Bent Out Of Shape hail from Fryslân, a province in the north of the Netherlands. The band delivers ten melodic streetpunk tracks – nine originals and one cover of Major Conflict, a New York band from 1983. According to Discogs, the lineup includes members of Spirit 84, DSS, No Denial, Dead Horse Running, De Hûnekop, and Icepic. I’ll be honest – I don’t really know any of those bands, so take that purely as a factual note. What really matters here is that Bent Out Of Shape are fantastic. Since 2020, they’ve released a few EPs and split EPs, and this is their first full-length. I’ve always had a soft spot for streetpunk with mature lyrics and without unnecessary clichés – and here I got much more than I expected.
The opening track flips the usual love songs to one’s hometown on their head. Instead, it tells the story of a neighborhood that’s gone so downhill that only good memories of childhood remain – and it’s time to move out. It’s like an anthem to gentrification, filmed by George Romero, ending with the scream: „Tear it all down.“
The second track is about a wild bachelor party that ends with the whole crew being banned from a few venues. The third track, Places To Go, is an absolute anthem and easily the best song on the record. It’s about finding your place among the outcasts of the subculture – that perfect mix of a personal story, a touch of pathos, sing-along choruses, and catchy melody. Even if this were the only song on the album, it would still be worth owning.
The last two tracks on side A deal with the mistakes we make in life and a classic old-school football tune – about being taken to your first match by your dad and sticking with that club for life.
Side B kicks off with a song about Ozzy and his skinhead days, which sadly resurfaced online recently due to his passing. The seventh track, Good Old Memories, is a slightly melancholic reflection on the past, written by Ronny Hammersma, and it’s definitely another highlight of the album. The following What You Wanna Do keeps the momentum going with powerful gang vocals, giving the record real drive at this stage. The penultimate track, Contagious, is another great one – energetic and full of fighting spirit. The closing song is the already mentioned Major Conflict cover, a band I also wasn’t familiar with, but the track fits perfectly within the album’s overall mood and message.
Guys from Netherland clearly know how to write great streetpunk, whether it leans more towards punk, hardcore, or Oi!. once again, they nailed it – and this record will please anyone who prefers the more melodic side of streetpunk over the rougher and heavier edge. If I were to compare, fans of The Reapers, Midnight Tattoo, or The Young Ones will definitely dig this one.
Released in collaboration between Demons Runamok Entertainment and Audio Epidemic Records.
TOP TRACKY: Places To Go, Good Old Memories, What You Wanna Do, Contagious
Bandcamp: https://1url.cz/LJIYj
