The death of punk rock, like rock in general, has long been predicted to be imminent. It’s only a matter of time, they’ve told us for a long, long time, when punk will breathe its final breath. That spikey hairdo will lose its spikiness and fall at the sides of the head. Thus when Spike Polite & Sewage (a great name for a punk rock band!) prove that they – and the genre – are alive and well.
The EP’s title song is a fast blast of rock and roll energy. Featuring a male and female vocalist, this expression of life sounds like old school punk. As though pop-punk never happened. This was when punk rock was more of an attitude than any particular sound. It begins with a buzzsaw electric guitar riff that sounds like those great guitar sounds created by X’s Billy Zoom. Of course, Zoom’s guitar parts were/are more influenced by rockabilly. Spike Polite & Sewage, on the other hand, is much more of a hard rock/metal sound. Another notable aspect found in this track is how there is – for lack of a more apt description – a commercial for the band’s music, even giving out the group’s Solid Bass Records record label information. Is putting a commercial at the tag end of your song a truly punk thing to do? Many of the original punkers were especially anti-commercial. They were against the system, and in the case of The Clash, even outspoken communists. One can’t imagine Mick Jones and Joe Strummer putting an ad onto one of their songs.
“What Happened (to the Punk Rock)” follows a similar musical pattern. This is hyperactive, urgent rock & roll. These are not so much songs as they are noisy statements. Clearly, these musicians care about the state of punk music. Most punk bands worth their salt have a punker than thou attitude, which one can pick up from this track. One has to wonder, however, when many of the original punk rockers are still at it, gray hair and all, about the state of the genre. Didn’t Neil Young tell us it is better to burn out than it is to rust? Shouldn’t the old school move aside and make way for the young breed, like Spike Polite & Sewage? Then there is the last track, “Twitter is the Death Machine,” which is about a social media platform that actually is dead, and is now called X.
Websites:
https://spikesewage.com/
https://solidbassrecords.com/spike-polite-sewage/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Spikesnycpunkrock/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spikepolite_sewagenyc/?hl=en
This act is not ‘polite,’ but nor is its music ‘sewage.’ Rather, it is a celebration of the original punk rock spirit. Bands like Green Day are – let’s face it – pop-rock groups, at best. Many of today’s ‘punk’ acts just don’t seem like actual punks. Spike Polite & Sewage, on the other hand, come off as snotty brats that may just break some stuff before they’re done. If you remember the golden era of punk, this music will fill you with satisfying nostalgia. If you weren’t there then, well, listen to this music and feel jealous that you may have been born in the wrong era. Whatever you do, though, play this music really loud.
-Dan MacIntosh
