‘Waiting Line’, the opening number of Brighton punks Gnarwolves’ new EP is almost certainly the heaviest thing that band have released to date. It’s a sign of things to come on ‘Adolescence’, a whirlwind ten minutes that sees the band take a deliberate big step away from associations with pop-punk. Mirroring teenage rebellion to an extent, growing up has never sounded so assured. Even the acoustic ‘Blondie’, a short and harrowing homage to the 80s pioneers, sees vocalist Thom Weeks spit with intense venom.
“I think we’ve always had that kind of edge,” says bassist and co-vocalist Charlie Piper, acknowledging their heavier sound. “A lot of them are influenced by what we listen to at the moment.” He goes on to list an array of bands, noting Dischord Records and the Washington DC hardcore scene as well as Adolescents, perhaps in some way an inspiration for the EP title.
Their pop-punk days are looking increasingly murky, as Piper expresses their conscious effort to channel their more genuine forefathers. “Show kids what 80s is,” he laughs, heralding the era as a defining one for punk, and for the future of Gnarwolves.
“We’ve written a few records and have got a lot of kids following us, following us quite hard,” he refers to their new-found musical influence over others. “We want to show them all the cool bands we grew up listening to. I think it needs to be recognised again and there’s a little bit of a resurgence of the late 80s hardcore scene.”
It’s a comeback inspired in part by circumstance. Not only are bands such as Gnarwolves spreading the word to simply showcase quality music, now more than ever the message of the music originally founded on anti-capitalism is relevant. Although Piper is keen to reference vocalist and guitarist Thom Weeks with that in mind, the significance is not lost on him.
“Thom [Weeks] was saying that this record does reflect the kind of struggle, and how everyone is coping with it,” Piper explains. “We’re very liberal and we grew up in Cornwall where it’s just white people. People are just fucking rude all the time. When driving back home you see UKIP stuff everywhere, you know. The record is about coping with the government, and Thom’s lyrics are really important now we have the Cameron youth, you could say.”
“People our age, in their mid-20s, are trying to stabilise in a flat with a shit job, and it’s fucked,” Piper continues, keen to distance his anger from direct political views. “We’re not political but we say what’s up. It’s absolutely sad but it’s all we can do – write songs and tell people, who will hopefully get the message.”
The message sees Gnarwolves sit between social commentary and the party reputation that precedes ‘Adolescence’. Having found themselves pigeonholed as a “party punk band”, Piper explains how the trio are a bit of that, and a little bit political. Ultimately though, neither of them define the band. “That’s not us,” he states adamantly. “We do that, but that’s not all we do.”
At least for Piper, Gnarwolves are more about the music than politics or partying. “It’s aggression and speed,” he says, equating punk to skateboarding, one of the band’s defining characteristics. “I grew up with Max [Weeks – drums] and Thom skateboarding with them. When I was a toddler my dad used to play old surf DVDs with Pennywise and Bad Religion over the top and it was amazing. That’s how I got into skateboarding.”
“If you go down to your skatepark, there’s not a lot of punks down there. But they do have that punk mentality, where they go bollocks in. Punk is always there anyway. The way people are has that vibe. It’s that community atmosphere I really like about it. Skating has that similar vibe to it,” Piper concludes.
It’s clear that ‘Adolescence’ is about just that, yet on many levels. As well as reflecting the band’s personal musical influences, it’s a comment on the mentality of a significant proportion of today’s youth. The sound is angry, representing frustration at political apathy, anger at the establishment, and channelling the visceral music that encouraged Gnarwolves to pick up their instruments in the first place.
It’s a record that attaches itself to the community Piper speaks of. It’s not about being an angrier or more direct record. It’s about reflecting a sound that has in the past brought people together. Be it against the government, at the skate park or around a record player, ‘Adolescence’ is the time to find and cement an identity.