Last weekend marked the return of The Arteries after a number of years without playing any shows. They played the Deadpunk all-dayer in Bristol which I've been going to every year for a few years now. It's always a good day, but the presence of The Arteries was reason alone to make the trip. There were loads of bands I love on the bill, but I was most excited to see The Arteries. I used to see them all the time when I lived in Cardiff and they seemed to be on a fast rise.
Three years ago in March, only a few days apart, I saw them for the last time (before last Saturday) and they released their last-so-far record Restless, a 6-song EP. I've been listening to The Arteries since the Sweat EP and I've been excited for every release since. Their style of punk is fast, energetic and quite unlike most of the other punk bands from South Wales. Restless does everything I want from an Arteries record and my only complaint is that six songs is too few, especially if they were planning to tide me over for three years.
It was fantastic seeing them play live again and I'd totally forgotten just how much I love them. It might have been a particular treat given their long-hiatus, but the set hit all of the classics from Blood, Sweat and Beers and everybody seemed very pleased to hear them; I know I wasn't the only one for whom they were the highlight of the day. I've spent most of the last week playing their records and it has been a very good week indeed.
All of this begs the question: are The Arteries back or was this just a one-off treat? I really hope the former. I imagine they might not have decided themselves yet (and I hope the warm reception on Saturday was enough to convince them). I really hope they're planning to play and release more - my main conclusion after last Saturday is that the world is definitely much more enjoyable with The Arteries in it.
Format: One-sided 12", etched
Tracks: 6
Cost: £9.80 new
Bought: Specialist Subject Records
When: 18/03/13
Colour: Black
Etching: etched image on b-side
mp3s: no
