Monday mornings got you down? Too many beverages last night? On that third coffee on a Thursday afternoon pluging random values into a spreadsheet at work in a vain attempt to not go mad? What ever the reason is for your general lack of pep, I recommend a high dose of Bloods, the Sydney pop-punk trio I guarantee will improve your day more than a continental cup-a soup from some stupid add.
Sydney’s punk-rock trio Bloods will have you instantly hooked from the get-go with their high energy and emphatic sound- grungy instrumentals balanced with smooth vocals.
Dirk (Drums), MC (Guitar and Vocals) and Sweetie (Bass and Vocals), who I imagine to have taken stage names from Charlie Brown characters, first played together in 2011 after Dirk convinced the others that they all had to learn new instruments and start a punk band. Three months later they were out of the bedroom and onto the stage and they haven’t looked back. The trio have since released a slew of boppy lofi singles and shared soapboxes with Dum Dum Girls, Red Kross and DZ Deathrays just to mention a few.
More recently the band have released two EP’s: Golden Fang (Shock Records), which features my currently most played song ever No Fun, and We Are Bloods (Whooping Crane Records).
After winning a Triple J Unearthed NIDA award, it’s clear that their crazy get-up-and-dance aesthetic has worked on the right people, and why wouldn’t it? Each one of Bloods’ short and enthusiastic tracks is more catch than the last and after looking at the video they produced with a NIDA post-grad director they clearly have a sense of humour to match.
October saw the band releasing their first LP Work It Out, jammed cover to cover with 11 of the best songs to sing into a hairbrush while jumping on your bed. The album opens with Break Your Heart, a fuzzy slow jam on a bedrock of beasty drums that instantly gets your head banging. Want It is a groovy bass and drum jam punctuated with vigorous guitar breaks that precedes Penelope, an upbeat song drenched in optimism apparently inspired by MC’s discovering she was having a baby.
College acts in contrast to the otherwise positive tone of the rest of the album – a sluggish ballad about being forced onto a lower rung of society due to a lack of economic privilege (in true angry punk fashion #thanksabbott #notreally). Mi Luchador also stands out from the rest, given that I can only describe it as a badass surfer rock song that is sung entirely in spanish (you know I don’t speak spanish Baxter).
Moral of the story, just listen to this album! Bloods has fast become one of my favourite local acts, and if you give it even one song I bet you a dollar that you’ll be hooked. Have a rad sing-along at Bloods album tour, coming to a participating venue near you!
Wednesday 26th November – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle
Thursday 27th November – Rad, Wollongong
Friday 28th November – Goodgod Small Club, Sydney
Saturday 29th November – Curtin Bandroom, Melbourne
Thursday 4th December – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane
Friday 5th December – Ed Castle, Adelaide
Saturday 6th December – The Causeway, Perth
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