm Reduction

 

1. Who are Harm Reduction?

Harm Reduction are a Greek post-punk band from Athens, Greece. They have been playing together since 2017. Harm Reduction (Sept,2024) is a single from their second album of the same name.

2. What kind of song is Harm Reduction? 

Harm Reduction is an average modern post-punk song without any of the obvious tropes that run riot in British or American mainstream punk. Except for the Joy Division and Cure comparisons. They are hard-core punk musicians trying to be a bit more melodic and moving towards the centre and it works out okay.

3. Who do Chain Cult sound like? 

MESS, The Cure, and The Sound.

4. Which bands have influenced Chain Cult? 

The bands that have influenced Chain Cult include Misfits, Ramones, Offspring, Youth Avoiders.

5. What have the press said about Chain Cult? 

"Combining gothic atmosphere with basement punk urgency" - Stereogum. 

"Clearly interwoven guitar work frames catchy anthems" - Sorry State Records.

"Fucking solid tune and you are welcome in China anytime" - YouTube Comments.

CROWS - Is It Better?

 

1. Who are CROWS? 

CROWS are a post-punk band from North London, England. They have been making music since 2013. Their debut single Pray (2015) was a blistering belter; dark and menacing, faintly redolent of the Jesus and Mary Chain and The Stooges while exuding more violence than they ever possessed. It remains one of my favorite songs to this day.

CROWS have recorded two albums and Is It Better? (Sept, 2024) is the third single from their third album Reason Enough (Sept, 2024).

2. What kind of song is Is It Better? 

Is It Better? is a completely different beast to Pray. The sound is British indie pop/post-punk both the old (The Courteeners, Bloc Party, and Interpol - yes, I know) and the older (Suede, Pulp, and Blur). Is it Better? is a catchy song with a melancholic heart that sounds like middle England. It's nice. It throws a few feeble punches out of habit more than maliciousness and is the sound of a man getting older and less rough around the edges. The sound of a band evolving. The bass is catchy, bouncing along faster than an Eskimo's bum making love in the snow, while the guitar hints at internal anguish. Is It Better? isn't better than the ferocious bangers that CROWS have in their back catalogue but it isn't worse either.

3. Who do CROWS sound like? 

Interpol, Fontaines D.C., and The Horrors. 

4. Which bands have influenced CROWS?

Joy Division, Public Image Limited, and IDLES.  

5. What have the cut and paste bandits said about CROWS music?

"The most melodic, hook-filled and accessible sounding record of their career" - Louder Sound. 

"CROWS have always been a band who do things differently" - N.M.E. 

"Exemplary modern punk" - Far Out Magazine. 

"Well, I need a break from my overcrowded mind,

I've been leading myself down a dark and silent line,

Well there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, 

Nowhere to turn, nothing to find, underneath these stars"