Bangers / What-A-Nights

Split [7-inch] (2012)

Rich Cocksedge

Another week, another Bangers release to throw on the turntable! Life sometimes kicks you in the teeth and then, in a display of random kindness, throws you a rather juicy bone and this four track release is extremely tasty.

Rather than give yet another potted history of Cornwall's greatest export after the pasty I'd urge interested readers to use the search facility on Punknews.org to discover one of the best U.K. bands around at the moment. Then seek out these two new tracks which were both recorded live at The White Rabbit venue in Plymouth, U.K. When the sleeve says "live" I don't think it's from a show more of turn up at the venue, plug in and play whilst the red record button has been depressed and there you have it, no overdubs or any fiddling around.

Bangers dish up two new tracks, "The Funny Side" and "A Damn Good Go," that with this "live" approach serve up something different to the more deliberate studio recordings they've released in the past. I have to admit to thinking that this sound enhances what they do and provides them with something much closer to the real live Bangers experience and as such I applaud them for this approach. It has to be noted that Roo Pescod's lyrics get better as time goes by and this band is certainly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The two tracks on the flipside are provided by the wildcard band from the Land of the Rising Sun. What-A-Nights deliver two songs, "Ugly Cry" and "Baby I Love You," with a sound that is unashamedly displaying a love of Hüsker Dü laced with a healthy dose of slightly older (and in some cases now defunct) U.K. bands that can be traced all the way back to the likes of Mega City Four and the Senseless Things through the Crackle bands, up to a host of outfits currently careening around the arterial roads of the U.K. in battered old vans as they tour themselves silly.

Quite simply, to miss out on this getting this single would be to run the risk of being ridiculed by all those around you, with eventual ostracism from the world of punk rock for no reason other than your own stupidity.