“Nu Punk” from “Nu England” Boston, Massachusetts’ 40 Lashes makes a punk rock that sounds like it should have been on Tony Hawk’s soundtrack on the PS2. With touches of emo, hardcore, pop punk and indie, their sound is hard to define, but definitely theirs. The energy is immense, the rhythm section is tight and the guitars are gritty and glittery.
On the first song alone (the fantastic Left Out) they seem to channel Millencolin, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and The Gaslight Anthem, all at the same time. My Eyes is the second track and is a bit of an odd one out in that it has a decidedly post-punk/new wave vibe to the instrumentation at the start of the track. Soon the emo vocal kicks in and keeps it nicely rooted to the rest of the songs here. Stylistically this is as gentle as the EP gets – and it’s far from a ballad – but it’s full of the kind of emotion you’d expect from such a band making such music.
Over the course of the rest of the EP, the songs are laced with spirit and snarl (specifically in the case of the chorus of the sensational True Love) as well as professionalism and precision that belies the punk rock sensibilities (Never Wanted is as excellently realised as anything by New Found Glory and is reminiscent of peak-Green Day).
The last song – Cheer On – almost has a Nu Nu Metal energy – bringing to mind San Diego’s P.O.D. blended with emo/pop-punk megastars Fall Out Boy. It’s an incredibly nostalgic combination that is by no means a slight – despite the reputation of the original genre – and will certainly appeal to music fans of a certain age and persuasion – ourselves included.
With an extensive touring schedule planned for the remainder of Spring and leading into Summer, they sound like a band well worth checking out if you happen to be on the northeast coast of the USA soon.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
