Feature: Trash Boat

We start off our Trash Boat feature with Jamie Kerr's review of their new EP, Look Alive...

Since Enema of the State first came out, I have followed the pop-punk scene closely and as such, over the years I have become very hard to please when it comes to warming to new bands on the scene. With the genre currently flooded by new bands trying to make a name for themselves, I often find myself struggling to get excited by many of the new acts that are around. So you can imagine my apprehension when asked to review Trash Boat's EP.

I'm pleased to say that from the off I was drawn in by these guys. Opening track Clattered Sign makes a slow start but the tempo soon picks up once the verse kicks in and I'm imagining a circle pit forming. Boneless follows a similar start to the previous song, soon picking up but following a much more melodic approach and then a big singalong for the chorus. Gnarmalade is certainly the heaviest song on the EP with the opening riff similar to that of an early Offspring record. Personally this isn't a song I'd find myself going back to, purely because I've never been one for shouty vocals on pop-punk records but there are some nice riffs and gang chants towards the end that win me back round. Closing song Lock-In comes back to the melodic and heavy combo that I like, ending the EP on a high

While it isn't a groundbreaking record by any means, Look Alive certainly follows the blueprint that has been set out for Trash Boat by their peers. But what makes this record really stand out is that they only formed at the start of the year, yet Look Alive sounds like something you would expect to hear from a band that had been around for a couple of years. And with Neck Deep currently taking the world by storm in a short space of time, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Trash Boat go the same way. If their debut is anything to go by, Trash Boat are a band full of promise and another shining light on the the UK pop-punk scene.


Tobi, lead singer from the band, then took The Punk Archive through Trash Boat's background....


The band was in two parts shortly before its formation. I can't say exactly what went on with the others before I met them, but I know they were in another locally popular pop-punk band. However, they wanted to pursue a different sound and so they abandoned their original name and began to seek a fresh start and musical vibe with a new vocalist...

On my end, the months/years prior to my joining Trash Boat: I wasn't doing too great, a simple knee surgery turned into a complicated one, turned into an infection and then into a general mess. It was an arduous process that dragged over several years, eventually calling for a major lifestyle change. I had to leave my job and get one more suited to my new physical requirements and most, if not all of my hobbies, personal life and plans had to be put on hold or cancelled. I wasn't doing great, it was a very tough time for me and everyone around me, but I was on the mend psychologically.

Then I got a random message from Ryan saying he had seen me singing in a video for one of my old bands and ask me if I'd come to see if I wanted to join theirs….the rest writes itself.

Now, we've only been going since the beginning of the year but I've been in so many bands and although I've had loads of fun along the way, they all faded away for one reason or another, so I'm happy that I've finally found a group of talented dudes to write, record and perform with.