Hot Water Music - Caution

Caution was the first Hot Water Music album I bought, but the story of how I got into HWM really goes back to the story of how my friend Hugh got into HWM, so this first paragraph is about him. Hugh bought Kerrang! magazine nearly every week for at least three years. The great thing about that was that it meant I didn't have to (unless the occasional free cd looked good) because he'd bring it into school or college, and we'd all read it throughout the day. The routine was to turn straight to the gig listings (it's funny to think about the old days, before I had the internet set up to tell me these things), then the reviews, then the articles. Anyway, sometime in 2001, they gave the new Hot Water Music album, A Flight and a Crash, five K's (the highest score, for those not familiar) Something in the review must have appealed to Hugh, because he bought it on that alone (and it probably took some effort to find; I don't remember our local MVC having a Hot Water Music section).

He became a big fan, and one afternoon in Punker Bunker I decided to check them out for myself. I can't remember if he'd even played me any at this point, but for £9 I was willing to chance it. I asked him which of the LPs they had in stock was the best place to start and he said Caution. And that's how this record ended up in my collection (for those interested, it's from the huge first pressing of black vinyl, which is shame given the crazy colours it's been printed on since). It was definitely a grower - I don't remember being blown away the first time I played it, but I'm a big fan now. Depending on my mood, my favourite HWM record moves between A Flight and a Crash, Caution and Fuel For the Hate Game (the latter always feels so different - it's like HWM tried to write the heaviest album they had in them). So many of their biggest songs are on Caution and it has some huge choruses. Highlights are numerous, but Remedy, Trusty Chords, The Sense and Wayfarer are all incredible.

All this brings me to problem I have with HWM (which isn't a fault of theirs, but of mine) is that I want to sing along to these huge choruses, but I have no idea what Chuck and Chris are singing half the time. I've sat down with the lyrics sheet and it's barely even possible to keep up. Those guys squeeze a lot of lyrics in. I've seen HWM three times now and each time I've come away wishing I'd been able to sing along. Each time I've gone home and tried to figure what they're saying, but it never sticks. The layered vocals at the end of The Sense are excellent, but I have no idea how they relate to the words written in the sleeve. I've just about managed the chorus to Trusty Chords, but that's barely scratching the surface.

Anyway, HWM music have had a fairly huge impact on my life in varying ways. Half of the bands we saw regularly in Wales wanted to sound like HWM (with varying degrees of success) and a year after I moved to London, I travelled all the way back to Wales to see HWM play in Newport with all my friends. And that's not even mentioning the fact that I may never have heard Chuck Ragan's solo records if I hadn't first heard HWM.

I don't know what that Kerrang! review said to convince Hugh to check it out, but I'm glad he did.

Format: 12", 16"x12" insert
Tracks: 12
Cost: £9 new
Bought: Punker Bunker, Brighton
When: 16/09/06
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "...is a word that I can't understand" Side B: "One hundred records since finding the rhythms...can you believe it?!?"
mp3s: no

Turbonegro - Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives

Despite my usual love for Turbonegro, I've always struggled with their debut Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives. The sound is much rougher and, whilst the hints of death-punk are there, it's more standard hardcore/punk than they would be on Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes. It's a good punk-rock record, but  when I get the urge to listen to Turbonegro, this record isn't usually what I'm after. Still, it has some decent tunes, the semi-title-track Hot Cars being one of the best (the drums on which always remind me of Therapy?, who in turn cover Turbo on Alpha Motherfuckers).

I bought this in Punker Bunker shortly before returning to Lancaster for the last year of university. I'd been getting into Turbonegro for a few months at this point but didn't know their earliest records had been quite so different. The album has had an interesting print history (as do a lot of Turbo's earlier records) and was orginally re-released with this extended track-list, along with another song, as Helta Skelta. Blitzcore then released this version in 2000. I've always found it strange the way the bonus tracks are scattered throughout the album (tracks 2, 3, 10 and 11), but given the fact that the vast majority of people will own this version or Helta Skelta it might as well be considered the standard track-listing.


Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 14
Cost: £10 new
Bought: Punker Bunker, Brighton
When: 16/09/06
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Blood Brothers - Rumors Laid Waste

A couple of weeks after I bought ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn I was in Brighton with some friends for a gig and an explore. I was into Rise Against at the time and they were touring with the Mad Caddies who a bunch of my friends were into. My friend Thom had not long passed his driving test, so we all headed to the coast to see what Brighton had to offer and catch the Fat Wreck Chords tour. On this trip down the lanes I stumbled across Punker Bunker for the first time and found Rumors Laid Waste on 10"; a collection of songs from The Blood Brothers' early 7"s, along with an unreleased title-track. As a side-note, I think 10" is an under-appreciated format that I really quite like.

The songs are way more spazzy and raw than the ones I heard on Piano Island, but they're still excellent. Very few bands get more spazzy as their career goes on, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that these are way more raucous, but at that young age it probably did shock me a little. I was pleased with my purchase nonetheless and it's been played a lot over the years, although not as much as Piano Island or Crimes. Highlights for me are the two songs from the split with Stilleto (Gagged in a Casket and Boy Armageddon) and Red Blooded American Girls from their self-titled EP.


Format: 10", insert
Tracks: 9
Cost: £7.50 new
Bought: Punker Bunker, Brighton
When: 23/04/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Black Eyes - Cough

It's a controversial statement, but it's true: Black Eyes are my favourite Dischord band. There are lots of great bands on that label and of course I love Fugazi, but Black Eyes put out two records that sound like nothing else I've ever heard. Deformative on the self-titled album is one of my all-time favourite songs and if I ever find that album on vinyl I'll rant about it on here suitably.

In my first year of university I was living in halls and met a lot of people from a lot of different places. One of those people was a guy called Kevin from America who had a very interesting taste in music. He once recommended a few bands to me, but the only one I remembered was Black Eyes and somehow two full years passed without me checking them out but at the same time not forgetting about the recommendation. Anyway, just after new year in 2006 I was in Brighton visiting some friends and headed into town to pick up some records. I found Cough in Punker Bunker (a shop that you're guaranteed to find something you'll like in if you like punk music) and decided to chance my £9 on a recommendation that had somehow stuck in my mind. I imagine I was a bit taken aback at first by the noise I was greeted with, but I quickly found myself loving it.

Black Eyes consisted of two vocalists, two drummers, bass, guitar and some of the most pained and strained horn noises you've ever heard, and the combination works perfectly. Fathers and Daughters and Holy of Holies are both great examples of how well Daniel's and Hugh's voices work together, and the contrast when Daniel starts singing on Drums is great. I also love False Positive for how the singing matches the beat and for what the trumpets add to the song, as well as A Meditation with its crazed barking. I can see how Black Eyes might be too spazzy for most (they're definitely un-easy listening) but I think they're great.

As is often the case, Kevin has no idea that his recommendation worked out so well; 2004 was long before Facebook and you had no need to know someone's surname back then, so we've long lost contact. Still, I'm pretty pleased with the result. Everyone has their list of bands they'd love to reunite and see play. I'm doing pretty well at seeing the bands on my list, but Black Eyes remains on there and, sadly, I suspect will for a long time yet.


Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 10
Cost: £9 new
Bought: Punker Bunker, Brighton
When: 11/01/06
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Mystic bro lives" Side B: "vegansteven @ hotmail.com"
mp3s: no

ONSIND + Short Term Effect - Split

Speaking of ONSIND, here is a split they did some time back with Short Term Effect. I'll save my praise for ONSIND in general for when I come to write about their other records, but it goes without saying that they're the reason I excitedly bought this 7" when I saw it in Punker Bunker recently. I hadn't been in there in years (I don't often end up in Brighton) but knew I'd find something good in there. I was low on cash (both in the sense that I think they only take cash, and that there wasn't much in my account) but luckily I did have the £3.50 for this. The paper sleeve has "23/219" written on it in pencil, which might be the print run, although 219 seems like a very odd number.

The ONSIND song is up to their usual standard. A great song with a rousing trumpet outro. I feel like I've played their two albums to death a bit so I really enjoyed hearing a song I hadn't heard before. Short Term Effect were completely new to me, but also enjoyable. Definitely less punk rock in style, the vocals and guitar playing are a lot softer on the ears, but still pretty nice.


Format: 7", gatefold
Tracks: 2
Cost: £3.50 new
Bought: Punker Bunker
When: 11/05/12
Colour: Black
Etching: no
mp3s: no