Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Nasty Party - "Celebration"


You know I'm always a sucker for some really well-done '77-style punk rock. And on that note, the debut EP from Nasty Party is right up my alley. Based in Sydney and London, Nasty Party is a duo consisting of Nasty Simon and Rhys Nasty. "Celebration" is the name of the EP, which is a free download via Bandcamp. These three tracks walk the fine line between first wave punk rock and new wave, yet they manage to sound fully current in 2020. Much of that has to do with the lyrics - which are clever, politically & socially oriented, and indeed quite nasty! Let's just say that these gentlemen are not afraid to tell us what they really think about the current state of the world and the people who occupy it! Wire and the Buzzcocks are influences both stated and palpable, and I'm picking up on some '77-era Talking Heads inspirations in the title track. But what I like is that Nasty Party don't sound like a band you've heard a thousand times before. They've managed to create music that feeds into the anger of the moment but is still full of hooks. And while their songs will inspire you to think, they'll also make you wanna get up and dance. "What the Fuck Are You Into?" is nothing less than an anthem for our times. "Sturm and Drang" fires shots at "influencers" (amen to that!) and features spectacular lines such as these:

Cover and spray your filth elsewhere,
You anti-coagulant scum.
Stop looking at your mates for cues,
Cos time waits for no-one.
For fiddle and sticks lay my daydreams,
In a world where we walk and don't run.
Syphoning pieces of half-truths,
From a digital trail of crumbs.

Wow! Now that is how you write lyrics!  "Celebration" for me is cause for celebration - it marks the arrival of a new and exciting punk rock group that I hope has more in store for us in 2021. If you dig old school punk/new wave with a modern edge, you'd be crazy to pass on this free EP!

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