At some point soon, the Editors of Punktastic are going to get suspicious that the bulk of my POVs are about Brighton based bands. I mean, I’m getting suspicious myself. And yet, absolutely naturally, I just gravitate towards them. It could be that I’m also from Brighton, but I’d prefer to think it’s due to the thriving scene; a unique energy that percolates throughout the city. It wasn’t until I started writing this that I realised where Gender Roles were even from, but coincidentally, this week I bring you ‘Another Band From Brighton That’s Fricking Awesome’.

Signed to Big Scary Monsters, Gender Role released a second EP early in 2018 that slipped me by until earlier this week. As soon as the opening chords hit me, I was suckered in. The EP as a whole is flawless, bouncing between up-tempo pop-punk to melancholic soft indie, all incorporating effortlessly catchy choruses. But it’s EP closer ‘Teeth’ that stands out as an absolute masterpiece. Opening to the slow strums of Tom Bennett’s guitar, the delicate melody gently and deliberately lulls you into a false sense of security. As the song progresses, it becomes scuzzier. Bennett becomes more ferocious, culminating in him screaming the chorus in a slightly strained manner, eerily similar to Mr Cobain, including a typically Nirvana-esque scratchy, distorted interlude. Drummer Jordan Lilford hits the skins like they’ve deeply offended him, while the subtlety of Jared Tompkins’ basslines hold the track together. It’s a masterpiece in how to assault the senses.

And I fucking love it.