It’s Monday evening, and time for a bit of punk, indeed some skatepunk, which I hadn’t even heard of. And I call myself a music reviewer…
Skatepunk is a “skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a more melodic genre of punk rock in the 1990s similar to pop punk.” So now you know.
I would have classified what I hear from the marvelously named Stockholm-based Power Grid Failure as melodic pop punk anyway, with the emphasis very much on the ‘pop’ and some of it a throwback to a long ago past and the likes of The Buzzcocks.
Every song on the eight-track ‘Blackout’ (what else for a debut album from a grid failure?) contains not only melody but a definable hook and those aren’t ten-a-penny in that genre.
There’s also a distinct flavour of Carter USM in some of their songs, in the chord selection and progression, jangly guitars and fast, driving, tight beat. ‘Breach of Contract’ and ‘Selling Fiction’ fall into that category and isn’t ‘The Unappreciated Appropriation’ such a Carter title?
And then towards the end there are shades of Norway’s Sløtface as well although vocalist Jonas Lindahl is never going to challenge Haley Shea in the looks department.
I do them a disservice by referencing all these bands though because while this one has only been around since 2022 they aren’t new kids on the block by any means. They’ve all been around the block several times with bands that include Ligisterna, Greta Kassler and Varnagel, which we reviewed back in 2022.
For the sample track I selected the opener, ‘Reflections from a scattered brain’, a different beast, oriented more towards rock then punk and sounding like it might have emanated from Canada during the 1980s.
Fast, tuneful, forceful and they don’t hold back lyrically either. Well worth a listen.
Album score 7/10.
(Continues after the Spotify link)
Power Grid Failure is:
Jonas Lindahl: Vocals and Guitar
Joel Malm: Guitar and choir
Carlos Galdo: Bass
Magnus Strid Hedman: Drums and choir
Find them on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powergridfailure/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/powergridfailure
