Review: Syd.31 – The Last Punks On Earth
What a racket! I have had the pleasure of following Syd.31 since the birth of the band. I’ve interviewed them (twice), taken an accidental profile picture of them, shared the stage with them and crashed on the same floor space of them. So, bias alert. I LIKE this unruly mob regardless of the sonic spewings they produce. Syd.31 have been causing quite a stir in their native northwest and much further afield and it isn’t hard to see why. Their enthusiasm is infectious. They are both outsiders and inclusive. They are fun with a capital fuck yeah!
With two EPs safely under studded belt, these self proclaimed last punks have now prepared and dispatched their first full length album and it is exactly as expected and desired.
For the uninitiated, Syd.31 can be regarded as a mash up act on acid. They embrace punk, techno, rave and metal. No, not embrace, they do rude things to them. They even have a thing for The Vengaboys. The result is infectious and instant for all its rough edges. The result is also pretty much exactly what you’d expect their concept to sound like IF it were done well. It is done well.
‘Beware Of The Gods’is as good a start as any and introduces you to their loco-world. Noisy samples, a four to the floor beat to rival any, a neat little anthemic synth lead, then guitars crash in working in conjunction with some wobbly sounding bass and driven home by gnarly digital hardcore vocals. If you don’t like this then you might as well hit eject now as there is plenty more to come. If you are hooked, then it’s time to pogo and get that hook stuck deeper in your pierced cheek.
It IS angry but it is also somehow vibrant and joyful.
The album progresses as expected until the tempo drops a little and to positive effect for ‘A Safe Place’. While all the aforementioned ingredients are there, they are delivered with a greater pop sensibility and the results are infectious. In a good way. I think. Immediately following is the title track which strays away from 4/4 territory with dubstep vibe and huge HEAPS of energy. This track is unstoppable. ‘Blood Diva’ continues the floor filling dubstep mash up before ‘Blind’ introduces a dirty disco funk sound and ‘Sarah’s Song’ plies us with old school techno beats. ‘I Fucking Broke My Guitar Again’ waves the flag for the bands sense of humour and has a quackingly good bass line. The albums closes with the unifying chant of ‘March As Friends’which comes across like a hybrid of Atari teenage Riot and Sheep On Drugs.
The thing is with much alternative electronic music of an angrier nature, it inevitably ends up sounding very minor key. Not so with these punks as their positivity and direct sonic action gives everything a major key feel. It IS angry but it is also somehow vibrant and joyful. The underlying chord structures and progressions are not going to melt your mind with their complexity though the programming is effective and hefty. The metal guitars and shouty vocal delivery may jar some ears but that’s tough shit. This is a statement an album by a band who have eaten a cheesy dollop of every commercial dance genre going before being strapped to a hospital bed and injected with liquid metal and adrenaline. The results are tasty, maybe toxic, but undeniably they leave you with a good feeling.
7 / 10
For fans of Atari teenage Riot, Petrol Bastard, Sheep on Drugs, The Prodigy, The Vengaboys (!)
Review by John E Smoke
