LACK are a Bedfordshire based British Punk trio, consisting of Rob, Jay and Steve. After 9 months, LACK were off to Wallington to record their first album, Anthem, and are soon to release their second album, which I was lucky enough to gain early access to.

Anthem

I kicked off getting a taste for the bands work by getting to grips with their first album. Anthem being a 5 track album made for a quick but great listen. I was almost immediately reminded of the classic sounds of The Clash and Sex Pistols within the vocals and the British flare they offered. This along with the simple, yet highly effective, guitar riffs as well as the prominent drums and bass meant that the tracks did really feel Anthem-y. In that after the first chorus or first playing I was happily singing and had my feet thumping.

I also liked how they played with their sound openly on the album, with tracks like Bombay’s Miles Away blending odd hints of reggae styled guitar with alt-rock to make for an occasionally odd, but totally unique sound to listen too. I call albums like this one ‘warmers’, where it may take a listen or two but once you get into it… you’re hooked!

HAVE A LISTEN 

New Album Taster

Now these tracks were love at first listen for me. One thing I loved about them was how varied the level of ‘hardness’ of punk was. With tracks like Show Me Consideration giving off a softer side of the genre along with those killer Clash-like vocals, making for a great listen that wasn’t a slap in the face if you don’t listen to this genre normally. This and ‘harder tracks’ like Autumn, means that you can have a listening session that warms you up to the sweet spot where you just got to head bang or pogo, and after all isn’t that what punk should do?

I also loved that the play with sound was still present, as shown by the track Easy and its dips into those reggae flavours that were present in the first album, which of course added to the variety in sound that was unique but still kept punk at its heart.

Final Thoughts

These albums are an excellent example of the sort of thing I would recommend to a friend who has listened to all those classic punk artists and is looking for something to branch out. Something that is modern in the genre, which has its twist and turns but still harks back to those classic and iconic sounds.

READ MY INTERVIEW WITH THE BAND

Lauren Coombes