Zeitgeist.
One of my favourite words.
Capturing the flavour and culture of a moment in time.
Punk music, more than any other genre has managed to capture the Zeitgeist. Taking the pulse of what is happening right now and kicking out against the shit that is going on all around us.
By their nature Punk bands tend to be more political, more opinionated and generally more pissed off and there has never been a more important time since those early days of punk, where we need more people speaking out about what is clearly wrong with the world.
This latest release from Nuggiez rails against a society where we are driven to consume, where there is never enough to satisfy the machine that sells us the dream and the sharks are circling.
Vocalist Drew McCormack describes it best,
“The lyrics try to highlight that by never meaningfully addressing our material conditions, society asks the individual to instead ‘grin and bear’ systemic failure, in order to protect capitalism from fundamental reform.”
“As a result, all kinds of people seeking answers are being driven into the arms of grifters in the marketplace and in spiritual & political spheres - ‘the creeps’ who exploit our systemic social chaos for personal gain.”
Nuggiez are not alone in feeling this way nor are they alone in using their art to get a point across. They are part of a growing movement of musicians and artists who are screaming to be heard.
There is nothing new about a punk band speaking out and on The Creeps Drew comes across like a duet between Jaz Coleman and Joe Talbot from Idles (there's nothing wrong with that).
The refrain of Run to the arms of the creeps is snarled over a pulsating, menacing guitar chime while the soul of the song twists and turns driven by hyperkinetic beats. This is a sonic maelstrom punctuated by words that will be pure catharsis for anyone who goes to see Nuggiez perform this live
Smile like you mean it.
Those words will be ringing in people's heads long after the song fades.
Right now we need more bands like Nuggiez. More people pissed off at what is happening around them and who want to connect with everyone who feels the same. Shit is happening right now and with The Creeps Nuggiez are highlighting a moment in time whilst being a part of a growing wave of musicians who are going to connect with a lot of people who feel just like they do.
Nuggiez (featuring current and former members of Black Science, Repairs, Shoutin' Preachin' and Reaving) have been writing and performing their noisy and distinctively indistinct flavour of fast and frenetic music since their debut self-titled release in 2017. They’ve released a self-titled album (2017) and a follow-up EP (2018) - which saw the tracks Planet B and Company playlisted on SRN channels around the country - in between supporting acts such as The Dead Kennedys and Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies, and touring with Tim & Eric puppeteer David Liebe Hart.