
Shark Punch – Adderall
Similar artists: Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, Day Labor, Kill Lincoln, Skankin’ Pickle, Authority Zero
Genre: Skate Punk, Punk
How fast did you move through the world as a kid? How fast does the world move alongside you now that you’re an adult? If you were fortunate to have been healthy and safe, your early life might well have been a mixture of cartoons, sugar cravings, and lots of running around. Shark Punk would like you to remember that.
But they also want you to remember what a handful you must’ve been for those around you. Looking back on it now, it’s likely plain for you to see that the adults trying to get to slow down were doing this for their own benefit. It’s hard to bring the energy of those times to mind at will, but the sounds of music genres like ska-punk may just do the trick.
Shark Punch’s “Adderall” is a ska-punk sugar rush about the joys of childhood and the looming threat of adulthood. It’s certainly fun but also bittersweet, naturally. Musically, the sugary arrangement is balanced by more hard-rocking guitars than is typical for this genre and by a jittery horn section that is absolutely typical of this genre. Call Shark Punk and ska-punk the greatest tool for flashback-inducing visions.
Dwarves x Madd Lucas – We Will Dare
Similar artists: NOFX, Bad Religion, Queens of the Stone Age, T.S.O.L.
Genre: Skate Punk, Punk, Pop Punk
How far are you willing to go for a joke? Most folks are ready to apologize after the first complaint or know to cool it off once adulthood kicks in. But those people are cowards. Like Andy Kaufmann or The Boy Who Cried Wolf, folks willing to sacrifice themselves for humor and their principles are few.
Dwarves are not done with their pursuit of gross punk-rock humor, and from the right angle, they are still young and good-looking! And while provocation is the essence of punk, it can also work to the band’s disadvantage. People who enjoy Dwarves merely for their brilliantly gross artwork, their chaotically dirty songs, and their on-stage nudity might just miss the fact that they can write memorable pop tunes like it’s nobody’s business.
Dwarves’ “We Will Dare,” a song featuring the vocal talents of Madd Lucas, is a rare plea for understanding from one of punk’s most notorious groups. It also asks the frankly obvious question: “How come they never managed to cancel this band.” Worry not, chaos enthusiasts; there’s enough bizarreness here to make you smirk, a video featuring HeWhoCannotBeNamed trying to seduce Barbie, and enough great hooks to have you replay this. Besides all of this, a late-career revival for, arguably, one of punk rock’s finest-ever bands is overdue!