Tag: surfer punk

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Breezy and Anthemic Surf Punk of Australia’s Skegss

With the release of last year’s Holiday Food EP, which featured “Spring Has Sprung” and “Got On My Skateboard,” the Bryon Bay, Australia-based trio Skegss, comprised of Ben Reed (vocals, guitar), Toby Cregan (bass) and Johnny Lani (drums) won national and international attention for a sunny, anthemic take on surf punk — and for ripping and energetic live sets. Interestingly, the band has received praise from Clash Magazine, who recently included them in this year’s “Best Punk Bands Come From Australia” feature, and as a result of the growing buzz around them, the Bryon Bay-based trio have been playing bigger and bigger shows across the UK and Australia — and have their sights set Stateside. 

The up-and-coming Aussie band’s full-length debut My Own Mess was released yesterday through and so far the album has been a massive commercial success: as of this writing, bum single “Up in the Clouds” has become the 10th most-played on commercial speciality radio, and in their native Australia, the album has recached #1 on the iTunes Alternative chart and #4 overall. And from the album’s latest single “Stop,” I’m not surprised, as the band specializes in breakneck, sugary sweet, power pop-influenced punk centered around infectious shout along hooks, fuzzy power chords and a youthful sense of abandon that recalls early FIDLAR — but with an eye back towards what you did the night before, understanding that usually at some point, the partying and bullshitting will eventually lead to soul-crushing day jobs, dreadful routines and adult obligations. 

The recently released video features the members of Skegss goofing around with a Stop/Slow sign as responsible adults look at them with suspicion and confusion. May the video serve as a reminder of how much we really shouldn’t aim to be so serious that we’ve forgotten what mischief feels like — or that we should always have some fun somewhere. 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Initially began as a solo recording project of Cincinnati, OH-based singer/songwriter Michael Oliva, The Harlequins became a fully-fleshed out band when Oliva met and recruited bassist Alex Stenard in 2006 and drummer Rob Stamler in 2008. Since 2008, the trio have self-released five full-length albums that revealed a band that specialized in a garage rock/psych rock sound wth elements of punk rock, surfer rock and krautrock — and  as a result, the Cincinnati-based trio have played sets at SXSW, Bunbury Music Festival and Midpoint Music Festival, as well as receiving praise from a number of major websites including The Onion‘s AV Club, Exclaim!, Performer Magazine, Vice’s Noisey and others. Additionally, the band has developed a reputation for energetic live shows paired with light displays; in fact, after the release and tour to support 2013’s Sex Change EP, the trio signed with Dizzybird Records and spent the better part of 2015 writing, revising and then recording the material, which would comprise their recently released label debut, One With You.

One With You‘s latest single “Hear Me Out” will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting noisy, infectious and anthemic garage/surfer punk as scuzzy guitar chords are paired with a propulsive and driving rhythm section, an uncannily mischievous sense of melody and howled and sung vocals fed through effects pedals. Sonically, the song bears an uncanny resemblance to Crocodiles‘ Crimes of Passion as it does to Raccoon Fighter, as it possesses a wild, unabated passion that almost takes the song completely off the rails — but while still remaining breezy.