Albums

Album Review: Goldblade

[Album: Mutiny]
[Label: Captain Oi! Records]

Anybody who knows “what’s up” will know that old-time UK punk rock achieved perfection in 1983 with Peter and The Test Tube Babies’ classic ‘Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs’ LP, the perfect compromise between parody and punk rockage. Since then there have been many punk bands (British or not) trying to captivate that sound, humour and “X-factor” that will get punks to shed a tear in excitement. I personally find the Clash a bit too up their own “world music” ass to class them a punk band, the Pistols have consistently pissed on any legacy they might have had, with terrible reunion shows and (recent) racist incidents and the Exploited? Anybody in their right mind (or not on heroin) should not care about any of those bands.

Goldblade are a Manchester band fronted by the somewhat legendary John Robb of the also somewhat legendary Membranes and feature dudes from other quasi-famous bands from the Northern area. As a band they have been around for about 15 years, but listening to ‘Mutiny’ you could easily be mistaken to think they have been around since the late 1970s. After all, Captain Oi! have been reissuing quality records from the 1980s forever. Musically they have their bases covered and go for a very British old school punk sound that comes off like a yearbook covering 1979 to 1989, with a bit of pure rock, some punk, a bit of street punk and a dash of ska. Their regressive, old-time punk sound brings to mind the numerous mixtapes of punk rock, Oi! and street punk my older brother used to make.

There are no triple-layered guitar solos, no 4-way vocal harmonies and no songs about “that girl”. Instead, we get songs with a social and slight political slant, covering huge, universal topics such as drugs (’Everybody’s On Drugs’), the Neo-Conservatives (’Do The Neo-Con’) and the obvious, self-explanatory punk topics in ‘D.I.Y.’ and ‘Riot! Riot!’. The acoustic version of title-track ‘Mutiny’ has a nice pirate theme making it a perfect beer-garden or punk picnic drinking song, something that bands like the Dropkick Murphys and Gogol Bordello have excelled in for years.

This record is actually a breath of fresh air, since it seems to me that most modern British punk bands are either stuck worshiping old British bands or, rather worse, they are trying hard to copy the latest American trends and accents. I don’t know which is more laughable - skinny dudes in plastic shades and leather jackets pretending it’s still the 1980s or skinny Northern dudes in tight shirts trying to sound like they come from sunny South California. At least these dudes (or some of them) where around back then to be granted the right to reminisce about the “good old years”. At times the nostalgic vibes throughout the record work against it, leaving even novice punk rockers thinking “I’ve heard it all before” before they skip to the next band on their play-list. I can’t find anything specific to dismiss from this record, it’s really just too much to stomach in one go. The tempo is pretty much the same all the way through and neither the music nor the lyrics really escape punk rock conventions. Sure, I’m not listening to this for its potential originality, but some innovation beyond the great production values would be more than welcome. True to the punk rock spirit of the olden days, this is probably going to sound ten times better in a tiny venue than on record.

For Fans Of: Filaments, Buzzcocks, The Stooges

Band Link:
Goldblade

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