DUNT – The ‘Between A Punk Rock and A Hard Place’ EP.

DUNT – Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Edinburgh four piece DUNT have been a band for ten years, ten years of Punk-Rock, various line-up changes, and that crucial quest every band must take in order to find their niche and their comfortable dynamic.

2013 was that year and saw the band release their bleakly titled, The Unbearable Shiteness Of Being, containing five tracks of natural, bleak, and realistic critique of this thing we call life, via fast, melodic and punchy Skate Punk akin to the likes of NOFX, Pennywise, Screeching Weasel, Good Riddance and a host of other Punk household names.

Three years later and the Scottish Punks are back with another five-track blast of bleak realism, stuck…

\\Between A Punk Rock and A Hard Place//

‘Comfortably Dumb’ hits with a NOFX leaning intro before, the band’s bleak and almost Post-Punk in gloom vocals reassert themselves after the long hiatus. The music is fast and melodic and quite frankly standard, with the vocals feeling disjointed comparatively with the music.

You’d think this was a criticism, but it isn’t as it captures the essence of Punk-Rock perfectly. You have to ask yourself is it better to know? Or not too know and be comfortable?

Critically speaking, whenever I see a track with the title of the track second in this running order – ‘Nihilist’, I’m sceptical. Why? Well it’s one of those that manifested on just about every Punk release from here to Pluto and can sometimes become tiring and nothing more that a ‘Yeah, that was alright’ response inducing track.

This isn’t. DUNT approach this one with their dark stylistics and honesty-laden lyrics and they are quite frankly sick of everything. However, the way they approach is in a seemingly caring and passionate manner, but the irony of the whole situation is that despite the manner and conviction in which these complaints and opinions on politics and religion are made, in a manner that suggests belief in something, it is overrun by the irony and realisation that Nihilism has taken hold.

‘Wake Up Down’ is an anthem of emotional frustration and confusion, and is a hard hitting one at that, boasting one of the best tracks on the release.

‘When you wake up in the morning and you know something isn’t right, when all your fears are founded and what you need is nowhere in sight. When regrets overcome you, for what you’ve got to show, and the little voice inside you – is just shouting let it go […] back to the drawing board again’

‘Wasted Time’ leads with an sombre intro like it’s predecessor and similarly maintains a mid-tempo, which is welcome after a predominantly faster release. The penultimate track also steps as close to a more 90’s Pop-Punk sound overall, with nods to No Use For A Name and the like, both in the slower bars, as well as in the faster rhythms playing you out.

‘Those We Leave Behind’ is based around the band’s studio silence. Several personal tragedies sadly befell the band since the last release and ‘Those We Leave Behind’ is a sad lament to the lost and tying off an emotional EP with perhaps the best line – ‘With one last look at the face of an angel, I’ll take my leave – take my leave’.

Between A Punk Rock and A Hard Place is available now in hardcopy CD in a limited edition via Infinite Hive records webstore – HERE and via local Edinburgh record shops – ‘Voxbox Music’ and ‘Elvis Shakespeare’.

For everything else Infinite Hive and DUNT, hit the links below:

• Keep up with DUNT on Facebook and Twitter.
• Between A Punk Rock and A Hard Place can be streamed on both Spotify and Apple Music.
• Digital downloads can be found via bandcamp (where you can also find hard copies) as well as on – iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music.
• The Unbearable Shiteness Of Being release from 2013 can also be found on bandcamp.
• Infinite Hive can be found via Facebook, Twitter and on their Official Website where their full band roster can also be found.

Find the video for ‘Wasted Time’ below:

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