Time: a healer or a force that dates, ages and distances you from something once great? Relevant in so many situations and definitions, whether it’s a jaded footballer past their best or a band with three years between their debut and follow-up record. Considering this isn’t an article about John Terry you can probably guess in which direction this is going. The latest offering from UK punks Gnarwolves may have left a large time gap in the discography but who cares if the new anthems live up to those on the self titled record, right? Well, sort of.
Take the opener as a precedent for what this record offers: ‘Straightjacket’ is a relentless embodiment of what British Skate Punk sounds like in 2017. It’s quick, gutsy and provides an anthemic introduction to what comes next. It shouldn’t be a surprise that an album full of skate punk tracks clocks in at under 30 minutes and this is no different. But this record is not just trashy, repetitive punk rock: it has a heart. This heart can be found in tracks such as closing track ‘Shut Up’ and even in faster songs like ‘Paint Me A Martyr’.
It might have been a long time between parts one and two, but this is an album that will cement Gnarwolves as a fan favourite in the UK Punk scene. They say pop music will eat itself but maybe the same is true with punk; this record screams that truth, as it’s able to feel like a throwback while facing firmly forward. ‘Outsiders’ offers ten songs that summarise life in your 20s in suburban England: it’s a little boring but if you pick up a Telecaster you can make the most of it.
WILLIAM SCOTT