Seattle – British punk trio Gnarwolves release their self-titled full-length debut next week. Much hype for this band has been stirring in the pop-punk world and for good reason. What they’ve delivered is a surprisingly multi-dimensional album that will launch them into the American scene.
Gnarwolves is the basic three-piece band that is a classic trope of punk. The album is fast and short in length—the entire album clocks in at just 27 minutes—with most songs less than 3 minutes long. Visually, the album art displays the members surrounded by skateboards (hitting yet another punk stereotype), labeled with 90s nostalgic typography and colors. The band is doing their best to come off as punk as possible. But when listening to the album, you realize it’s much more than just straight-up punk music.
Gnarwolves displays what modern punk music is: a collection of influences. As the genre has had 30+ years to evolve, their influences aren’t just going to be Misfits, Descendents, and Green Day. You hear a variety of genres that displays the band’s fluidity.
The vocals resemble hardcore trends like having the ability to write catchy choruses, while keeping the verses relatively hard. Lead vocalist Thom Weeks can go from “A Day To Remember”-esque hooks to a growling verse. The diversity is present and refreshing. They also effectively use gang vocals, which pumps up the audience and creates a sense of togetherness.
The guitar progressions are interesting and not one-dimensional (a downside to most punk). They do have some classic punk guitar lines in some tracks like in “Prove It,” but they can also be reflective of the softer sub-genre pop-punk in songs like “Everything You Think You Know,” which makes sense as they just signed with Pure Noise Records (alongside bands like The Story So Far and Four Year Strong). Exploration in minor keys and quick and skillful riffs are contributing musical qualities that show the band’s diversity.
Lyrically, the content has some social criticism, characteristic of punk music. But it’s not overly done, just enough for millennials to relate to. The track “Smoking Kills” displays this mix of social understandings and personal strifes with lyrics like:
“We are the product of a broken class but/We weren’t raised to be fucking morons” and “I keep telling myself everything is going to be fine/Yeah right.”
But there are also several tracks that are about personal relationships and experiences, giving the content another edge, one that is easy to relate to.
In the end, Gnarwolves is what modern punk music is about. They go hard, but have a softer side, making it appealing to a wider audience. This album will be able to appeal to pop-punk kids, as well as older listeners craving a new punk album.
Gnarwolves is holding onto punk traditions of fast music, grotesque visuals, and skate culture while diversifying the musical content. If this is the direction punk is going, I’m completely on board.
Gnarwolves are going on tour with pop-punk veterans The Wonder Years and The Story So Far in October, followed by extensive European dates. The self-titled Gnarwolves album will drop on September 23 under Pure Noise Records. For now, you can stream the album in full on SoundCloud.
Jess Keller
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