Punk’s Influence Permeates The Great Escape 2022 Line Up
It’s time – The Great Escape is here this week. Starting today (May 11th) and running til May 14th, Brighton is set to become the hub of music discovery.
With a line-up promising over 400 of the most exciting up-and-coming acts right now, The Great Escape is not to be missed if you’re a lover of music; proudly offering bands across genres, and even across borders, this is the perfect opportunity to find your new favourite artist.
With the dizzying selection on offer, we thought we’d put together our own suggestions for you – particularly focusing on the gruelling punk acts that are sure to burst some eardrums this week.
Here are five punks guaranteed to absolutely rip Brighton in half in the coming days…
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Dream Nails
Saturday, 12:15pm @ THREE WISE CATS
Someone gave punk a manicure. With a curled fist and snarl of rage, Dream Nail’s whiplash-quick punk is sugar, spice anything but nice. In a burst of Riot Grrrl ferocity, this quartet are truly the mouth-piece for everyone who’s been told to “give us a smile, love.”
Whether it’s proudly screeching for bodily autonomy on tracks like ‘Vagina Police 2.0’, howling for non-binary respect on ‘They/Them’, or encouraging people to ‘TAKE UP SPACE’, Dream Nails are ready to fight your corner.
It’s bright, it’s shimmery, and it’s downright pissed off. And rightly so!
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DITZ
Saturday, 3:15pm @ THREE WISE CATS
Rumbling post-punk five-piece DITZ arrive in a haze of jagged breakdowns and experimental synthetic inflections.
2020’s ‘The Great Regression’ riles with a stomach churning riffs and a dizzying air of darkness. Unsettling song structures leave you on edge, tracks like ‘Ded Würst’ pivoting between crashing drums and Kraftwerk-like moments of unsettling restraint.
The rattling, ferocious ‘Role Model’ is a track sure to rouse the carnal side of just about any crowd – DITZ’s wall of hypnotic, brutal sound is definitely not something to miss out on.
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Bob Vylan
Friday, 9:15pm @ COALITION
Bob Vylan are truly at the front of the punk game right now. Venomously tackling the cost of living, humiliatingly intense nationalism, and the censored world of radio ‘punk’, Bob Vylan aren’t ones to mince their words.
Recent album ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’ is a brutal analysis of Britain, and its endless plethora of sharp lyricism are sure to rouse crowds into action. Their barely-contained rage and refusal to be silenced is magnificent – it’s raw, it’s real, and it’s the epitome of punk.
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Kid Kapichi
Saturday, 9:15pm @ CHALK
Hailing from Hastings, Kid Kapichi deliver punk with absolutely no frills. Each track is rough, sarcastic and gloriously pessimistic – the perfect recipe for a killer punk scream-along.
Latest single ‘New England’ serves as a perfect taste of what these guys are about, critically unfolding the hypocritical “Greatness of Britain”; touching on all the wonders of our small-but-mighty nation, Kid Kapichi remind us of the wonders of our favourite German cars, the tits and arses in the Daily Star, and the wonders of Postman Pat’s many years of commitment to the postal service. With their rugged vocals, frazzled breakdowns and no-fucks-given attitude, Kid Kapichi are a certified good time.
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Witch Fever
Friday, 7:00pm @ VOLKS
Witch Fever are a curse. Their grunge-infused doom punk oozes darkness, crawling under your skin and infecting your senses. If you dare to join the coven, prepare to immerse yourself in the group’s dark, razor-edged soundscapes; the quartet deliver tracks broiling with fury.
From tracks like ‘Blessed Be Thy’ to ‘Reincarnaate’, heavy drums are tailor-made for moshpits, while the poisonously-sharp snarls of vocalist Amy Walpole are sure to have you screeching along.
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Words: Emily Swingle
Photo Credit: Diana Dumi
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