Punter Punter
- Format
12 Inch
Black
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‘Laid down his life at Gallipoli, For pre-packaged communities stretched out as far as the eye can see, It’s Chemist Warehouse, and Michelle’s Patisserie, rendered brick and tin roof, mate – forever’ (A Minute’s Silence)
Punter’s debut release is a swirling maelstrom of pure punk fury. It is a blistering onslaught, the guitars packing a satisfyingly almost-metallic crunch, while fizzing with a notable garage rock swagger. Rowdy shout along choruses and swells of melodic backing vocals jostle alongside blazing guitar solos, everything constantly threatening to career wildly out of control. The rampaging Retirement Simulator and the more expansive escalation of A Year’s Silence are particular stand outs.
It is fuelled by a burning frustration with the current state of Australia, with clone suburbs and gentrification firmly in the sights on A Minute’s Silence and Retirement Simulator. Meanwhile, Curfew Eternal and A Year’s Silence tackle the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in their home city of Melbourne. The band explicitly recognise the importance of vaccination and social distancing. But they do question the misplaced economic priorities and authoritarian impulses that resulted in the city experiencing one of the most extreme lock downs in the world and all of the social consequences that this entailed.
More acts of wonder from the land down under – Punter hail from Melbourne and their brand of noise is thrillingly intense. They describe themselves as ‘a hardcore band described as a rock band’, and it’s difficult not to fall in love with a statement like that, especially when it so accurately describes their slalom between all-out axe heroics and to-the-point, in-yer-face-and-then-some punk ferocity. From the intro track’s snarkily deployed job centre answerphone message (“Just say, ‘in Australia, my voice identifies me’”), we’re catapulted straight into the wholly inaccurately titled A Minute’s Silence, which rages like Motörhead gargling bleach in the middle of a circle pit. This is likely the moment where you’ll know that your new favourite band is here, and they’re absolutely tearing it up.
Punter first appeared in early 2020 thanks to a scorching demo (released on cassette by their hometown label Blow Blood Records), and you sadly don’t have to imagine the shitshow of pandemic, multiple lockdowns and a pressing plant logjam that meant we’ve had to wait til now for a second installment of blazing rifferama, accompanied by that specific vigour that only comes from being very cross indeed. Is there a band out there who’d flush Scott Morrison’s severed head down a toilet while instigating a wall of death around the u-bend? Feels like this lot could be in with a shout.
Thrill! To the anthemic hooks and glorious mob shoutalong of Retirement Simulator. Spill! To the guitars piling up like wrecks at a demolition derby on Curfew Eternal. Be fulfilled! By the joy of a very brilliant band being very brilliant at you. This record pulls from a similar formula to their citymates Stiff Richards, but with the ingredients thoroughly fucked about and the proportions changed to the point that any resemblance is minimal at best. By the time the sunny ‘ooohs’ of A Year’s Silence get you thinking of proto-punk UK pub rock, you’ll be ready for more power chords propelled by even more diamond-hard energy – Punter offer all this by the bucketload. Get involved, friends. Get the fuck involved right now.
