KDS Promotions and The Boulevard - Wigan - Punk Compilation Vol 1 - Compilation Charity Album Review

Opening words from Keith Smith of KDS Promotions: “I've been a promoter at various North West venues for years but it's only when I started with The Boulevard Wigan, I found a place to call home. The Boulevard really help unsigned bands get their music heard by supplying a venue with pa, sound technician and some backline all free of charge, any door charges are 100% kept by the band/promotor. Also, most importantly they don't interfere, I'm left to do it as I want to for the first time and it's proved to be a huge success. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 the venue has been closed or when open had a vastly reduced capacity with extra costs to keep in line with the government rules. The Music Venue Trust have unfortunately put the venue in the 30 most at risk venues in the country now. We have been doing as much fundraising as we can to save the venue and the idea was put to us to do a compilation CD, asking bands to donate a song. All the technical and artwork was done by Anthony Watson of punk band The Sentence. Anthony not only did this work free, he also paid for 50 of each CD. It's been a huge success with Volume 1 selling out in 4 days and so far, we have raised £585 for the venues crowd funder.”

Great words and tribute to all the bands who have contributed to this album. More often than not, some go unnoticed for the work that is put in to putting on gigs, the promoters, bands, bar staff, security and so on. This cd is as important as any, helping to keep this scene alive. I tip my hat to all involved. And of course, to you and me, the punters.

Back off World by The Fauves: Blistering opening with air raid siren, morphing into heavy and fast bass lines leading into speed lead guitar. Rasping voice breaking out to tell us of a fight through life, from early years to present day. Never giving up and having to rely on others. The selfless fight against corrupt authority, taking on the wrongs of the world with grit and mettle. Cracking tune, fast, heavy in ya face old school punk rock with a major “fuck you” attitude. Sommat to see live I bet.

Act of Defiance by Under The Cosh: Intro from with amazing drum work, interesting use of stereo channel hopping, best listened to on decent headphones. Straight from drums, ripping guitar work, reminiscent of the likes of Iommi and Blackmore. Lyrics giving us an insight into the resistance of human nature. How fucked up our world is and having a voice, a voice to change the sour side of people. Make that stand people, we are the only ones who can. Love the production of this track, again, the channels used for instrument and vocal, heavy vocal in right, complimented by guitar to left. Love it.

Punk Rock Police by Potential. Victims: This song covers the question of what is and what is not punk. We all have our opinions, descriptions and ideas of what it is, and that’s fine. What we don’t do complemented is tell other people how it should be, what’s good for the goose, isn’t always good for the gander. Half way through, the tone slows, the rhythm changes to a bit of ska fret work (can I say that? fuck yeah!) the band joining in with some football style chanting, something I know the crowd will respond to. Brilliant. Slight pause, then back into their rock n roll chordy stuff, a gentle yet very effective transition of musical style. Nice.

Tory Boy by The Apparents: A tad political, oh yeah. I sense a feeling of resentment here toward those who shall not be mentioned (bar the title of course!). no intro, straight into an anger ridden dialogue of hatred toward those who have caused so much devastation. Again, hard and fast punk ethos in the music, poignant and heavy hitting lyrics without the need to hold back. Ya deffo know where ya stand with this tune.

Never be Quiet by The Mistakes: Sweet twangy guitar chords open this, deep bass and drums in their too. Little bit of throat clearing and in comes loud raspy vocals. A compact tune, everything coming together to instil the need to get ya voice heard over the unfairness sometimes of life. Too many people living the quiet life, content with not having anything. This is a song for the downtrodden, a little light to show what you can achieve, if only you opened your mouth and told people. I like this one a lot, you can hear the passion in the voice and lyrics, musically aggressive to get an important point across.

DIY by Billyclub: Love this band, only seen em a few times but always blow me away. Incredible energy, super-fast, noisy hardcore punk. Last saw em a few years ago at a xmas punk doo, singer was full of a snotty cold, but still did his stuff. This tune as you can imagine is about punk, the DIY way. We are asked to get on the road and see what its all about, being in the punk rock family, experiencing the blood sweat and tears of punk life in a band. This is hardcore at its best, tremendous energy and passion from all the lads, banging voice with incredible musicians. Go ed lads

Big Time Bum - The DRY RETCH: One of my fave bands on the punk circuit right now. After a short hiatus, the boys are back, bigger better faster, with a deeper rockier sound. Ozzy John with his distinctive vocals. Jaypers on lead playing like a fucking rock god, difficult to take ya eyes off him when playing. One tip tho, never stand at the front or heckle, you will be blitzed, however, a band you really need to see live. Huge stooges influence which can be heard in the music and lyrics. Big time Bum teaches us of the dislike for, shall we say, a girlfriend and the behaviour in which the other half encounters with her, ending ultimately in what appears to be her untimely demise. Fast, energetic and again to the point, John isn’t one to mince his words and thoughts!

Tears of Joy by The Sentence: Aaah the joys of youth, great story telling here. A journey from our youth to what we are and know today (for us oldies!) growing up with nothing and using our voices to be heard and to fight for what is right “we had no knives; we had no guns”. Great catchy easy to sing a long to tune. No need for violence, fighting with a smile on ya face and the power of music. Lovely.

Lies and Deceit by Bastard Face: Fast. Hard. And to the heart of the issue. The lies and deceit of those who “lead” us, for their own personal gain. Are we the sheep that follow, or the ones to rise up? Massive drum and lead, power this song from start to finish, deep growling voice showing real anger and disdain at those who control the people. A power that some might say, might just turn full circle one day and bite those who abuse it. Just saying!

Sleeping on Cardboard by MC16: A song that is quite personal to me being ex forces. The plight of service personnel being discarded by the system, cast out and ending up on the streets. A total lack of respect for those who have fought for the country in which they live. The horrendous explosion of mental health issues affecting them, little or no support, medicated and now living on the streets. This not only applies to these brave men, but to all who end up on the streets, for whatever reason. A poignant song, worth listening to =, and I have to say, well put across. Cheers lads. This is a special song.

Car Crash Cadillac by THE KINGCROWS: “Leeds scuzziest punk rock n roll maniacs” yup, I’ll have that. Seen these few times, and always put on a great set. Superb ripsaw guitar work and yes, “sleazy” vocals. Thrown in the mix is a taste of rockabilly. Riding down the highway dressed in black leather with the devil for car share. Cracking foot tapping tune to get ya juices flowing. Sweet, just what we all need.

What if they’re Right by Headsticks: Folky punk genius from a very good band. Again, seen Headsticks a few times and always give you songs to make you think. Clever way of mixing folk and rock to give a unique sound, thought provoking lyrics sung with genuine passion from Andy. So, what if they are right, the media, the internet, sources of information which we all take advantage of and use daily, drinking in all that we see and hear. A powerful message here, be aware of what you read, take most with a pinch of salt and sperate the right from wrong. The question is tho, what if we are wrong. Sommat to think about.

p.s. a band in my opinion that should have more kudos in the music world, the style spans many different genres and is as important as the legendary folk singers of the past.

Out of Time by The Tokyo Rankers: Brilliant old school style punk n oi band hailing from Peterborough. Their sound takes ya right back to the old days of skinhead noise. Singing about the opinions of others toward yaself, “underrated”, nah, who cares, who really cares what other people think. Live ya life, love ya look and have a laugh and a beer. An upbeat track to get ya stomping on the dancefloor…. boots, braces n all!

Alien Invasion by The Webb: Me ol’ mates Mark and Becki, for those who haven’t seen these, they reopen the 80’s synth pop punk days with keyboard noise attacking ya senses. Dramatic stage presence and all that is 80’s style. Huge sense of fun and drama, never fail to entertain the crowd. This track uses lyrics very cleverly, I could liken it to the Clockwork Orange storyline of brainwashing, but that might a little obvious, however, Mark and Becki sing of our head being full of too much crap, force fed to us by government, social media and the like, bullying us in to conforming to the rule. Too much information, overload etc, sub liminally taking onboard the wishes and thoughts of others. Changing the past, erasing the future, just being here in the now. Many ways to interpret this one, I’ll leave you to make a decision on that one. Brilliantly messy keyboards with echoey voices in our head. Clever.

Monster by Hot Rockets: North Yorkshire gives us Hot Rockets, rock n rolly punk toons. Not heard these before but so wanna see em. Opening chords reminiscent of early Datsuns, with a Bauhausy bass line throughout. A strong intelligent sound from a 3-piece band (surprised) with I sense a darker side to their lyrics than most. Monsters can be translated into many things, at one point stating the parents are our monsters in our heads. A recurring theme where we are fed unnecessary “facts and information”, which may one day end in overload tragedy. I like these a lot, can’t wait to see em on stage.

Living in Workington by Fat Albert punk rock uk: Quite a sad one this, the story of a local community being ripped apart by multi billion-pound organisations. We see this all over the country. Privatisation ruining people’s lives and in many cases livelihoods. Some say its progression, try saying that o the families who have been turfed out of their own home. The songs opens with bassy riffs, leading into heavy fast guitar work, followed briskly by fast vocals and lyrics that piss you off, for the right reasons. “old school punk with a hint of Oi!” I feel a drink being named that!

Fake News by the lengthmen: Saw these a few years ago at Mayhem at Mick’s, great rock/punk band, and put on a great set. Twangy opening guitar work goes straight into searing Jonesy style strings. Chard showing his darker side not only in the lyrics but his vocal range. A hint of Kirk Brandon in the voice. Fake news is all around us, tv, internet everywhere. What we believe to be true ain’t always the case. This is warning people, be careful of what you say and where that info comes from. So often we are dealt news that just is not the truth. Problem is, we see sommat too often, and we blindly believe it. It becomes the truth.

Alcohol Abuse by The Allergics: Go on, put ya hands up, who’s been there? yes you laddy! the trials and tribulations of over indulgence. That famous cliché everyone says “I’m not touching another drop again”. Yet………. top tune with an obvious message, we all have a laugh about getting pissed etc, problem is, we have all lost people to the bottle. But we carry on. Fast upbeat tempo on this one, what stands out for me is the ripsaw guitar which I lurve, a real finger tapping tune to get ya thinking. Me likey.

Dickheads Disco by Smeekered: Oh, the joys of 70’s and 80’s discos. The title says it all really, heavy bass line throughout, old school streetpunk guitar work with a hint I would say of Oi! intermittent harmonising during a tour of flared trousers and The Bee Gees. Oh, forgot to mention, Barry Gibb guesting at the beginning. A fun tune for those who can remember that far back.

Words: Johnny, Photos: Bands Media, RBY, Caz Cockerham

KDS Promotions Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KDS-Promotions-1696271290604337 Boulevard Wigan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boulevardwigan

The Fauves Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-fauves-punk-band-260062691328559

Under the Cosh Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/underthecoshband

Potential Victims Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/potentialvictimsuk

The Apparents Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theapparents

The Mistakes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themistakesuk

Billyclub Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BILLYCLUB.BILLYCLUB

The Dry Retch Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDryRetch

The Sentence Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northwestpunkband

Bastard Face Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bastardfacegfy

MC16 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MC16band