Full of riffs, melodic vocals and so catchy you’ll be hooked from the first listen, the newest EP from UK melodic punk band FAST BLOOD comes out this Friday via Cruel Nature Records, and today we’re stoked to give you a special video premiere with the band’s track by track rundown of each and every song from the record.
Comprised of stalwarts of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne DIY scene, Fast Blood played their first ever gig in April 2019 opening for Durham pop-punk mainstays Martha. They have since shared the stage with the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Mannequin Pussy and Cocaine Piss. Recalling the likes of Pretty Girls Make Graves, Fucked Up and Hot Snakes through the singles ‘You’ and ‘Milo’, the band fuse fast-paced, urgent, energetic punk rock with nods to 90’s Midwestern indie/emo, hardcore and garage punk. Their sonic tapestry under-pinned by Abi’s uplifting, ultra-melodic vocals, casting its hooks into you as she belts out honest, authentic, self-examining lyrics.
Released by Cruel Nature Records on 5 March as limited-edition cassette (45 copies) and digital download.
‘RUT’
‘Rut’ is about the constant frustration I feel under this absolute shit-show of a government. It’s about being fed lies on a daily basis on the news and watching people eat it up and fall in line.
I think when I was writing the lyrics to this, it was at the height of the “Brexit” fiasco. It’s about how media manipulates us and how we get information shoved in our faces all of the time. We get told what to do, where to go, who to be. What makes me really angry is a lot of people don’t even question it.
‘YOU’
In 2018 I had a pretty tough year; I’d spent the best part of it helping to care for my Nana who was terminally ill with cancer. She passed away just before Christmas. It was a massive blow to me. She was hugely important to me and very much loved by all my family, A few months after this my friend Lou lost her stepfather very suddenly in very tragic circumstances. It was such a shit time for both of us, but it was kind of comforting to know that we both could talk about loss together. We were in a similar boat in terms of how terrible we felt. So, when it came to write ‘You’, I had all of these emotions in mind. There are people in your life that you literally just can’t do without. People who are there no matter what and no matter how shit things are, they can still make you laugh and smile even in the saddest of times. I’m lucky I have a few people who make me feel like this. People that just get me and I get them in the same way. After listening to the music that Dave had written in terms of a melody for ‘You’, to me it had a feel good, summer banger type of sound so I thought the narrative fit. I set to writing lyrics alongside it. I wanted it to sound hopeful as well as acknowledging times can be hard, but as long as you have got people to get you through, you can struggle through together.
Continued below…
‘LOVE LOST’
Sometimes you have to put up with people in life that you wouldn’t normally suffer, because of work or because it’s a friend’s new partner or both. I find it incredibly difficult being around people whose only purpose seems to be ripping other people apart, dragging people down with them. I had to watch one of my closest friends be mentally and physically abused by someone that was supposed to love them. Not only did I have to put up with that. I had to act civil to that person for the sake of a friendship.
‘MILO’
I always seem to fuck up things that are important to me, or let things built up in my head to the point of self-sabotage.
I’ve wanted a dog all my life. When I finally got to a point in my life where I could get one, my anxiety took over and I felt like I couldn’t do it. I tried to give a rescue dog a home but I failed. My anxiety took over and I felt I couldn’t make him happy, and it caused me to have (another) breakdown. The dog’s name is Milo.
It’s something that happens in my life a lot. You want something so badly, but when it comes to it you can’t go through with it due to mental barriers.
‘Fast Blood EP’ is released by Cruel Nature Records on 5 March as limited-edition cassette and digital download. Pre-order now at this location.
