XX Teens - Welcome To Goon Island

Strap yourself in: this is adrenaline-guzzling, high-octane psycho-punk with a huge smile on its face. XX Teens’ brilliant, raw debut is devoid of all inhibitions, cherry-picking from punk’s legacy with outrageous vivacity. Singer Rich Cash yelps like Mark E. Smith on happy pills, while chaos rages all around him. The tribal drums of ‘The Way We Were’ set the tone, ‘Only You’ is a punk-perfect kick in the groin, and ‘Darlin’’ a riot of fuzz guitars and clattered steel drums. Even the tribute to peace activist Brian Haw (called ‘For Brian Haw’, obviously) is wickedly violent. Totally life affirming – to be enjoyed in very large doses. John Freeman

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DOWNLOAD: ‘The Way We Were’, ‘B-54’, ‘Darlin’’.
FOR FANS OF: The Fall, Louis XIV, very early Adam And The Ants.

Issue #52 - Very Bro-some

Featuring Panama Kings, ASIWYFA, an investigation into DIY touring, details of what over 25 of the finest NI bands are up to in 2009 and much more.