Bash Brothers and Their ‘Life Lessons’.
Bash Brothers – Eksjö, Sweden.
The moment I saw this request in our inbox, I found myself transfixed, determined and reaching for my “objective hat”. Why? Well in truth, any self respecting modern Punk fan can’t possibly ignore anything in the way of Punk-Rock from the country of Sweden, the country of Millencolin, Refused, No Fun At All and more.
Its been a busy debut year for Bash Brothers, signing to growing underground labels Thousand Islands Records and Less Talk More Records and releasing both their debut EP and full-length just four months apart.
Life Lessons is very much a charged melodic Skate Punk album that flirts with classic Pop-Punk as much as it does modern Hardcore and ‘Falling Down’ certainly brings said riffs.
One thing you find as an unambiguous strength of this release is its blend of its chosen influences. In truth, repetition is something you’ll find here but not necessarily completely on a negative incline. Bash Brothers have the soaring and unstoppable melodies across the board that would fall prey to assaults of criticism if it wasn’t for the bastion of almost metallic Melodic Hardcore on the flanks.
If the above and ‘Part Of Me’ are strong examples of European Melodic Hardcore, then the 90’s Pop-Punk/Skate Punk crossovers of ‘Gone Forever’ and ‘Just Like You’ sound like vintage Strung Out meeting contemporary precision Punks Darko or A Wilhelm Scream. Josh Harcus of Scottish/UK Punks PMX guests on ‘Just Like You’ and ‘Keep Me Awake’, just incase you needed another top quality band to indulge in.
The eponymous ‘Life Lessons’ carries such a huge set of hooks across its vocals and guitars it’s silly. The thickness of the contrasting riffs and relentless drums reminded me of yet another band you should look to, Layman’s Terms.
You knew this comparison was coming but the buzzsaw guitars of ‘Suit Yourself’ aren’t too far from No Fun At All but with a little Pennywise and Bad Religion thrown in before another contemporary melody-fest in the verses. Bash Brothers end this one with their adoration of Hardcore Punk as much as they do their penchant for gratuitous melody and I have absolutely nothing to say about that.
Those who indulge in much of the growing UK melodic Punk and Melodic Hardcore scenes will really find something on this record. In these uncertain times Punk music has found its renewed strength and the cantharis is doing nothing but swelling.
Even at their most average this band are strong. Tracks such as the heartfelt ‘You Are Fading Away’ and ‘Spending My Time’ may not stand as tall as their album-mates but still carry the strong continuity of the album. Life Lessons may stick to its guns and only offer limited variety through its chosen facets of the current Punk scene but it does it – pardon my language – really fucking well.
After an album of hard riffs, hard pace and soaring melodies, not to describe these ten tracks as charged, honest and anthemic would be an absolute crime. ‘Immutable Change’ sees the band wearing their heart on their sleeves one last time in 90’s Skate Punk glory.
Find the band and labels below:
- Social Media/Updates: Facebook.
- Music: bandcamp, Spotify.
- Thousand Islands Records: Facebook, Twitter, bandcamp.
- Less Talk, More Records: Facebook, Instagram, Official Website.
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