Krum Bums

Cut Into Me [7-inch] (2004)

AdamC138

Released in an era when Street Punk was thriving, Krum Bums' Cut Into Me features an updated UK82 sound common among fellow street punks The Casualties and The Unseen. In recent years this sound has lost momentum, with few bands out there today playing this style of punk.

The sound is what you would image from early 2000’s street punk- fast, aggressive, thrash guitar and heavy hitting drums with a ferocious shout sing style. The music is fresh and does not fall in to the clichés or contrived rage of their contemporaries. The Ep features metal style leads without ever having a straight up crossover sound. The band bring forth their influences with pride, creating something that is in no way derivative, sounding rather off the cuff. The Misfits style gang vocals on choruses are a refreshing nod to the punks of the past.

The interplay between the straight up thrash rhythm guitar and the melodic almost skate punk lead guitar makes “Cut into me” the stand out track. Its lyrics are bleak with a disdain for a capitalist society, “death on TV, death on the streets / Its death you got to pray for / if you want to find any peace.” The lyrics are written in style that projects the clouded judgment and perception of someone suffering depression. Listening to the EP the Krum Bums lyrics are not always clear. That’s where the lyric sheet comes in handy the songs are dark and sometimes thought provoking, the imagery brings forth a high level of intensity and unease. A prime example is “seen a crackwhore, give birth to a baby on the dirty broken city street.”

The songs are sincere, lyrically they are closer to Nausea than The Unseen with lyrics like, “Eliminate all history, culture and mankind” bringing forth post-apocalyptic dread. The lyrics are perhaps too bleak. Lines like, “all the stupid shit life puts you through / it makes you insane, it makes you come unglued,” are emotive although they leave the listener with little hope. Political bands such as Crass or the Subhumans empower with their lyrics, they raise questions and offer solutions. Where the Krum Bums bring forth political themes in a way that just leaves the listener feeling as though they are fucked and there is nothing they can do to make any change.

Basically It’s a good addition to your 7” Collection if you’re a fan of The Casualties and The Unseen.