Various - Punk Rock Is Your Friend (Kung Fu Records Sampler № 6)

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 17 / 9 / 2005

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This album is a compilation from punk/hardcore label Kung Fu records. It features some of their most well known bands and some of their new up and coming bands. The older bands include the Vandals, Bouncing Souls and H2O, all playing some of the characteristically great punk rock that they’re all well known for. 'Punk Rock is Your Friend' opens with the band that are probably most well known of all- the Vandals, who are still around after many years and it seems that they’re not going to be going anywhere for a while luckily for us. On this CD they show what they’re all about with 'I am Crushed' which starts off sounding almost like a nursery rhyme. This feeling doesn’t last with the song developing a typically jolly sound that you could quite happily dance around to, although it is in fact not the most uplifting song when you listen to the lyrics. This, however. is the joy of such a great band, who can sing a song about being broken hearted yet make it sound like the opposite. Following the Vandals are Dance Hall Crashers who bring yet more bouncy punk singalong, but with a ska feel to it. They sound a little like No Doubt singing a Reel Big Song. Audio Karate have two songs on the album. The first is the catchy 'She Looks Good' which will stick in your head for the rest of the day. The other song they have is 'Gypsy Queen' which has a something of a Thrice feel to it but is only more punk sounding. They obviously can play well and are more than just a few power chords and big shorts. They are one band in particular that make you want to check them out on the strength of these two songs, just to see how many of their other songs are this good. Useless ID sound very like the Ataris, who I seem to recall first hearing on another Kung Fu sampler a few years ago, For people who are big fans of the Ataris and similar bands then you will be very fond of this band. If you don’t think much of the emo themed punk sounds of those kinds of bands, you will hate it. I warned you, so don’t complain. Tsunami Bomb are another band who feature twice on this compilation. They bring some feminine power to the album. The first song 'My Machete' sounds great and like they are a band with some good depth, capable of more than just one kind of song. The second song,'TB vs. the Monster', however, sounds very teen angst and is not half as impressive as the other song. It's not hard to see why this song is “* = Previously unreleased.” It is not that good. Underminded offer some of the hardcore offerings on the album, and they do this well, with some good old angry screaming, and aggressive sounding guitars. On both of the songs they have on this album, you can completely imagine the scale of their brutality live. The highlight as far as the hardcore bands on this album comes from Xdeathstarxx with 'Aftermath'. This is fantastic, and shouldn’t be listened to at anything less than full volume. This is the type of song that if you didn’t like heavy music, you would laugh at and just completely miss the point, but for those who like their music heavy, loud and hostile this is one of those songs that reminds you how powerful a really aggressive song can be. It has hints of Sepultura and has the heaviness of Dillinger Escape Plan , but in a much more straightforward way. Hell yeah! Cooper are another band I wasn’t familiar with but after one listen to their song 'Summer's Day.' I was intrigued to see what else they’d do. This song has loud chunky riffs perfectly complimented by vocal harmonies that many a band try hard to pull off but fall flat on their faces in the process. Another band that really stood out were Faulter, with their song 'Sixes and Sevens.' This is the kind of song that you could put on and get lost in whenever you hear it. Faulter sound like the kind of band who have a heap of talent and imagination and would not just the play the same kind of song over and over again, but would play around and take you up and down depending on what they wanted to do, rather than just sticking with one particular sound. Definitely one that leaves you wanting more. There are some great songs on this album, far too many to mention all of them,. As with most of these album samplers,'Punk Rock is Your Friend' is the best and worst thing to buy when you have no money! On the one hand for a measly few quid you’ve got a very high chance of finding one of your new favourite bands, but then you realise there’s about 7 or 8 albums you now need to get hold of. You just have to check it out! Damn you minimum wage!

Track Listing:-

1 The Vandals- I Am Crushed
2 Dance Hall Crashers- Lost Again
3 Audio Karate- She Looks Good
4 Useless I.D.- Everything Turned Red
5 Tsunami Bomb- My Machete
6 Underminded- Bring On The Flood
7 Cooper- Summers Day
8 Vs. The World- If I Died
9 Righteous Jams- Righteous Jams
10 Bouncing Souls- Kids And Heroes
11 Faulter- Sixes And Sevens
12 The God Awfuls- Sister
13 The Getaway- East End Blood Bath
14 Throw Rag- Hang Up
15 xDEATHSTARx- Aftermath
16 Audio Karate- Gypsy Queen
17 Circle Jerks- World Up My Ass
18 Tsunami Bomb- TB Vs. The Monster
19 Suffocate Faster- Can't Speak
20 H2O- Guilty By Association (Live At The Knitting Factory)
21 Righteous Jams- Green Eyes
22 Underminded- Hail Unamerican!
23 The Vandals- My Neck, My Back (Shingo Ikioi Remix)

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