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Music

Introducing The Fighting League

The Fighting League first stepped into the ring brandishing their own brand of pop punk at the end of 2011 with their debut album Tropical Paradise. The Canberra kids penned the record after seeing “a major need for society to understand the full consequences of sexually driven tropical punks”. This self-appointed genre descriptor feels apt and the angst immediately evident upon first listen of the 14 track release, packed with party jams that are driven by jangly guitars and loose loud vocals.

the fighting league

Released on the local Canberra label Dream Damage, the band enlisted the help of Bruce ‘Cub’ Callaway – post-Ed Kuepper-The Saints guitarist turned producer – to record the album, who added inspiration and invaluable insight. The result is a lot of crazed fun punk, with song writing that varies from unpretentious tongue-in-cheek to heartfelt sentiment, such as on the slower jam Sacrifice. The overall sound is raw yet danceable, and the live recording of the album translates fiercely to the live show. Lead man Dominic Death exerts a penchant for showmanship and stage presence, as well as taking his shirt off.

Since this release however, the suburban punks have administered a slight change in scene. They attribute the change to the corporate world pilfering their vibe, describing it as a musical climate change now that “tropical is dead”, and from here on out they’ll be “cool climate punks”.  Their latest offering, Bat on Ball sees The Fighting League employ a crisper recording method and more restrained vocal style. Whether it is an intentional alteration of their sound or merely the result of a shift away from live recording, we’ll have to wait for their next album to be sure. Or you can decide for yourself now by finding their tunes on their Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Triple J unearthed pages.

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