Love Punk, Hate AI

david1170
5 hours ago
1 min read

Personal Punk review THRONK! ‘Kick Me While I’m Down’ EP

Five songs of knockabout, Welsh hardcore punk with a sense of humour from these Newport loons. Lyrically, it’s mostly daft stuff: “white-toothed clarts who put it on online to keep up a facade of a perfect life, the bands love of coffee, getting out of trapped situations and a love song nod to a classic bit of 90’s gaming” but they do take on “their hatred of A.I in the arts” which is, of course, deadly serious.

The punchy bounce of There’s No A.I. In Team channels countrymates BAD SAM. Anthemic, canny, the incredible spoken outro by Jimmy Watkins really ups the ante. Incidentally, Jimmy has a bit of a story worth a look – GB athlete, ex-FUTURE OF THE LEFT, member of Running Punks, as well as his own musical project (JOYCE). Super Mario Clart‘s mid-paced punkery is funny, despite flirting with snobbery, while the fifty-two seconds of Black Stuff is super-fast hardcore that sounds like it was bashed out in a disused warehouse on the wrong side of the tracks – the very essence of DIY punk. Untie Yourself reminds me of the obscure Boss Tuneage-linked BENNY; thoroughly morish, disposable punk played for a doss, its very inessentiality rendering it essential. A paradox, if you will. Finally, D.S.P.I.S.P.O.P.D. chucks a neat low-slung bridge and a beautifully unpolished solo into its burley Welsh punk. The title acronym is something to do with game coding, Doom, and SMASHING PUMPKINS. Google it. I did, and I’m still scratching my head. Fun times.