This Party Sucks – ‘2016 Mixtape’ Compilation *Free Download*.
This Party Sucks – Sheffield, England, United Kingdom.
This Party Sucks was founded in 2014 by Kyle Tranter as a means to host events and put on shows for fans of Pop-Punk and Emo music, putting on shows for Musically Fresh favourites (among others) Ghouls, Montroze and Hindsights.
In their own words, This Party Sucks exists to give Emo, Pop-Punk and Indie music a true home in South Yorkshire. The latest instalment in their quest to improve the scene leads them to releasing a mixtape, showcasing some of the finest musical talent in South Yorkshire.
Mixtape 2016 opens with some music close to my heart; some light Indie/Emo from Sheffield based O Captain. The track ‘Rotten In Denmark’, recorded at Toolmakers Recording Studio and released as an exclusive track from their new EP, Within & Without, has a particularly twinkly, Mineral-esque guitar part, impinged with 80s inspired vocals. The song retains a more Emo/Punk edge as it continues, with clear influences from Jimmy Eat World and The Hotelier shining through.
The previous track rings out into another Sheffield based band. Bad Blood are a band that I’ve seen live a few times, I’m pleased to say that their live energy shines through in this track. ‘Up Sycamore’ has dark undertones, yet an overarching uplifting theme. The minor key but positive lyrics seem a risky move, but in this instance it certainly pays off.
Continuing the uplifting theme, ‘There’s More To Me’ by Cast Ashore brings in a defiant, strong-willed Pop-Punk anthem into the mix. The track was recorded in the band’s home studio and mixed and mastered by Toolmakers Recording Studio. This track will feature on their upcoming, untitled EP.
At this point, I’d like to point out how well arranged this mixtape is, it ebbs and flows as any good playlist should, and you really shouldn’t listen to it in any order other than that which the compilation implies.
With this in mind, the Fourth track on the EP increases the tempo once more, into a slightly gruffer, gilt edged Skate Punk track; ‘Elders’, by Sheffield based (unsurprisingly) Fierce Morgan shows that vocalist Owen Cousins is frustrated and the whole band are doing their utmost to show it.
The heaviest point of this mixtape, ‘Fashion Kills’ shines through as a beacon of 80s-reminiscent Anarcho-Punk. Sheffield based (are you noticing a trend here?) Cadavers clearly hint towards Sex Pistols influences, and the track on the whole is raunchy, political, provocative and most of all, loud.
Breaking the mould a little, River City are a gruff-Punk band from Rotherham; and another band I’ve been lucky enough to catch live a couple of times before. After a short hiatus, they return with a new line-up and a previously unreleased track in ‘Wesker’.
Since we’re in the habit of shocking changes, ‘Foam’ brings a Midwestern-Emo tinged cavalcade of Cap’n Jazz style twinkling and strained vocals. Being 100% honest, having listened to the previous tracks, and seeing the name “Thumbuster”, I was expecting more Punk, and due to my own musical tendencies, I was pleasantly surprised.
However, the most pleasant surprise followed. Mathletics were a band I’d seen mentioned before (probably because of their pun-tastic name) but had never got around to listening to. ‘Noah Vs The Titanic’ is my personal favourite track from the mixtape. A two piece from Sheffield (again) bringing, as expected, mathy riffs and droning vocals over a lilting indie rhythm, one struggles not to draw comparisons to TTNG, but in the best way.
Another easy comparison to make springs up in the next track; the ‘Ooh’s‘ and vocal tone of ‘Young/Naive’ by Seconds Apart instantly rings Don Broco through the listeners head, but I can’t help but feel like there’s a little something deeper in this track, perhaps it’s the meaningful lyrics. Nonetheless, the band have created a straight Alt-Rock stand-alone single, and the production certainly does it justice.
Formed from various defunct Doncaster and Sheffield bands, Shark Bait released their first song ‘Charlie & The Waitress’ as part of the mixtape. The band are plainly influenced by bands like Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, Four Year Strong, and I personally notice some MexicoFALLZ in there, although I couldn’t possibly confirm whether they’re influenced by them or not.
The final two tracks come from Taxi For Bob and No More Nostalgia. The former is a Punk-Rock band from Barnsley, and their track ‘If You’re Not Dreaming, You’re Just Sleeping’ sticks on genre and would not be out of place on a playlist with Blink-182 or Alkaline Trio, although it doesn’t quite reach the same heights as either.
The latter, and indeed the last track on the mixtape ‘Talking’ is a bit of an enigma; while on the whole not unpleasant, it almost can’t decide whether to be a sad-boy Emo-Rock song, or a relaxed “chill” track from a Polar Bear Club-esque Punk band.
As a mixtape; while I’m loathe to use any kind of flame-based emojis to describe it, has been brilliantly arranged, well organised and on the whole will serve well to bring the name of This Party Sucks to a wider audience, and indeed help to achieve their goal of bringing Emo and Pop-Punk to the attention of more and more people in South Yorkshire.
Find all the information you need below:
- For updates, head to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the Official Website.
- Mixtape 2016 is FREE to DOWNLOAD via bandcamp.
- You can find Toolmakers Studio – Here.
#StayFresh
