Album Review

Gnarwolves – CRU

• 21st Jun 2012

Ever feel nostalgic for the days when the likes of Captain Everything! and The Vandals tore up your TV screen on P-Rock? Get ready to relive those brief but glorious early noughties days as the Gnarwolves’s debut EP leaps into your ears.

Opening track History is Bunk contains all the energy and edge of all your favourite skate punk legends (even the video is reminiscent of the days when Belvedere were at the height of their career) complete with that irrepressible urge-to-sing-along quality. But fear not; if all this pop-punk heyday talk is lost on you, Gnarwolves inject fresh chaos into the genre right from History is Bunk’s energetic opening riff, creating a sound which is both unique and modern. The trio’s gravelly vocals and wicked tongues pack some serious aggression into less than two minutes and get the EP off to a riotous start.

Community, Stability, Identity is the band’s opportunity to show off their diversity. The simplicity of the haunting vocals and heavy, melancholy bassline halfway through the EP are highly effective and make clear that Gnarwolves are no one-trick pony; they’ve got a lot to deliver. After only 6 months together, this soundclash is particularly impressive.

The remainder of the tracks blend the aggression of the first track with a melodic pop punk sound you usually only get from bands who live in sunnier climes. But these aren’t your average songs about girls – the rousing lyrics to Oh, Brave New World are as thought-provoking as the chorus is catchy.

Whether you’ll be putting your arm round strangers and singing drunkenly in their ears at house parties, or roadtripping with your mates and blasting the stereo at full volume, Gnarwolves have the soundtrack for your summer. Is this the best British debut this year?