PUNKTASTIC 13.04
INTRODUCTION Welcome (or hopefully it’s welcome back?) to Punktastic 13.04. This month is a special one, because it’s entirely acoustic. We all love a good acoustic singalong, so sit back, put your feet up, and relax with our hand-picked selection of the best new acoustic artists out there. This month is a golden grab-bag of acoustic goodness. We’ve got English, American, Austrian, some that are more folky, some that are more punky, and we’ve even thrown some politics into the mix. Enjoy and we’ll see you back here for 13.05 next month. — Maryam & the Punktastic team PS. Visit http://pnkts.tc/comp1304 to download all the tracks for free. There’s also a place for you to give us your email, so we can tell you when 13.05 is ready for your ears.
TRACKLISTING 1 Joe Tilston - You & I 2 Jimmy Holland - Kids on the Run 3 Dan Allen - Wrecking Ball 4 Emma Hallows - Sam’s Floor 5 Luke Godwin - Leave This Town 6 Nicky Morgan - Doesn’t Mean It Shouldn’t BE 7 James Choice - Kathleen 8 Ren - It’s You 9 Make Out Kids - Expecting The Rain 10 Nick Moreton - When Your Heart’s Already Left 11 Mike Williams - The Strong Silent Type 12 Dead End Days - Declaration of Independence 13 Andrew Cream - It’s My Day
01. JOE TILSTON You & I
Joe has an interesting double set of influences. For one, there’s the years of influence from his upbringing in and around the English folk scene. Then again, he’s spent the last decade as a member of Random Hand. This folky start combined with his venture into punk makes for a really interesting sound and that’s why we’ve chosen this track for the compilation.
It’s not a million miles away from Nick Drake or Damien Rice - definitely not what you’ll be expecting if you’re familiar with Joe from Random Hand. facebook.com/joetilstonmusic
02. JIMMY HOLLAND Kids on the Run
As a Leeds man might say: this is acoustic folk/punk from Leeds. ‘Kids On The Run’ is taken from an EP Jimmy recorded last year, and “it’s about me being anxious as anything.. I think/hope people can relate to it.” Right now Jimmy’s recording his next EP so keep a look out for it later this year. jimmyholland.bandcamp.com
03. DAN ALLEN Wrecking Ball
Folk punk born out of the embers of old bands, Dan Allen’s band Ducking Punches started as a necessity, after losing a band but refusing to stop playing music. A history of depression and alcohol dependency leads to deeply personal lyrics tinged with melancholy. This, entwined with growing up in Peterborough, has given him an obsession with gritty storytelling and social commentary.
‘Wrecking Ball’ is our favourite from their latest EP ‘I am Arturo Bandini’. duckingpunches.bandcamp.com
04.EMMA HALLOWS Sam’s Floor
Manchester-born Emma fixes guitars for a living. But she also loves to tour and sing.
first album, ‘Keep Your Eyes On The Road’ through Aaahhh!!! Real Records.
She’s toured all round UK and Europe, “meeting the best people ever through playing music and drinking crap beer.” As it ever was.
emmahallows.bandcamp.com
‘Sam’s Floor’ is about “fucking up as a kid and paying the price for it years later, and knowing the only way you can get away from it is to run, as fast and as far as you can.” This year Emma’s releasing her
05. LUKE GODWIN LEAVE THIS TOWN
Luke started out in music learning how to record other people playing and singing. But he ended up writing his own songs, and then felt that timeless urge to get up and play them live.
‘Leave This Town’ is about, well, leaving your town. “It’s getting away from the things that hold you down, with the people that matter, and making your life what you want it to be.”
Having just finished his first full length, he’s getting on the road to share his music as much as he can.
facebook.com/iarelukegodwin
06. NICKY MORGAN
DOESN’T MEAN IT SHOULD BE
Acoustic, punk, folk, country, experimental - Nicky’s is a comedic, passionate take on life. Not afraid to sell himself either, he told us: “I enjoy doing it and enjoy playing it for you. If you’d like me to play sometime, get in touch! A friend recorded it for him with two mics, one ach on guitar and vocals. “It’s not got much production on it, just something for me to listen to, to remember the lyrics before my first gig.”
07. JAMES CHOICE Kathleen
James is the Austrian guy we called out in the introduction. After a long journey to London and back, “I’m still the same guy I’ve always been, but without a thick British English accent.” He tells us he’s always the first to pick up the guitar (and last to put it down?), and he’ll “start singing at the top of his lungs at any given chance. How else to describe him? He says he’s the punk rocker who’s never out of tune, he’s your bad conscience after waking up passed out on the floor, and he’s the cute dog that howls his way
into your hearts. Kathleen is a love song inspired by the relationship of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. facebook.com/jameschoicemusic
08. REN It’s You
Ever heard, “it’s not you, it’s me” during a break-up? Well Ren isn’t standing for that bullshit anymore. Her track “It’s You” tells it like it is. Borrowing lyrics from nursery rhymes, Ren has given the song a creepy, topsy-turvy feel, although she tells us this song “probably represents the softer end” of her music, “whilst still retaining some venom.”
Alongside music Ren is an artist, organiser and political activist, and is currently working on a huge public sculpture about street harassment, feminism, and violence against women. renspitsatmagpies.tumblr.com
09. MAKE OUT KIDS Expecting the Rain
Alan Jaggs and Paul Knewman, two best friends from Bicester, are the acoustic duo known as Make Out Kids. Green Day, Reel Big Fish and Motion City Soundtrack have all influenced them heavily, and at the moment they’re running through a 2013 line up of pub gigs and local festivals. They’re quick to tell us just how much they love every single moment of being in this band, writing music and playing shows.
‘Expecting The Rain’ is about “how even after you think you’ve cut someone out of your life for good, they still manage to somehow crawl back into it.” facebook.com/makeoutkidsband
10. NICK MORETON
When Your Heart’s Already Left
Split across Leicester and Birmingham, Nick Moreton plays for jangly indie/emo songsters Nobody, Ever. Once described as “a chunky Dowsing,” they’re still unsure if this is about their writing or their waist-lines. “When Your Heart’s Already Left is about being in a ten year relationship, although Nick’s the first to say that “I am a terrible person to be in a relationship with!” At least he’s honest.
This is an acoustic demo for a song appearing on their new EP, due out at the start of June. “I tried to rip off You Gave Your Love To Me Softly by Weezer and Gin Blossoms as much as humanly possible.” nobodyever.bandcamp.com
11. MIKE WILLIAMS Young Bones
The Strong Silent Type is the name of the acoustic solo project by frontman Michael Williams. After the break-up of Mike’s former band Jumping Ships in 2012, he continued to write and demo songs on his acoustic guitar, under the title The Strong Silent Type. This is one of the tracks for his as-yet-unreleased album (originally planned as a collaboration),
recorded in his hometown of Bracknell near Reading. It draws from all sorts of influences including Elliot smith, Jesse Lacey, Andy Hull and bands such as The Cure, The National and Elbow. Mike specifically wanted to release songs in a different vein to his work in Jumping Ships, saying that he wanted to write “simpler, more honest and introspective music.” Enjoy.
12. DEAD END DAYS
The Declaration of Independence
Dead End Days first started out as a singer songwriter project from Mike Petruccelli, with the album “The Longest Day of My Life.”
“Our goal is to produce music that is energetic and powerful, but still manages to have a sound that is dynamic and emotional at the same time.”
It was released in June of 2010 under Petruccelli’s former solo moniker “Arthur Killroad.” ‘The Longest Day of my Life’ was rereleased by Death To False Hope Records in April 2011 under the new band name.
Out in Chicago they’re currently planning a 2013 release and touring around the city.
Dead End Days’ sound is on a more experimental and personal approach to punk.
deadenddays.bandcamp.com
13. ANDREW CREAM IT’S MY DAY
Straight from his brand new EP, this track is from Peterborough’s Andrew Cream. Formerly of horror punks The Ruined, ‘It’s My Day’ shows off his brand of poppy acoustic punk.
This song’s about how fucking up isn’t the end of the world, hey “you can pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes.” It’s a fitting end for Punktastic 13.04. andrewcream.bandcamp.com
Thank you for taking the time to read this magazine and listen to our fourth compilation of 2013. If your band would like to be on one of our monthly compilations, then please email a song and a bit about yourselves over to tom.aylott@punktastic.com.