Gnarwolves’ second album is called ‘Outsiders’, which is fitting. As a band they’ve long upheld that idea, having always carved their own path through the UK pop-punk scene by eschewing the slicker sound of their contemporaries.
They drew on US hardcore of the ‘80s for their self-titled debut but here they turn to pop-punk of the early ‘90s, combining it with dashes of alt-rock, post-punk and power-pop. The band spent more time crafting the tracks this time around, as opposed to creating songs they thought would go down well in the pit, and the result is a more textured record than its predecessor.
Opening track Straitjacket harks back to the early thrashings of Green Day, with its “I was born in a straitjacket” refrain, while English Kids has a brief post-punk intro before tumbling into poppier waters.
Talking To Your Ghost and Argument sound like early Weezer, while Channelling Brian Molko rather blatantly gets its melodic inspiration from a Placebo hit. Shut Up, the longest track by far at over six minutes, is about a band argument and written in the style of Brand New. It showcases a far more intimate side to Gnarwolves.
All these musical references hark back to their teenage years but lyrically you can tell this is a band approaching their 30s. While there are still traditional topics - suburban boredom and broken hearts - here Gnarwolves are tired of the party lifestyle.
On The Comedown song, Thom Weeks sings: “Fuck your party I’m sleeping in / Got to learn how to think again.” They are less angry and more conscious of how their actions affect others. Take Shut Up as an example: “But still you’re staring quite the same / We haven’t spoken for an hour / Just stood here smoking in the rain / Shit, I thought you’d wanna know.” Perhaps they are also growing more politically conscious, as on English Kids: ‘I was insubordinate for a while / Till she cut me down to size / Showed me that the world was in constant compromise.”
‘Outsiders’ shows that Gnarwolves are able to expand their sound as they get older, while also retaining their strength as a punk rock band. It may place them outside the circles inhabited by their contemporaries, but that seems like a role the band are more than happy to play.
Gnarwolves Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed May 17 2017 - CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
Fri May 19 2017 - SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Sat May 20 2017 - LONDON Borderline
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