It’s been a long time since we had a substantial release from, Manchester ‘party-emo’ pioneers, Well Wisher. Two tracks on a split with Polina, and a plethora of live shows, was just enough to tide fans over in 2011, but now we have Summer Gangs. The band’s second EP raises the bar set by their debut – their, catchy, upbeat tunes sounding more refined and polished than ever before. In short, this might well be the best thing Well Wisher have ever done.

Starting out understated with ‘Are You Crazy To Come To The Crazy Beach Party?’ (what a gem of a song title!), Summer Gangs builds into this erratic crescendo of sound by the beginning of the second track, before repeating the whole process all over again. It’s like having a massive indie-pop/emo monster stumble out of the bushes, look at you, and start to charge, arms and legs flailing. The EP is capped off with a fantastic cover of Braid’s ‘Breathe In’ – a track originally intended for a tribute to the, no longer late, 90′s emo outfit – which the band have made their own, whilst making their influences abundantly clear.

Summer Gangs shows a clear progression in Well Wisher as a band. Their older material remains fantastic, but everything here – the lyrics, the musicianship, the everything – is a step up. Not only that, but it’s the closest they’ve come to capturing the band’s intense, captivating, live experience and I couldn’t ask for more than that.

You can stream the entire EP over on their Bandcamp.

What better way to celebrate 35 years of being one of the most influential punk bands ever than to go on a huge world tour (U.S, U.K and Australia) and playing the two, debatably, most iconic albums from your back catalogue? I suppose a big birthday cake filled with L.S.D and cocaine would be better but, given the current financial situation in the world, the white stuff has been hard to afford (I’m talking about flour, obviously). The Damned went with the former, and I was lucky enough to catch the horror-tinged punks at Manchester’s Academy 1.

It should have been a great night all around and it nearly was. The only downfall was, opening act, Viv Albertine. Once guitarist for, the now defunct, punk band The Slits, Viv broke the night in with a set of stripped down punk songs, so stripped down in fact that it was just her and an electric guitar which sounded like it was barely plugged in. A bad sounding guitar wasn’t the only downfall of the set. I imagine even with a full band setting they wouldn’t hold much water. Her vocals were completely off, and the lyrics were often reminiscent of a child who’s learnt a handful of, semi-crass, limericks. Her final song was definitely the best, ‘Confessions of a MILF’ did clarify one thing about Viv, she might be a little older now but she was still pretty easy on the eyes. Her short skirt gave a little reason to not head back to the bar. Nevertheless, nice pins weren’t enough to make up for what felt like a forced set of songs about a sexually liberated, self-confessed mother. Mid set a drunk guy turned to me and said, “it’s fucking punk rock, innit?” If so, maybe we should give up on the whole damn scene.

After nearly vomiting from the visual display that pre-empted their set, The Damned took to the stage. They tore into the entirety of, 1977 classic, Damned Damned Damned, playing everything aside from ‘Stab Your Back’. Why such a great song was missed from the set is insane, but this did little to diminish the intensity too much. The band played so tight it felt, at times, as if they were simply dancing to a copy of the album. Their energy levels don’t seem to have dropped one iota since the days of its release (fair enough I wasn’t alive, but that’s what YouTube is for, right?), and if anything the years of touring has made them a much stronger live band than ever before. Though I was curious as to why, keyboardist, Monty Oxy Moron was on stage during an album that features no keyboards. My heart goes out to Monty though, he jumped around like a maniac, playing no keyboard, offering the occasional backing vocal, and looking like he was as excited to be part of the show as the audience were to be watching it.

The band left for a brief intermission before returning for the second instalment. “Alright, it’s now 1980 and we’re in a studio in Wales” announced the Captain, changing from his Yeti-like garb to a much cooler looking Dennis the Menace styled ensemble. I hadn’t drank enough to believe him but I knew what was coming and the band blasted their way through the, more progressive, Black Album. Even though I can’t fault it, listening to this after something as intense as Damned Damned Damned felt like a bit of an anti-climax. Monty was finally given a real musical role and played fantastically. Singer Dave Vanian’s vocals began to give towards the end of the album but he pulled through, giving the haunting punk inspired melodies the mellifluous vocal talent that is missing from so many of the more vocally aggressive punk bands from the same era.

They returned for an encore of a few choice hits, ending with the greatly received, albeit cliché, ‘Smash It Up’, leaving the audience blown away and leaving me upset that the night was over. I’d had two of the greatest punk albums ever played before my eyes by one of the greatest punk bands ever, but it had left me salivating in hunger for more. Maybe next time they’ll play all their albums in one night?

I recently reviewed Emma Hallows, fantastic, debut EP and now we’re happy to bring you her debut video. Guess what? We’re bringing it to you exclusively too, which is pretty awesome. The video was shot in the Castlefield area of Manchester and, I think you’ll agree, it looks great. I happened to be there on the night of the shoot, and it’s great to see it all come together. I got roped in to being in it to, so you might just spot me.

Though he might be best known to some as frontman of The Loved Ones, Dave Hause has recently been carving out a career for himself as a solo artist. His debut long player Resolutions was released to wide acclaim, causing it to be picked up by Xtra Mile Recordings in the UK, but that hasn’t left him resting on his laurels. We chatted to him before the Manchester leg of the, first ever, European Revival Tour – where he’s appearing alongside Chuck Ragan, Dan Andriano and Brian Fallon – about his signing to one of the UK’s most exciting labels, his forthcoming 7″ record releases and his plan for the next Loved Ones record.

© 2011 Louise Distras

Ladies and gentlemen… Great Cynics

Great Cynics are one of our favorite bands right now, so to have Giles do a session for the site was pretty awesome. We’d dragged him up to Manchester to play a show, but made sure to get him “in session” for you guys too. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a dodgy hat, Giles sat and performed ’14 Coleman Street’ and a cover of, Paint It Black’s, ‘Memorial Day’ outside a Manchester bar.

We think it turned out quite well, but what do you think. Let us know in the comments and be sure to let us know who you’d like to see us get a hold of in the future.

14 Coleman Street

Memorial Day (Paint It Black cover)

“If Brian Fallon tried to mug me, I’d just chin him” – Ian Critchley

There was another ‘Under The Bridge Presents…’ show the other week, so we couldn’t miss such a great opportunity to podcast. All of us p iled back to a house in Manchester and recorded the show. Our guests this week are: Martin Moran, Clare Arnstein, Graeme Brown and Giles Bidder (of Great Cynics). The show is completely off the rails and barely audible. It was fun to do though. Don’t judge us.

Our music this week is inspired by that show, so we have Crywank, Louise Distras, Jimmy Islip and Great Cynics breaking up the show. If there’s any music you’d like us to play or things you think we should discuss on the show, email utbcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

Go on, have a listen!

Under The Bridge #27: “Wheatus & Chips” (stream/download or subscribe on iTunes)

“It’s crazy how full circle it’s come…” – Tom May (The Menzingers)

The Menzingers were in the UK for a little while a few weeks back, so we couldn’t resist going and bothering them again. Having played in London with Make Do & Mend and Leagues Apart the night before, and played awesome sets at Reading and Leeds festivals, the guys were in good spirits. We talked about what playing that festival means to them, their recent switch to Epitaph Records and grilled them about some forthcoming new material.

“Oh, it’s Moon & Back!” – James Hull (Leagues Apart)

Leagues Apart recently embarked on a short tour in support of The Menzingers. Having already toured with the band last year, the Manchester-based punk foursome were happy to be touring with their friends again, as well as just playing shows. We caught up with the guys to talk new material, ‘side projects’, singing with Hot Water Music at Reading Festival and playing Fest 10. We also found out that they’d, inadvertently, ruined our surprise for Chuck Ragan. Bastards!

Below is either the best, or the worst, interview we’ve ever done. Decide for yourselves and let us know in the comments.

The idea of having artists do “sessions” for Moon & Back is an idea we’ve been throwing around for a while. Today, that idea comes to fruition. Into It. Over It. performed in Manchester last night, so we asked Evan if he’d be kind enough to record a couple of songs for us. He obliged and completely blew us away.

First up, he performs a fantastic version of, his own, ‘Augusta, GA’ (taken from the album Twelve Towns). He followed that with a brilliant cover of Iron Chic’s ‘Bustin’ (Makes Me Feel Good). Be sure to let us know who you’d like to see do a ‘Moon & Back Session’ and, if they’re on tour somewhere near us, we’ll do our best to track them down. I hope you enjoy this. We’ve got a few more lined up and would love to keep bringing these to you on a semi-regular basis.

All footage was shot and edited by, our in house video team, Dicking Around Productions. Check them out here.

Augusta, GA

Bustin’ (Makes Me Feel Good)

Michigan-based pop punk trio, Cheap Girls have just completed a tour of the UK with Lemuria. They stopped off in Manchester a couple of weeks back, so we went down and had a chat to them (amidst a sea of technical problems) about touring with their friends, their recording plans, the stillness of a German punk show and much more.

Ben Graham: Hey. It’s going good.

AB: Are you looking forward to the show in Manchester tonight?

Adam Aymor: Yeah. It’s been two years.

AB: It’s been over two years since you were last here?

AA: Yeah. May ’09 or something.

AB: You’ve toured a little in the UK so far, as well as the rest of Europe, how’s the whole tour been so far?

AA: Awesome.

BG: Yeah, great so far.

Ian Graham: No, we’ve had a good time. It was our first time in mainland [Europe], second time in England. It’s been cool to see new areas. Things are much older here.

AB: Best bits? Worst bits?

IG: Paris. Paris was really good.

AA: Paris, Fluff Fest in the Czech Republic.

BG: In the UK they’ve all been good. Southampton, Bristol, Kingston, Swansea.

Ian Critchley: You’re hearding to Belgium and Germany after this. Do you have a good following over there?

AA: German shows are good.

AB: I’ve always been told they’re very…still.

IG: Yeah, they are. They’re pretty relaxed, but they’re fun. The shows are always good.

AA: Hamburg was great. We hit Berlin after this, and stuff.

IC: And you’re touring with Lemuria. How’s that going? Are they nice people?

BG: Oh, they’re great. We’ve known them for years. We’ve toured with them a little bit in the states, and we’ve been talking about this tour for a long time.

IG: We got that seven-inch together, that just came out. So it seems like good timing.

AB: Has the response been good to that, so far?

IG: Yeah, we like it *laughs*.

AA: People have been nice every night when they’re talking about it.

AB: You said you were last over here in May ’09, was that on the back of My Roaring 20′s?

IG: No. We had just recorded the record, and it was kinda in the period before it came out.

AB: Did you find it harder with the record not being out?

IG: Not necessarily. We put our first record out free, digitally, and that made a huge difference. People who came to the shows were well aware and knew the songs, so it was great. That’s one of the smarter things we’ve probably done.

AB: That seems to be the norm for a lot of bands these days. Do you really think that helped you guys?

BG: Yeah, definitely. When we were in the UK before, it was even on the fliers. “Download the record on Quote Unquote”

IG: For a band that’s touring an area, especially for the first time, there’s not really a better thing to have available.

IC: And you did a split with Above Them too, that must have helped?

BG: Yeah.

IC: You just talked about the new split, but have you any other projects in the works?

AA: We get back from the tour in late August, have a month off, and in October we record full length number three.

AB: So before we have more tech issues I’ll go for our final question. With the new record on the way, we wondered if you’d be willing to donate some of the profits towards a Chuck Ragan fishing show.

BG: A Chuck Ragan fishing show?

IG:Actually, a friend of ours goes fishing with Chuck a good amount. I know he fishes a lot.

AB: Are you up for that? Will we have ‘Cheap Girls’ listed in the credits?

IG: Sure. We’ll see if we even sell any records.

BG: I’ve got at least six bucks on it.