Punk on the Mend

Can anyone put their finger on the exact moment that punk died? I can certainly tell you that I hope to hell it died a long time ago only to save it from the ridiculous suffering that has been the last decade of “punk” music. The commercial success of the Simple Plan’s of the world is the equivalent to shitting on true punk music and the idea that the music was about just that, not a means to a commercially viable end. While I have no hard feelings towards the guys in Simple Plan, or any other pop-punk band in the world, I do have hard feelings toward their labelling. This is true of most genres of music, unfortunately. Punk is just one example that sticks out in my mind as it is closest to my heart. I wish Refused had been right when they released their epic album “The Shape of Punk to come”. Instead of more anthemic songs with powerful lyrics, as well as riffs and breakdowns, we ended up with the same three chord shit over and over again. But the genre, as the title explains is “on the mend”. There are people in the music world that are gaining recognition and doing so in a manner that makes them “punk”. Much more so than the thirty year olds singing about heartache and breakups. I will be focussing on three acts in particular to show the wide range of this new wave of punk mentality.

The first band that came to mind when I began thinking about the resurrection of punk was a pretty obvious selection. This Los Angeles band is a high-energy act that has gone on record by saying that they have to be seen live in order to be fully appreciated. How punk rock is that? This claim may also have something to do with the sound of their releases, which are mainly low-budget independent releases that sound as if they were recorded in the basement of an old insane asylum with home-made instruments. I challenge anyone to find a group of rockers that is holding true to traditional punk rock roots and doing it better than Mika Miko. Note: The Sonics do not count!

When “Be Your Own Pet” broke up, my heart followed suit. Right when I was beginning to see a step forward for punk music, caused mainly by a band that was breaking through and getting some critical acclaim, my hopes were dashed to bits. But aren’t bands made to break up? This break up may have spawned something even more important however, with lead singer Jemina Pearl moving to New York City to pursue a solo career. Let me tell you, it may have been the best decision she’s ever made. While it may seem incredibly cliché to pack up a bag, hop on a bus and move to NYC in search of a career in music there is nothing cliché about Ms. Pearl. Her solo work, while it may not sound as raw and typically punk rock as BYOP, is different than anything out there right now. She has lost the screaming, impatient tones of her musical past and come into her own as a musician. With collaborations with punk legends like Iggy Pop, there is no wonder that I am looking to Jemina to slam people upside their un-expecting heads with her new breed of punk.

My third choice for a band which I consider to be a saving grace for punk is most likely the most controversial, and one that both people who read this will feel is where I lost the plot, if I haven’t already. This group of gents hails from Toronto Ontario (no I didn’t add them to fill my Canadian content). Their name says it all ... Holy Fuck. What makes them punk, you may be wondering? Well, aside from the name, which has cost them several grants from the government who feels that the name hinders commercial success, they are truly unique and remain that way by choice. A band that remains this reluctant to success, while at the same time achieving it deserves quite a bit of praise. They have been praised at every festival which they have attended, whether it is the Wolfe Island music festival, or Glastonbury, they have won crowds over. If a band which is considered by many to be ‘electronica’ can receive comparisons to punk legends The Fall, they must be doing something right.

While these three are in no way the only acts which I feel are bringing punk back from the dead, they illustrate my point, that punk isn’t coming back in the same form, but it has mutated into something totally new. While there are bands like Mika Miko who have a traditional punk rock sound, and people like Jemina Pearl who are looking to the origins of punk rock to slap some life back into the genre, there are also bands like Holy Fuck who sound like nothing else, but maintain that sound rather than compromise for financial compensation.

Declan