Penny & the Pits – Headcrusher
To some degree, it’s easy to understand why the old punks, those who were present at the very first New York or London underground shows, would like to blame everyone else for trying to have the same kind of fun. They invented something that they can’t own!
It must be a bittersweet feeling. Imagine creating something in a little rehearsal space with friends who know just as little about how instruments work as you do, and having the entire world of music take inspiration from these efforts. Imagine hearing Penny & the Pits when your power chords helped to inspire it.
But the cat’s out of the bag. You don’t need to get a mohawk anymore, travel to London and beg to be accepted among the cool kids. There’s plenty of punk music floating around in the ether, but that’s because there are plenty of people to whom it speaks.
There’s something innocent, childish even, about Penny & the Pits. And you can still make out the playfulness when they’re switching to top gear for the hardcore-punk-inspired “Headcrusher.” The rage about being gaslighted is, certainly, natural and deserves a nasty, loud song in which it can be expressed. But this is an original take on a familiar brand. Nobody can own it, nd everyone gets a chance at reinterpreting it.
Stoke Signals – Jeff’s Best Friend
It’s more of us in the world than ever before, and fewer of us are invited to make meaningful decisions than ever before. We’re back to the time before the French Revolution, where elites ruled and advised the hungry to bake cakes.
The stories you read, however, say little of this. They advise you not to worry too much, lest you want your heart rate to develop into some terrible disease. But not everyone’s fooled. Stoke Signals aren’t falling for you, and you shouldn’t either.
This lack of belief arrives at the right time, too. Punk-rock was supposed to show its character and qualities back in 2016, when Donald Trump first won the U.S. elections. All we got back then, however, were half-baked Green Day songs about the importance of freedom. We need more!
Maybe it’s the fact that billionaires are grinning by the side of the most important man in the world, or taking shots at him on the social media platform that they own, but people are finally angry and inspired. “Jeff’s Best Friend” is a punk song about the new rulers of the world. Stoke Signals are fired up and enraged. And why not? If estimates are correct, the billionaires and their families should rule for the next few centuries. And you’re not invited!
