THE RESTARTS (UK)
Street Punk from London
The Restarts, formed in 1995, are a tight three piece, multi-genre punk outfit based in East London. They play thrashy, anarcho, power chord punk laced with Ska breaks and pogo inducing basslines earning them a loyal following of punk lovers of all ages.
The Restarts have been hammering their way through the squats of Europe and DIY house shows across North America with reckless abandon. They lend amplification to unheard voices, playing benefit gigs for various social causes and keeping the DIY spirit of punk rock alive and well.
Their years of hard graft is recognised by them being requested to play along side such heavy weights as Steve Ignorant's Crass, Jello Biafra & GSM, Millions of Dead Cops, The Casualties, Star Fucking Hipsters and The Subhumans.
After several tours over Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and South Asia and over 9 releases the Restarts have found themselves playing a small part in a large world wide network of DIY Punk Rock. They are punks first, musicians second. They feel the social importance of Punk Rock takes priority over the "marketability" of a rehashed trend.
In 2019 they published a split 7" with the Subhumans and their new album "Uprising".
Reviews
Die RESTARTS spielen vor einem total vollen Saal. Kieran, der Sänger schreit seine wütenden Punktexte in die Menge. Die RESTARTS machen Punk mit klarer politischer Ansage weil: 'there are a lot of assholes out there'. Sie spielen immer noch so zornig, wie Anfang der 90er in den besetzten Häusern."
- Useless Fanzine, Live Review, Rebellion Festival 2012
Gewürzt mit einer ordentlichen Prise Streetpunk strotzen die Songs vor Rebellion und Aggression. Der Sound ist rau, grob, melodisch und sehr eingängig. RESTARTS sind weder müde noch leiser geworden... Diese Hoffnung ist Antrieb. RESTARTS geben mit diesem Album Mut, den eigenen Weg weiter zu gehen, und das ist mehr, als viele Bands heutzutage schaffen."
- Wahrschauer
"The Restarts first crawled out of the North London Squat scene nearly a decade ago. Serial dole scroungers the lot of them, they named their band after the dreaded 'back to work' interviews and set about touting their stroppy four-chord punk to spiky-haired audiences around the world. Yelling out barbed diatribes against the state over chunky metal guitars, they've slowly but surely clawed their way to the top of the underground pile."
- Terrorizer
"This is dance in the basement, spanner in the works, back porch drinking, bomb in the police station punk!!! I never knew Steve Ignorant had pregnancy-inducing sex with all of POISON IDEA, but this is some cute baby they had. Oh, also good people. They played at a house in West Oakland last month, and rocked us with energy and astounded us with their good manners!"
- Maximum Rock'n'Roll
"Abrasive yet catchy UK punk with raw vocals and plenty of chorus sing a longs. The razor blade throated lead vocalist give this plenty of raw edge while through most of it the music has a much more uplifting energy to it... Oddly enough, it seems rare to come across the bands that play straight forward old-style punk rock and so this is a refreshing cause they've been at it for like a decade. Cheers guys. Good catchy shit."
- Slug and lettuce
"I've seen them play many times in London and always rated them pretty highly as a live band but never really got to hear their stuff on record yet. Things have changed now as I got a copy of their latest album. It seems I've been missing out on something very big. This album is the dogs bollocks! This goes right into my top 20 albums of all time I reckon. 12 songs of punk rock how it should be played."
- London Punks.co.uk
"I caught the mighty RESTARTS at Brum punx picnic & they rocked the house down w/ their abrasive punk rock... Raging punk rock w/ honest social commentary shows that THE RESTARTS are one class act!... As usual THE RESTARTS win another battle of the bands."
- Punk shocker, Newcastle Fanzine
"With ex members of Coitus, Armed and Hammered, and Assrash UK, it was no surprise that the RESTARTS kick-ass!! All three members share the vocals and each deliver them powerfully... These guys plan to tour the US this summer!...I can't wait."
- Profane Existence
Upcoming shows
No shows booked at the moment.
Band
- Kieran – Bass, Vocals
- Robin – Guitar, Vocals
- Jeremy – Drums
Discography
- 2019 – Uprising, CD/LP, Pirates Press Records
- 2013 – A Sickness of Mind, CD/LP, No Label Records
- 2009 – Mobocracy, The Restarts/Zero Tolerance Split CD, No Label Records
- 2007 – Outsider CD, Dirty Faces Records
- 2004 – System Error LP, Active Distribution
- 2003 – Actively Seeking Work 1996-1998 LP, Active Distribution
- 2002 – Slumworld CD/LP, Active Distribution
- 1999 – Your World, The Restarts/Zero Tolerance split 7″, Magilla Guerilla Records
- 1998 – State Rape, The Restarts/Zero Tolerance split LP, Rejected Records
- 1998 – Legacy of Bigotry, The Restarts/Left For Dead split EP, Dead Records
- 1997 – Just Gets Worse EP, Blind Destruction Records
- 1997 – Frustration EP, Blind Destruction Records
- 1996 – Job Club Demo tape, self released
Also check out:
P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. (US)
Garage / Punk Rock / Speed Rock
"The members of this group are or have been in Defiance, Dead Moon, Resist, Detestation, Pierced Arrows, Severed Head Of State... and about every band to ever come from Portland, but you shouldn't pick up this rad little two-song picture disc because of what these folks have done in the past. P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. stands on it's own merits. The band plays well crafted hardcore punk with a fast and dirty rock'n'roll swagger." - Maximum Rock'n'Roll
The P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. from Portland, Oregon are a 5 piece Rock’n’Roll/Punkasfuck/Hardcore Monster which consists of several punkrock veterans out of Portland. Members have managed to do some mischief in bands like Pierced Arrows, Defiance, Detestation, or current bands like Don’t and Hellshock. That should give you a general idea of what this band is all about. Powerful Punk’n’Roll with sleazy guitars, a tight rhythm section and a frantic singer with just the right amount of snottines.
After several tours in the US, Europe and Mexico and a handful of vinyl and cd releases, they made a name for themselves as a prominent presence not only in Portland's thriving Punk/Garage Rock/Underground music scene.
After nearly 80 European shows in 2015 and 2016 the P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. will come back to Europe in fall 2017 with a new singer, their new single “Enemy Spy” and the brand new LP "Doomtown Shakes"!
Reviews
"Featuring Kelly Halliburton - drummer of the post *DEAD MOON* PIERCED ARROWS -on bass and original POISON IDEA drummer Dean Johnson, this is a powerful blast of Rock'n'Roll fury that few bands actually achieve... If, to paraphrase THE JACK SAINTS, Rock'n'Roll saved your life but is now trying to kill you, or if you just simply love the jet-fuel-infused sounds of THE NEW BOMB TURKS, THE HELLACOPTERS, or Ass-Cobra-era TURBONEGRO, not to mention the aforementioned CANDY SNATCHERS, JACK SAINTS and MOTORHEAD, you're gonna need this 7" right now, this second, chop chop, what are you waiting for?... PS - I've just played this 7" over and over about 20 times while writing this and I’m not sick of it yet. That's good music."
- The Big Takeover Magazine
"So the members of this group have been in PIERCED ARROWS, POISON IDEA, RESIST, DEFIANCE, DETESTATION, SEVERED HEAD OF STATE, and about every band to ever come from Portland, but you shouldn't pick up this rad little two-song picture disc because of what these folks have done in the past. P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. stands on it's own merits. The band plays well crafted hardcore punk with a fast and dirty rock'n'roll swagger. I'm pretty sure this band has only released two other EP's of the same format in limited quantities, so you may have to fight some collector douche bag for a copy, but it is worth it."
- Maximum Rock'n'Roll
"This is P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.' fourth EP. It is non-stop barreling punk like the shit that the bands that they played in prior did. Punk oozes out of this single in that fast dirty rock'n'roll sound that bands like the HELLACOPTERS perfected. But the subject matter comes from lived experience: 'Why do I sit around in the cold, cold rain?' has to be about Portland. These are the things I know is pretty obvious. NEW BOMB TURKS meets TURBONEGRO. And limited pressing, self-released, clear see-through vinyl and you have a record that is going to be a collectors' item by next month."
- Equalizing Distort
"If the standard for overdrive is: MANOWAR plays on 10, MOTORHEAD kills yer lawn when they move in next door, and SPINAL TAP plays on 11, then this record was recorded at 30 or 40. I think Stan Wright's Buzz Or Howl studio was probably reduced to a smoking pile of rubble in the ground, declared 'toxic' by uniformed federal employees after P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.'s Apr 2011 session for this album... There's just 9 songs, but there only NEEDS to be 9 songs on this record. This is a set I'd like to see this band do, in this order."
- Sonic Recollections Records
"Wundervoll: Diese 7" kommt so retro daher, dass mir das beinahe Tränen in die Augen treibt: Plastiktüte, darin ein mittig gefaltetes, kopiertes Stück Papier, darin die Single. So werden Punkrock-Singles seit 2000 Jahren gemacht, so muss das sein – wer braucht da irgendwelchen Digitalschrott? Limitiert auf 300 Stück, und fuck, das ist das Traurige an der heutigen Zeit: Früher hatten solche kleinen Meisterwerke die zehnfache Auflage – und heute finden sich weltweit gerade noch 300 Leute, die so einen exzellenten Geschmack teilen? So was macht mir Angst ... Tombstone, das ist das DEAD MOON-Label, entsprechend sind die Aufnahmen hier auch 'nur' mono, gemastert hat Fred Cole selbst, und die fünf Männer, die sich P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. nennen, spielten auch schon bei solch Portland-Autoritäten wie POISON IDEA, PIERCED ARROWS, BURNING LEATHER und RESIST. Entsprechend klingt es dann auch: dreckiger Hardcore-Punk mit der Intensität eines aufgescheuchten Wespennestes, dem man seine Gene klar anhört."
- Ox fanzine
"Geboten wurde schneller, rauer Punk-Rock, der allerdings über jenes gewisse Etwas verfügte, das auch Bands wie ZEKE, ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN, die frühen NEW BOMB TURKS oder NINE POUND HAMMER ausmacht und keinen der Besucher unberührt ließ."
- Rockstage-Riot-RheinMain.de
"WOW!! Mal wieder eine All-Star Band aus Portland und vor allem endlich mal eine, die die großen Namen nicht braucht, sondern durch Qualität überzeugt! Nach einigen beachtenswerten EP´s ist das hier die erste LP der Problems. Deren Mitglieder sind bzw. waren unter anderem bei 'Pierced Arrows', 'Poison Idea', 'Resist', 'Defiance', 'Detestation' und 'Severed Head of state' aktiv, unter anderem ist hier Tausendsassa Kelly am Start. Ganz wunderbarer Sound an der Schnittstelle zwischen Punkrock und Hardcore, Killermelodien, super Schlagzeug, sehr geiler und packender Gesang, hier stimmt einfach alles und die Platte ist eine Granate!"
- Twisted Chords
"Laut aufgedreht ein echtes Fest... Offensichtlich auf dem DEAD MOON-eigenen Label erschienen, limitiert auf 300 Exemplare."
- Plastic Bomb, (Gotta Get Away From You 7“)
SHEEPY (UK)
Pop Punk / Punk Rock
Sheepy from Liverpool play pop punk with mega catchy songs, tight hooks and lovely harmonies. Since 2012 the band toured across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Songwriter Luke Jones recorded 12 self-produced albums before teaming up with Blang Records. "Predator EP" was the first release, followed by the singles "Glum" and the 7" "Another Day". These songs received national radio airplay on the likes of BBC Radio Two, 6 Music, XFM, plus some national TV play on Soccer AM.
The debut self-titled album was released in January 2014, featuring the well acclaimed singles "These Clothes" and "Don't Know Much". "Wild" EP was released in June 2015, and the single "Wild" was played on XFM and BBC Introducing.
Reviews
“...effortlessly melodic and insatiably moreish… lo-fi, powerpop and post-punk with a massive pop heart beating at the centre.”
- Sounds XP
“...a voice tailored by superior beings… brilliant… a pop classic.”
- Unpeeled
“Undertones aura with merest whiff of Nirvana, crumbs of Costello and a few milligrams of Monkees...”
- Mudkiss
"Sheepy, the Liverpool based 3pc who demonstrate that pop music does not have to be the bland, genre void pap that clogs up the charts. With ‘Alarm Bells’ they have abandoned the blueprint, and crafted an album of dark-pop with a luxuriously unsettling edge... Sheepy have a created an energetic short, sharp joyously off kilter belter that should be worthy of your attention."
- Louder than War
"The third single ‘Another Day’ was played thirteen times on BBC 6music, including seven spins from Steve Lamacq alone... having listened to this a good few times trying to find reference points, similarities and the like I have come up with a hotchpotch of names, some dating back to the 60’s, others more recent – I noted down The Kinks, Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The La’s/Brit/Indie pop, perhaps TFC, hints of psychedelia and even The Ramones… The entire album is a kaleidoscopic mix of pops finest reference points, blended with humour and self-depravation; Sheepy are clearly enjoying themselves... Sheepy have crafted a melodic, hook laden classic – a slice of real independence, so adverse and unconcerned as to what is current, to what is gracing the pages of the NME."
- Louder than War
"Earworm pop hooks with a vaguely sinister and cynical lyrical edge, Sheepy are reminiscent of classic guitar groups such as The Replacements, Super Furry Animals and Pixies. Once a solo project now bedecked by a fully-functioning three-piece line up, Sheepy prove themselves impossible to ignore and bounce along to."
- Getintothis
THE DIZZY BRAINS (MG)
Garage / Punk Rock / Rock
The Dizzy Brains are a garage rock band, inspired by The Sonics, as there are many around the world, except for Madagascar, one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world and the birthplace of the quartet. Founded by two brothers, Eddy on vocals and Mahefa on bass, the group fights injustice, lack of possibilities and freedom restriction in the everyday life of the islanders.
Their influences come from bands from their fathers’ generation (The Kings, The Stooges, The Vines etc.). That’s where they found their love for unbridled rock’n’roll (choosing Little Richard over Presley), garage style and psyched atmosphere. They even covered Jacques Dutronc’s "Les Cactus" in a version full of thorns. And it’s more than music. They are sharing a piece of themselves including their bravery and vulnerability.
They are the face of the opposition in their country, Madagascar’s youth trying to survive while going against the political system. This is their passion for life that shines off during their concerts.
The Dizzy Brains are regular guests in French TV and have toured in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the UK, South Korea etc. In 2019, they will bring their brand new second album "Tany Razana" to Europe, like the first one published by the French label X-Ray Production.
Reviews
"Garage rock by its nature is simple to play – its the entry point for nearly every guitar mangler on the planet and consequently can be a hit or miss afafair but when it is played with this much fire, intensity and imagination it can sound like one of the most thrilling types of music on the planet. Try and magazine watching the Stooges at their feral pre fame best complete witha skinny Madagascan hanging from the mic with his shirt stripped off like a youthful Iggy, or try to imagine the garage end of the Dead Kennedys cranked through the superfuzz of Mudhoney and that thrilling rush of early Nirvana and you are in the ballpark witha band who pique your curiosity with their home country but transcend it with their unrelenting power and twitching energy. With each song being a lesson in tension and dynamics The Dizzy Brains could actually be the best garage rock band in the world, they are that good…"
- Louder Than War, May 2017, Live Review
"Check it out. Its easy to see why they are a great band to have at any festival, as they bring with them energy, up beat rock songs to have any crowd dancing about. A young rock group from Madagascar The Dizzy Brains is capturing the imagination and attention of the music scene in Europe. The band’s unique style is a blend of punk and garage rock and their provocative lyrics tell stories about politics, power and protest in Madagascar. Since their songs challenge authority, the band was shunned from most concert venues and radio stations in Madagascar, but the band developed quite a following underground on social media and outside the country... The Dizzy Brains grabbed audiences in France after their appearance on the popular French television show 'Le Petit Journal' on April 14, 2016. During the show, one member of the band sparked a buzz on Malagasy social networks and blogs because he openly challenged Madagascar’s new prime minister, urging him on to do more for the country: 'just do your job, man!' This bold and spontaneous plea was the talk of the town in Madagascar for a while and fitted quite well with the group’s musical identity based on protest and civic engagement... The group continues to tour Europe and the young musicians continue to educate the world on their home country of Madagascar."
- 5shouts.com
"These kids absolutely rock. They are going to make the fire, I’m sure of it. Because rock, in the end, is the vehicle of rebellion, and that’s without a doubt a little lost in the West. While in Madagascar, what they’re singing has meaning. This is coming from the streets."
- Jean-Louis Brossard, director of the Trans-Musicales festival in Rennes