Label: Demons Run Amok Entertainment
Date: June 18th, 2021
Well this is a first for me. An Oi! punk band coming from Indonesia! I’m somewhat familiar with Indonesian metal, but never thought about music like this. Or that it can be produced over there. With this review I would like to extend the invitation for anybody who can further enlighten me into the scene. I hope The Boldness is not the only Indonesian punk band. Considering what I’ve heard of the country and the ruling system out there, there should be many more. But I could be wrong. After all, I’m as far from the country as it is humanly possible. But I would love to know more.
But okay, let’s get down to music. And I’m not doing anybody any favors, but I kind of like what The Boldness has to offer. Actually, these three Indonesian skinheads (hell, it’s still weird for me to mention this) hand out exactly what you might expect from any UK based act. They’re doing everything by the book and some would say it is a rather simplistic approach to Oi! punk. To those I have only one thing to say. Show me a band that doesn’t. I dare you. Especially with music such as this. The point is that the two tracks Indonesians picked for this split really do the trick. They are well-crafted, catchy as all hell and simply reek of spilled beer and cheap cigarettes. These hooligans obviously have all the knowledge necessary and the know-how on the subject at hand.
Sure, I know one of these songs is The Stomper cover, but still. “Skinhead Warrior” is just as good of a track as the cover. I love it!
By the way, is that a bit of old Misfits in the vocal chords I’m hearing?
On the flip side, a more familiar name for me. Bent Out Of Shape are hailing from the Netherlands and I’ve recently reviewed their previous EP. And I haven’t expected anything else on this record but pure street / Oi! punk. And the Fryslân based quartet delivered.
Two more tunes for the beaten down working class out on the weekend binge. The guys offer two more extremely catchy songs perfect for the night out at a local pub. It feels like I don’t even need to have this split record playing right now. It’s all up here in my head anyway with no chance of escaping any time soon.
As their Asian colleagues, Bent Out Of Shape has no intention of reinventing the wheel. They even say so in the lyrics. “Just another punk rock band”. But still an exquisite listen.
So… What’s the smart way to end this review? Recommending the release? If you’ve read it this far, you are already on your way to pre-order the 7”, or you simply don’t like punk and have moved on. Should I recommend the bands? I believe there is no need as their music does a whole lot of talking on its own. Attempt a clever finale for the review? No, I will not. I will simply go crack open a cold one and leave the split spinning for a while longer.
P. S. Pay attention to the cover artwork. Another aspect of this split that should get you to order faster.
