Title: The Wreck Up EP
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Release: 4th December 2013
Reviewed By: Dan Stoten
If you liked your punk raucous, raw, and beer-soaked, then it's safe to say that The Wreck Up EP is absolutely up your street. The sound of a band defiantly sticking their middle finger up at the world, with a clear aim of just enjoying themselves, this is a refreshing blast of music in a world full of try-hards.
The quartet, hailing from deepest, darkest Essex, and made up from members of New Town Kings and I.C.H., offer an honest, basic punk sound which appeals due to the basic yet catchy lyrics, and energetic delivery.
The EP opens with Proppin' Up The Bar, which immediately throws the listener into a brilliantly joyous maelstrom of punk rock fury. The story of a night out told at its crudest and most basic level, this is almost impossibly catchy, with gang shouts the like of which wouldn't be out of place on a Rancid record. It's a song which puts (only a very slightly) modern spin on the classic punk rock sound to brilliant effect. I defy any punk fan to not be humming the melody and chorus of this track for days afterwards...
The EP's highlight for me, though, is Everything I Touch Turns To Shit. This is quite simply punk rock done very, very well. It's viciously aggressive, loud, blaring, yet basic. It strikes a chord with pretty much every listener. It builds and builds as it goes on, becoming more and more frenetic. It's just a brilliantly basic and pared-back punk rock song.
Nothin' Left To Lose is one of those songs in which you can hear there are loads of similarities to your favourite bands, but can't quite place which ones and where. For me, and, indeed, across the whole album, there is a real old-school Anti-Flag sound, Die for the Government era (minus the politics: these are drinking songs!). As earlier stated, the way The Wreck Up have managed to drag the old-school punk ethos and sound kicking and screaming energetically into the modern era is absolutely brilliant and a real testament to the band.
Another highlight is the more melodic, swaying Pint In My Hand, which has a healthy sprinkling of the Dropkick Murphys about it. Again another booze-soaked track, this one is a lot slower than the other six songs on the EP, but absolutely perfect for the end of the night. It's another song which showcases the true talent that these guys have clearly got in spades.
The tracks are tight, fast-paced and energetic. The vocal is snarling, aggressive and catchy. What more could you want from a punk rock album?
The Wreck Up EP is on Bandcamp here: http://thewreckup.bandcamp.com/
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