Sometimes I let nostalgia get the best of me. With my constant search for new groups coming out from all over the world, I find that going back to the first genre I was heavily into, Punk, I'll come across a group that will take me to ground zero and fuel me with teenage adrenaline. As I can recall, anything put out by Epitaph and Hellcat Records was gospel to me. The Punk-O-Rama and Give 'Em The Boot annual compilations were the calling cardS for me to get into harder,uniquely different forms of Punk. As my taste evolved, I would occasionally dive back into Punk but rarely would find anything worth talking about amongst friends. However, through different labels on the rise from all over the country, I started researching. Last month, I was looking through the independent record label Rise Records' roster. Most of the bands they signed to their label consist of screamo, hardcore and other types of groups that blend into each other. As far as I was concerned, there wasn't anything new to be excited about. Then I came across a group's band shot from England that I knew was different then anything else on the label: Fred Perry shirts, slicked back haircuts, and determination written all over each member's face. I present to you...SHARKS.
A few years back, Punk had been broadening it's style and fusing into different forms of music: Folk, Old School Rock 'N Roll, and even Soul-If it sounds good, ignore the scene police. Groups like The Gaslight Anthem and Lucero have been around for some time now with their own take on Punk and have been embraced with open arms by fans. Whats interesting about SHARKS though, is how they blend soul, reggae, and rock n' roll elements into one song. Songs such as "The Joys of Living" and "Bury Your Youth" call upon middle-class youth and the baggage that they carry (i.e. life's frustrations). Punk is mainly thought of as a politically oriented genre, SHARKS, however, breaks down this barrier and focuses on the self and their surroundings. As one of their t-shirts proclaims "Fuck God, Believe In Yourself", the band promotes self-appreciation and determination through your own ethos without the help of a supernatural being, but its about how you must do the right thing in order to have your personal happiness fulfilled.
For their U.S. debut, a collection of 7"s were compiled, The Joys Of Living 2008-2010 ,is hands-down one of the best punk albums to have come out in the past few years-Other contenders are Fucked Up's David Comes To Life and The Gaslight Anthem's The 59' Sound. The compilation of 14 songs are a throwback to the days of early Clash and Jam albums, but with the intensity of growing up and coming of age to what your surroundings can do to you. Having heartfelt lyrics about the salvation of music, destruction of one's self, and becoming the person you want to be, this is the kind of band that will continue to carry the work The Clash once set out to do. Having your own personal salvation with a band's help is the ultimate armor in your battle to survive life. This is what punk gave me the first time I ever heard it.
As the band gears up to head out on Alternative Press' Tour this fall, I anticipate they will return into the studio and record an album. I was too young to appreciate The Clash and the message they were promoting, but now I feel like I can begin with SHARKS. I'll still dive back into Punk when the right time calls for it; a crappy shift, the luck of finding a proper job, or when you feel plain down- I'll have a song to yell along with when I'm driving home. At the end of the day, that's all that matters is knowing a song will understand your position in life and back you up.
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