ALBUM REVIEW: The Puncturists – I’m Not Alright (Dead Swan Records)
The Puncturists are a punk band formed in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, in 2022, and this is their long-awaited debut album.
Originally comprising three past and present members of dark punk noisemakers System Of Hate, they’ve undergone a line-up change, with guitarist Pat Crawford the sole surviving original member.
Gail Townsend has become permanent vocalist after featuring on their debut EP The Punk Tourists (reviewed here), while Dale Farrow has taken over on bass and Martin Gregory on drums.
Despite the reshuffle, their sound hasn’t changed too much; The Puncturists are still a ’77-style punk band who take their time over a song, rather than ploughing through it, and the 11 tracks here slip down very nicely indeed.
It kicks off with Pissing Me Off, which brims over with understated anger as Gail sings: “Don’t call me snowflake, don’t call me soft/Get in your pigsty, back to your trough.
Lead single 55 sees the vocalist railing against those who told her she was too old to be joining a punk band. She’s only been singing a couple of years, but her voice has a lovely tone, which reminds me of Penetration’s Pauline Murray.
I Wish I Was French doffs the cap to our cross-Channel cousins for the way they take no shit from their government, while Everybody’s On Drugs reminds us that we should walk in another person’s shoes before judging them, as we’re all flawed in some way.
Spectre addresses the problems of a controlling ex, while Give Blood‘s public-spirited message couldn’t be more straightforward.
They Don’t Pay Support Bands is a contender as standout track as The Puncturists lay bare the music industry problems faced by those who aren’t headlining acts.
The album closes with possibly its two most personal songs, Leave Me Alone and I’m Not Alright, with the title track reminding us that it’s OK to not be OK, but it helps to talk about it. As first albums go, this is a very decent starter. 8/10.
- I’m Not Alright is on available on CD and digitally at The Puncturists’ gigs and from their Bandcamp page HERE.
