PUNKTASTIC 13.12
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INTRODUCTION: 13.12 This month, we’re completing our 2013 compilation series with TWO compilations.
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Firstly, the one you’re reading right now - 13.12 - is a huge chunk of new music, like our other 11 monthly compilations of the year.
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And then there’s 13.13, our 2013 “Best Of’ playlist that will arrive just before the balls drop on 31 December.
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You can listen to them both at http://pnkts.tc/comps
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We’ve got some excellent tracks here from 13 rising bands, and we think it’s one of our strongest compilations to date.
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We’d like to thank every single person that’s listened or downloaded the compilations in 2013, and also give a massive shout out to the bands, PRs and labels that made it happen.
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It was a pretty ambitious project for us, and our monthly compilations would have looked a bit rubbish without any music being contributed. 156 songs later, we’re stoked to have given it a go.
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In 2014 we’ll be doing something similar but different, which we’ll be announcing in the new year.
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— Happy New Year from Team Punktastic, and here’s to a fantastic 2014.
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http://pnkts.tc/comps
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TRACKLISTING 01
Phoenix Calling
Everybody Knows
02
Boston Manor
Wolf
03
Swan Dive
Dirtbag
04
Losing Sleep
It’s ‘Card Sharp’ Not ‘Card Shark’
05
Calls Landing
We Miss You Pluto
06
Sad and French
Second Floor
07
Doppelgänger
Comfort You
08
The Lion And The Wolf
Ghosts on Trinity
09
Junior Vice President
Most Of The Time
10
Pedestals
I’m On My Own Now And It Feels Great
11
Villains
The Way I Tell Them
12
T-Shirt Weather
What More Did You Expect From These Chords
13
The One Hundred
Breed
01 PHOENIX CALLING Everybody Knows
Drawing on influences ranging from the latest crop of the UK’s big alternative rock bands back through to their turn of the century predecessors, Cambridge’s Phoenix Calling are planning on big things in 2014.
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That starts with the release of their new single ‘Everybody Knows’.
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The song is taken from their forthcoming free download EP ‘Waves’, which is set to be released in January (for a free download no less).
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We think the band have a bright future, and they look set for a busy 2014, so get out and see them as soon as possible!
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Cambridge, UK
! Release: ‘Waves’ EP [Self Release] ! FFO Funeral For A Friend Deaf Havana The Blackout
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facebook.com/phoenixcalling
02 BOSTON MANOR Wolf
We’ve had the pleasure of hosting Boston Manor a few times over the last year or so, and the rather excellent Blackpool rockers’ recent tour with Throwing Stuff stopped off in London.
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The tour was in support of the two bands’ split, from which the song you can hear here is included.
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Another fine band from the current UK crop, and one to keep a very close eye on.
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Blackpool, UK
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Release: Boston Manor/Throwing Stuff split [Moving North]
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FFO Title Fight Lower Than Atlantis Daylight
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facebook.com/bostonmanoruk
03 SWAN DIVE Dirtbag
When a band is listed as featuring members of More Than Life, Dead Swans & Last Witness, you’d actually jump straight to thinking that they’re going to pretty heavy.
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Instead what you have here is a mix of shoegaze and grunge, strutting moodily to a catchy chorus via brooding verses.
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The band are set to release their debut EP in January 2014, and you can be sure to see a lot of them in 2014.
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Philadelphia, USA and SW England
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Release: 'Fly Toward The Sun' EP [Day By Day Records]
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FFO Birdskulls Basement Seahaven
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facebook.com/swandive13
04 LOSING SLEEP
It's 'Card Sharp' Not 'Card Shark'
Another of the excellent rising bands in the UK at the moment, Losing Sleep have been honing their sound and craft in recent years to become a very fine prospect indeed.
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'It's 'Card Sharp' Not 'Card Shark'' features on the band’s split with T-Shirt Weather (there’s another track from the split on this compilation from T-Shirt Weather, too!), which will drop soon through Everything Sucks Music.
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A fine band to wrap your ears around as soon as possible.
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London, UK
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Release: T-Shirt Weather/Losing Sleep split [Everything Sucks Music]
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FFO Taking Back Sunday Alkaline Trio Home Advantage
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facebook.com/LosingSleepLosingSleep
05 CALLS LANDING We Miss You Pluto
We’ve been keeping our eye on Calls Landing a lot in the latter half of 2013.
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Their new EP ‘We Won’t Sleep ‘Til It Happens Vol. 2’ has put them on the map in the UK pop punk scene.
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‘We Miss You Pluto’ is the EP closer, and it best shows off the band’s mixture of influences and styles.
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They recently came down to play on one of our Punktastic Presents… shows in London and we can’t wait to see what they go on to do in 2014.
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Leeds, UK
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Release: ‘We Won’t Sleep ‘Til It Happens Vol. 2’ EP [Self Release]
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FFO The Wonder Years Brand New Transit
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facebook.com/CallsLanding
06 SAD AND FRENCH Second Floor
Sad And French recently licensed their new EP for release through Everything Sucks Music in the UK, and we loved the release as soon as we heard it.
Brooklyn, New York, USA
The band mix a range of influences, taking in country, blues and punk, and fans of the revival tour sound should get right on board with the band.
FFO The Gaslight Anthem Swingin’ Utters Dave Hause
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Release: ‘Sad And French’ EP [Everything Sucks Music]
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facebook.com/sadandfrench
07 DOPPELGANGER Comfort You
Doppelganger are right up there with one of the most unique punk / indie bands we’ve heard in a while.
Wrexham, UK
The Wrexham band’s ‘Comfort You’ was recently released as a free download after being the B-Side on their ‘Hate The Things You Love’ single, and we’re tipping them to be on the road to breaking through in 2014.
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They manage to throw bigger rock riffs in with Weezer-esque odd-ness, and it’s a fantastic mess to wrap your ears around.
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Release: ‘Hate The Things You Love’ Single [Self Release] FFO Weezer Superchunk DRONES
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facebook.com/Doppelgangermusic
08 THE LION AND THE WOLF Ghosts on Trinity
Tom George, aka The Lion And The Wolf, has been working his craft around the UK for a fair few years now, and will start performing full band in 2014 to coincide with a new album.
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One of the first songs to emerge from the new TLATW material is ‘Ghosts On Trinity’, a haunting arrangement that showcases how far Tom has come in recent years.
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It’s a fantastic precursor to the rest of the record that also appears on a tape release by Feliciano.
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Southampton, UK
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Release: ‘Time On My Hands’ Tape [Feliciano]
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FFO Brand New The Racoons
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facebook.com/thelionandthewolf
09 JUNIOR VICE PRESIDENT Most of the Time
This is an old school pop punk track from Junior Vice President.
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Its simple structure is offset with pace and charm which harks back to the days of blink-182 and Green Day before they hit a mainstream audience
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There's a certain raw element that comes with the music of Junior Vice President that isn't easy to capture on record without sounding amateurish and immature and that's a testament to the potential in this band.
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London
! Release: TBC [Everything Sucks Music] ! FFO Captain Everything blink-182
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juniorvicepresident.bandcamp.com
10 PEDESTALS I'm On My Own Now And It Feels Great
Pedestals have been busy making a name for themselves recently.
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Hailing from Liverpool they’re a part of what is surely a new breed of British pop punk thats beginning to emerge, the band are taken to the next level with their emotive lyrics and great vocals.
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They’re ones to watch in 2014, no doubt about it.
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Liverpool, UK
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Release: ‘Especially Average’ EP [Self Release]
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FFO Decade The Wonder Years Neck Deep
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facebook.com/pedestalsband
11 VILLAINS
The Way I Tell Them
It won't be much longer until you're hearing a lot more from Villains, seeing as how the Essex based band have a few high profile support slots coming with the likes of Blitz Kids.
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Villains finished 2013 on the back of a great tour with the likes of Forever Can Wait and with a new album due out in 2014 they will look to continue that momentum.
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Essex, UK
! Release: ‘Villains’ [Self Release] ! FFO Young Guns Don Broco Deaf Havana
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facebook.com/villainsofficial
12 T-Shirt Weather
What More Did You Expect From These Chords
The thing about North East accents in music is that it immediately adds a certain charm to that band.
Durham, UK
But you need to have the music 
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And much like Newcastle’s ONSIND, TShirt Weather do have just that.
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There is a lo-fi charm here that may not appeal to every one but the band themselves have an infectious personality that makes it near on impossible not to at least give them a chance.
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Release: T-Shirt Weather/Losing Sleep split [Everything Sucks Music] FFO Not Katies Bear Trade
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facebook.com/tshirtweather
13 THE ONE HUNDRED Breed
We close out our compilation with blistering pace in the from of The One Hundred and ‘Breed.’
London, UK
There’s a huge mix of influences here, there’s a Slipknot, System Of A Down vibe with a slight electronic vibe, but not one that sounds contrived or gimmicky.
FFO Enter Shikari TRC Slipknot
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! Release: ‘Breed’ Single [Self Release] !
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It’s fierce, it makes you want to have a mosh and is a promising look into the career of The One Hundred.
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facebook.com/theonehundredband
Thanks Thanks for taking the time to read these notes accompanying our twelfth and penultimate compilation in our 2013 series.
! If your band would like to be on one of our future compilations, then please email a song and a bit about yourselves to tom.aylott@punktastic.com