Green Day - Revolution Radio

     1.   Why must I bow before their majesty?

     Green Day are perhaps the finest punk band to ever walk the planet. Green Day were conceived in East Bay, California, in 1986. There is no doubt it was an immaculate conception. The band have labored hard and sent down twelve long players of gospels to the huddled masses. Bless their hearts. Green Day have sold over 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame in 2015; their first year of eligibility. Revolution Radio (Sept'16) is the second single released from the album of the same name Revolution Radio (Oct'16). 

     2. Do the boys have anything left in the gas tank? 

     Does a rapist sweat in church? Revolution Radio is straight for the jugular political punk rock and the band are incendiary. Revolution Radio pulses with malice and launches jagged licks over a blitzkrieg of riffs. This is Green Day at their finest, firing on all cylinders, fury unleashed. The band have fired off a missive about the state of the nation, and it ain't pretty, and a call to arms to the rebels prepared to fight for a better world. 


3. Who do Green Day sound like? 

Rancid, The Offspring, The Living End, Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash.


4. What have the venerable scribes in the press said about Revolution Radio?

“A big snotty hook and a sense of speed” – Stereogum. 

“Hell-raising” – Vulture. 

“Back to basics” – Alt 92.9 Boston. 

      5. Which bands were instrumental in carving out Green Day's genius?

The main Green Day influences are Husker Du, The Replacements, The Ramones, Queen, The Who and Cheap Trick. 


6. Why should I give Revolution Radio a fair crack of the whip? 

Green Day have served up another chapter in their long history of phenomenal rock and roll and it doesn't get any better than this. Revolution Radio is visceral and vital and asks a question that only you can answer. Are you prepared to put up with this shit show? 


7. What are the other gems in Green Day's crown? 

When I Come Around, Know Your Enemy and Oh Love are the crown jewels. 


8. Any more words whipping boy? 

The new album Revolution Radio was self-produced by the band for the first time since Warning (2000). 

“Sing like a rebels lullaby,

Under the stars and stripes”

     

     The double dip today is a Green Day crowd singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at the Emirates Stadium, London, 2013. Queen are one of the greatest rock bands to ever step on stage. They started rocking in 1970 and recorded thirteen albums selling up to 300 million copies worldwide. Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) was Queen's most successful song, selling millions of copies and is one of the best selling singles of all time; topping charts around the world. Listen to a Green Day crowd sing it. Jump to before the two minute mark for the best bit if you must. It's pure fucking magic. 

“So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?

So you think you can love me and leave me to die?”

Beach Slang - Punks At A Disco Bar

    

     1.    Who are these valiant rock heroes?

     Beach Slang are a punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The champs having been giving it the tits since 2014 and have two albums on their roll of honor. Punks At A Disco Bar (July'16) comes kicking and screaming off their second long player A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings (Sept'16). 

    2. What flavor of brilliance is Punks At A Disco Bar?

     Heart on your sleeve vocals and wailing guitars that are screaming to take your life and live free from the confines of mainstream society. A relaxed pace and crisp production enhance this punk anthem. No fat or flourishes. 

    3. Who do Beach Slang sound like?

     White Wives and The Thermals. Stereogum compared Beach Slang to Gaslight Anthem and Japandroids.

    4. What have the press said about Punks At A Disco Bar? 

“Packed with charred guitar riffs, seething feedback and heart-rate-raising drum fills” – NPR. 

“Thick Minneapolis style riffing” – Spin. 

“Endorphin-heavy, heart-on-sleeve, major-chord, grin-inducing punk rock” – Noisey Vice. 

5. Which bands inspired Beach Slang? 

Beach Slangs major influences are early Goo Goo Dolls, The Replacements, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Swervedriver and Jawbreaker.


6. Why should I give Punks At A Disco Bar a moment of my precious time?

For the part where the band stops and the guitar plays the riff. That's gold. To remind yourself each and every day to do what you can to stick it to the man.


7. Do Beach Slang have any more rousing anthems?

Bad Art And Weido Ideas is a popular Beach Slang song. Punks At A Disco Bar is the banger but.


8. Any more mumbles? 

Singer James Alex makes damn decent mixtapes and posts them on Facebook.

“I never care”

4   The Goo Goo Dolls started out as a punk band in 1986 before moving into the pop rock territory they came to cover. The band have eleven albums under them and are still going strong. Only One (1995) was the lead single from The Goo Goo Dolls fifth album A Boy Named Goo and saw the band at the height of their powers. Only One is a hard rocking roller-coaster ride that walked the line between radio-friendly and sharp, modern, punk rock perfectly. 

“This fucking up takes practice,

I feel I’m well rehearsed”

The Best Indie Songs of 2014 - Circa Waves

If Circa Waves' Get Away (Dec’13) was a one hit wonder… no fucks given. Not even wristy’s. You could die happy after making a song like this. The riff in the intro calls to mind the Sex Pistols Anarchy In The UK and that's never a bad thing. While the band bring the fury the singer is letting slip a heartfelt, proper, love song.

 

There’s pop, rock, punk, garage and indie in this song so nobodies been left out. Comparisons are moot, analysis pointless. It’s the dog’s bollocks, guitar rock at its best. As she said last night, it doesn’t come better than this.

 

 

Circa Waves are banged up in Liverpool and have been ducking and diving since 2013. Get Away flew the coop as a stand-alone single and they have one EP, Young Chasers (June’14) to their credit.

Circa Waves would blag a copy of John Lennon, The Replacements, The Strokes and The Damned.

If you need to go on the lam, purloin a copy of T Shirt Weather, Young Chasers, Fossils and So Long before you go.

 

Sent down for another stretch? Fear not my friend we have some more dodgy critters on the roundtable. The Vaccines and Norsgaard (2011).