Bootlicker, Album, and Derek Plunkie
Bootlicker
Bootlicker // Neon Taste Records
Hardcore Punk is a genre you don’t see too many bands taking a crack at nowadays, yet there is still a demographic that long to hear more of the fast and gritty style of music. Bootlicker, whose current lineup is scattered across Beautiful British Columbia, pull off the old school sound without sounding like they’re an imitation of bands that came before. Bootlicker have been rocking since 2017, with vocalist Lewis remaining the constant driving force behind writing, recording, and in past releases, production. Drummer Lucas has also been with the band since their 6 Track EP. The lineup has changed numerous times throughout their releases, but as for their newest self titled album, we have Athena and Josh jamming the guitar, and Mark on bass, along with along with the aforementioned usual suspects in Lewis and Lucas.
The self titled album released in June is Bootlicker’s first full length, with 14 songs, yet in classic Hardcore Punk fashion, the album is refreshingly short at just over 20 minutes. Though the album isn’t particularly lengthy, it takes almost no time to slow down for a breather. It is 20+ minutes of sheer aggression in the form of erratic riffs and blistering drum beats, with harsh and angry yells from Lewis! With a name like Bootlicker, it should come as no surprise that they have controversial and abrasive lyrics that would almost certainly upset your grandparents. Again, this is par for the course when it comes to Hardcore Punk, where the lyrics and meanings are as, if not more important than the accompanying sonic attack. This gives the album multiple layers, meaning it can be enjoyed while stomping your feet and swinging your fists, or while sitting down and giving thought to the messages that the band puts forth!
The speed and ferocity starts as soon as you hit play with “Conscription”, which talks about the unfair and inescapable cycle that the working class is put through by massive corporations. Similar themes are found in the following track “Two Faced” in addition to corporations wringing mother nature dry in the name of unfathomable profit. A few songs later we have the savagely hectic tune, coming straight for the throat of those who call themselves “Master". This song is a minute long whirlwind, warning it’s listener to not conform to what they’re told by those who hold power, and to fight back against them, rather than cower, or even idolize them. Similar themes can be found in tracks such as “The Cold” and Submission Pt. 2. My personal favourite song if the album is “Another Body" which is perfect for stage diving on your friends heads. The track to me is about wanting to start anew, and trying to be more in tune with yourself, rather than just trying to fit in with the crowd.
If you’re seeking out a fast and pure Hardcore Punk sound accompanied by thought provoking lyrics, not only is this the album for you, Bootlicker is the band for you!
- Justin Olson
Album
Album // Telephone Explosion
What I appreciate most about experimental EDM is its eccentricity and willingness to go beyond the structure and formulas that we’re familiar with. It’s always an unpredictable listening experience – you might be calmed by a smooth piano or you might be unsettled by a fragmented beat. Regardless of what you feel, it is this feeling that makes this genre-less genre so important – its ability to use pure sound to convey an emotion or an experience.
Album from experimental EDM artist Album is a journey into 80’s style synths, unconventional drum patterns, and chaotic SFX contained into 11 tracks. Album’s use of off-key notes and distorted filters evokes a creeping suspense that carries Album. The listener is never given enough structure to predict what’s to come, which leads to a unique experience where they’re placed in a constant state of alertness and anticipation for what’s to come.
My personal interpretation of this album is that of an exercise in chaos and terror. A common motif throughout the record is through using a sort of distorted free form jazz. This down tempo, low pitch jazz forms a connection from the listener to the music through a lens of familiarity, but shows this familiar place in ruins. It’s as if you’re returning to your hometown and you see an old shop from when you were younger, now vacant and derelict.
Now, this is just my interpretation, and that’s what makes experimental music so amazing to me – it’s openness to interpretation. We connect our own experiences to that of the artist to create our own meaning of it, whatever that may be. Album is a fascinating interweave of the mellow and the chaotic, crafted with heart and soul to give us a visceral listening experience that entrances us and shows us something we’d never thought existed. It’s awesome.
- Brandon Kruze
Derek Plunkie
Dialekt // Self Released
The Derek Plunkie Sextett assembled from across the globe to release Dialekt, the ensembles debut album. Derek Plunkie is a composer and guitarist who cut his teeth playing metal in Edmonton before diving into the jazz community with his trio, “The Rule of Thirds”, and attending MacEwan University to receive his music degree with a focus on composition. In the fall of 2019 he moved to Graz, Austria, to continue his composition studies under Ed Partyka.
Dialekt embraces the fluidity of Europe’s open-eighth jazz sound with driving, disparate melodies floating over well-grounded basslines. Comparisons can be made to The Netherland’s Reinier Baas and Gideon Van Gelder. The beauty of this ensemble really shines as members fade in and out of earshot; rising up with all 3 horns in soli before suddenly dropping down to trio, or even duo. The horn and reeds weave around one another, somehow improvising as though they were of the same mind.
The album presents new compositions from the summer of 2020 after a year of living in Austria, as well as arrangements of other originals. Interspersed between Plunkie’s longer works are quiet interludes featuring individual instruments over slow-rolling themes. The band’s cohesiveness is evident as each song conveys a singular spirit - titled after various European landmarks and towns.
Opening with a cinematic rework of “The North Sea”, the sextet slowly blossoms over a quintuplet groove. Horns whisper in your ears while Plunkie chugs away in the background. When the drums step in, you’re not met a steadying pulse but a dizzying loop that only gets more intense as the horns flare while the bass intensely pedals. This roller-coaster of a composition earned Derek a Downbeat Magazine Student Music Award for outstanding small ensemble composition.
“The Mur” is a homage to new city Plunkie calls home, named after the central river dividing Graz in two, much like his previous home in Edmonton. It begins a Tony Williams-inspired drum intro before the horns lead into a swung melody as Derek nods at the jazz tradition. The latter half of the tune draws from Plunkie’s early heavy-metal influences as he dials up the distortion for horns to blow over.
With guitar as the chordal instrument, it is often setting the table for the other players. Making use of all the tones at his disposal, Plunkie is able to paint a number of beautiful landscapes for all 5 others to dance within. Dialect is an incredible debut from a team of powerful, yet sensitive players and it is worthy of praise. This is a great album for those new to contemporary jazz who are familiar with guitar-driven rock.
- Biboye Onanuga
