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A new genre for you

Other | Monday 5th December 2011 | Osh

 

 

Tired of listening to the same ol’ thing? Straight from basement jam rooms and underground clubs comes Folk Punk. It’s the genre for punks too old or too happy to be shouting and shoving safety pins through body parts.

Punk rockers got tired of the assembly line production of Green Day sound-alikes.

To break it down, the genre combines traditional instruments with the aggressive beats of punk. Indigenous instruments like the banjo and accordion are added to the basic guitar-drum-bass punk combo. Folk punk songs are like stories rather than the rants of punk.

In a strange spectacle, the legendary Apollo Theatre in Hammersmith was overrun by punks and drunks on 27th November. Folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner played to a sold-out venue, his largest solo headlining show till date.

Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo opened the show with their brand of girly-folk. Miss Barker’s sound is an acquired taste and felt out of place on a night of raucous punk-rock. One might even say  boring.  

Fortunately, Against Me! were at hand to remedy the situation.  The band practically invented the ‘Florida Sound’ now ubiquitous in the scene.  AM!  fronted by Tom Gabel had the crowd eating out of their hands but the Apollo had the unmistakable sense of anticipation.

Then Frank, backed by the Sleeping Souls marched in triumphantly. He played a mix of his old, heavier songs and the newer, cleaner ones. Turner’s set felt like a party, with the all-inclusive sing-alongs and dancing. In short, he killed it.


- Damini Nath

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