Contributed by Jonny Collins
The Manchester Punk Festival is a very important event for us. My first attendance was the day after the first ever Blizzard live show in April of 2019. It was the first time I ever heard our now spiritual theme song performed live. And I arguably experienced the moment when I truly knew what kind of comedian I wanted to be.
The gig at the comedy stage of MPF2019 wasn’t one of my best. Festival gigs are always kind of weird, as you get people going in and out when the bands they want to see are on. People are usually just there for the curiosity, or to kill time between bands – and the gear shift from audience style can be hard to go back and forth from.
But ignoring the gig itself, I met a lot of people at that gig who would become big idols for me, and people I would work with numerous times moving forwards. More importantly, the whole atmosphere of the festival featuring generations of punks and adjacent subcultures coming together, with a shared love of anti-establishment movement and broadly similar political ideologies judging from the bands present – it made me truly understand what I wanted Blizzard to be.
It is a home that welcomes and does its best to accommodate the marginalized, a place for under platformed acts to share their radical leftist ideas and to wind down, laugh together, and build a strong sense of community and solidarity with likeminded people who maybe wouldn’t have crossed paths in any other context.
I won’t claim to have achieved all of that, but I think we’re on the right path. Every year since then I’ve kept a close eye on the festival, whether or not I’ve been able to attend, and used their incredibly curated line-ups to discover which bands I’m going to be obsessed with for the year ahead.
As someone who very much grew up in the scene of alternative and extreme metal, since 2019 my most listened bands are now almost exclusively Punk and Ska, with some hip-hop and alt metal thrown into the mix. I always liked Punk, but I fully credit this festival with this gear shift for me, and I’ve felt more at home in this environment than I ever have before.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a wanky music nerd who listens to a bit of pretty much everything and can’t stop telling people that as if it makes up for my lack of personality. But Punk has become more than a music genre to me. It is a community I love, it is a code of ethics I respect, and a subculture I feel at home in.
So as a celebration of this festival and the wider genre and community, for the second year running this month’s playlist will feature some of the highlights of the bands performing at this year’s MPF. And this year, I actually attended it, so get to rave about some first-hand experiences of the incredible shows!
These are in order of appearance on the festival, and not in any way ranked. Nor are these the only bands/songs I enjoyed at the festival – as the whole line-up was stacked, and it took me a great deal of shuffling around before I had a playlist I was happy with that wasn’t 3 hours long.
You can listen to the playlists below on the following platforms and read on if you’d like to read in more detail about why I picked each track.
Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/S49bWPjHtMSPDPUAA (Missing 3 tracks)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zEb16TLMjQlL26iSIiAp0?si=884bdbac0f13486c
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/c55a51a1-114e-45ae-b901-8236ad3c7e18 (Missing 2 Tracks)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGv_OFvoeqQtsOAi_CI61ec5dmmlJkfnL (Missing 2 tracks)
And if you want to read more about each of my picks, keep scrolling down.
1: There Are Dozens Of Us – Animal Byproducts
Attempts At Understanding – 2021 – Pop Punk
https://animalbyproducts.bandcamp.com/album/attempts-at-understanding
Do I undermine your solid gender roles?
Or are we all just assortments of holes?
Animal Byproducts were a last-minute addition to the festival and had an unfortunate timeslot of being one of the first bands on in one of the smallest venues – meaning that unless people were queuing up very early to get their wristbands, they weren’t likely to make it. I did not make it that early, which was a shame, as I absolutely love this band, specifically this song, which has gotta be one of the best genderqueer anthems of all time.
It has a real addictive pop-punk groove and melody, and a chorus hook that will define a generation of gender weirdos (affectionate). Shame I missed them, but definitely going to be trying to catch them again when they’re next round.
2: Taxman – Bruise Control
Useless For Something – 2023 – Punk
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/useless-for-something
Death to the jobsworths, death to the snitches
Death for the taxman, death to his riches
This was the first band I actually made it to see live, being on the main Union stage before the two bands I really wanted to see on the Friday – so of course I stuck around to check them out. And they’re just delightful.
Taxman is another catchy as fuck song all about… I mean, clue’s in the title. While I’m not inherently against the idea of taxation, I can’t condone the way it has been implemented over the last decade especially, when the Government uses it to enrich friends, donors and partners by assigning crucial contracts corruptly (including during the height of the COVID pandemic, giving their mates a shit loads of money to deliver PPE which they had no experience making, and again with the track and trace app that ended up basically not working at all, but I digress).
What’s especially frustrating, as someone who wants my taxes to go and support the various welfare schemes the Tories have been gutting and ruthlessly gatekeeping, is that the Tories put far more effort into chasing up mere hundreds of pounds from benefit fraud, whilst we find out Tory cabinet ministers have been evading and avoiding tax to the tune of millions and only end up paying that back once it’s already been leaked.
Taxes to take a cut of excess wealth from individuals and corporations who have more than they need to fund essential services for those who are struggling. Yes, absolutely. Those who collect and chase and intimidate poor people for not declaring something that still wasn’t enough to survive on – yet need forcing to investigate multi-millionaires who somehow pay less tax than those aforementioned in poverty? Fuck ‘em.
Message aside, this tune just slaps, and the band have such a delightful stage presence that despite not knowing most of the songs they were playing I got fully swept up in the atmosphere and they very successfully warmed me up for the rest of the weekend.
3: Desperate Measures – The Human Project
Clarion Call – 2018 – Melodic Hardcore
https://thehumanproject.bandcamp.com/album/clarion-call
Call me snowflake and expect the avalanche.
Here we are, once again, the song that is the quintessential blizzard mantra.
I’ve spoken about this song and band so much that there’s not much more to say that isn’t obvious from a surface listen. But one notable thing about this performance is that it was the bands last before splitting up (amicable as far as I can tell). This was an emotional moment for me, as this band and this album and song specifically mean so much for me and really helped me hone and define in words what my political ideology even was.
You all know me as a loud-mouthed leftist, but I was definitely largely centrist for a large part of the 2010s. Never been a Tory – but I’ve definitely had some takes that were less than based on crucial political and social issues. Towards the end of the decade, I was having a huge identity crisis in many metrics – and the first time I heard this song was around the time when I was just settling into being a radical overt socialist.
It was a case of right place right time for me. I heard this song and felt seen. I heard this song and felt a part of something cool and angry yet empathetic.
I listened to a room full of people shout along with that first line, and I felt empowered. Things fucking suck, but we are a force to be reckoned with. There have been numerous setbacks, and we’re far from the ideal future given current projections. Individually we can’t do much, but together and united we can overthrow governments, ideologies, monarchies, heck, even the entire economic system. It’ll be fucking hard, but let’s have ambitions.
Let’s make this one fucking spectacular avalanche.
4: War To The Palaces – Faintest Idea
The Road To Sedition – 2023 – Ska Punk
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-road-to-sedition
Depose the Crown, Defund the Rich
Bring War to the Palaces
Faintest Idea’s first album in like 7 years was very much worth the wait. I’d actually forgotten I’d pre-ordered it, so it was a lovely surprise to come home to it, put it on, and within seconds be blown away with a tornado of ska-flavoured political rage. It’s hard to pick my favourite track from the new album, and they played a lot of those tracks live which I was hyped as fuck for. Seriously, it was a 10/10 setlist, it’s like they ripped it directly out of my most played songs, thank you.
But the one that I had the best time watching live was War To The Palaces. On the surface, it’s a fairly standard Faintest Idea song – tight horn section, British Streetpunk style riffs and vocals, radical anarcho-socialist messaging. But sometimes a song doesn’t need to be bigger than the sum of its parts if the parts on their own are just so fucking good.
Superb chorus hook, the harmonies from the horn section dig right into your brain and will have you unconsciously bouncing for at least the next 7 days, 10/10 – excellent song. No notes.
5: Protect/Serve – Comeback Clit
Ättestor / Comeback Clit split – 2022 – Hardcore
https://comebackclit.bandcamp.com/album/ttestor-comeback-clit-split
Defund the fucking police
Before they rape you
Before they kill me
Unfortunately, there were a load of bands I couldn’t see for one reason or another. Sometimes clashes, sometimes just a matter of distance between venues and factoring in times to eat etc – but I made a point to check out as many of the other bands on streaming as I could, so I’ve actually discovered far more bands from this festival than I actually managed to see live.
Comeback Clit are a Hardcore/riot band who absolutely don’t fuck about. Loud, aggressive guitar riffs that will shake every fibre of your being, and hardcore vocals that don’t pull punches and leave me covered in goosebumps. I think it’s fair to say women and femmes absolutely make the most compelling punk music, at least to me, and this is no exception.
Not to say that boys can’t make good punk – I’ve already listed several who have, but there’s just something much more gripping about angry punk women screaming and thrashing about the many ways that society has let them and their loved ones and wider community down that I am in absolute awe of. There’s an authenticity that is untouchable, and on a taste level I generally prefer the range/register of these kind of vocals when delivered by women (although that is just a general vibe, and there’s obviously overlap).
But I digress – Comeback Clit have a band name that are very 90s Riot Grrl inspired – and channel that energy into some of the most brutal hardcore music of this decade. Give it a listen.
6: Namaste The Fuck Away From Me – Sniff
Another EP – 2022 – Pop Punk
https://sniffbanduk.bandcamp.com/album/another-ep
I can’t stand it,
You’re so basic
Your hairdo
Is definitely racist
Slight tonal shift here. There’s only so much angry loud shouty music over heavily distorted guitars and pounding drums you can take before you need a more low-key whimsical pop-punk bouncy critique of white hippy culture.
Sniff are another band I didn’t catch live, although I did already know them, so they weren’t completely new to me.
This track though floored me. From the title I was hooked, what a fun play in words. The song didn’t disappoint either – it’s a lot more upbeat, very sarcastic and mocking vocal style, and the lyrics have a wit that is just delightful. Absolutely never tire of shitting on these kinds of people, and this track is one of the best examples of that.
7: Baby, I Had An Abortion – Petrol Girls
Baby – 2022 – Riot Grrl
https://petrolgirls.bandcamp.com/album/baby
Whose life are you pro?
Whose do you want to control?
Heaven forbid my rights
Heaven forgive what I decide
Okay we had the fun break, now back to angry feminist music.
Petrol Girls came on after Faintest Idea. I actually missed the first half of the set due to being old and feeble and needing to sit down after 2 whole hours of standing, headbanging, bouncing, and avoiding the ever expanding mosh pit as much as possible.
And that was clearly my loss, because on entering back into the venue, the singer of this band was delivering an impassioned inspired feminist speech about all the oppressions women face and the way that in many parts of the world things are not just, not getting better but actively getting worse. And on top of that she unprompted said trans rights and made sure that she re-iterated those points as many times as she could, while pouring her soul out about this very crucial issue that impacts over 50% of the world’s population.
I did stay for the duration after that, albeit nearer the back and watching more passively – but the stick out track was clearly “Baby, I Had An Abortion”. As the title suggests, this is a protest song about the regression of access to abortion services for AFAB people, particularly in large parts of America. This is a topic I champion in music, having done a playlist on this very topic last year, and unfortunately just missed this track, because this might be one of the best I’ve heard.
The lyrics to this song are so well crafted. I think people often assume Punk lyrics are easy because they’re meant to be aggressive, short and simple, compared to the more complex poetry of other genres. But that’s horseshit.
Writing a compelling and gripping hook like this and using the few words available in such a short runtime to make your point and make it stick is an art in itself, and Petrol Girls nail it. The verses are short and blunt, the bridge echoes a damming sentiment at anyone who calls themselves pro-life, and the chorus, whilst mostly being the title, is delivered with such power, pride and even a little bit of cheek which makes for incredible empowering vibes. Also, the fucking bassline and droning guitar, oof, yes.
As an AMAB person this song will never speak to me on as personal a level as it would for anyone who has ever had or had to consider abortion. But it is incredibly important that people like me listen. If you’re reading this, I imagine you’re pro-choice, but it’s important to remember this isn’t some hypothetical philosophical moral conundrum. This is the lives of an overwhelming number of people, and their agency over their own body.
Keep listening, keep amplifying and spreading the message, and don’t rest until every single old conservative dude who vote and work tirelessly to remove access to this essential healthcare has lost all power to enact their archaic, patriarchal and violent moral compass and will onto women and AFAB people.
8: Parasite Monarchy – The Restarts
State Rape – 1998 – Crossover
The fucking monarchy a bunch of useless lay-abouts
Seems appropriate given as I’m writing this King Charles III had just pissed up a bunch of taxpayer money so that a bunch of bootlickers can watch some boomer put on an expensive hat.
The Restarts are a great live band. I was dead by this point so didn’t get as involved as I had previously, but I did catch all of their set and they had such an upbeat aggro sound that kept me hooked throughout their setlist, and covered everything from the Monarchy, to LGBT+ rights and the importance of grassroots music venues.
The Restarts are just everything you want from an archetypal punk band, enough said.
9: The 1% – Knife Club
We Are Knife Club – 2020 – Hardcore
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-knife-club
The 1% are selfish cunts
Knife Club were playing basically the other side of town, so I didn’t catch them live – but this song has appeared on numerous playlists, so I see no reason to stop now. Now it’s time to tax the rich, we need public services.
Anti-capitalist hardcore punk, need I say more.
10: Braggin’ Rights – Lead Shot Hazard
Fires to Find Our Friends – 2019 – Ska Punk
https://leadshothazard.bandcamp.com/album/fires-to-find-our-friends
Rights!
They’re gonna tear ‘em up
Your rights!
They’re gonna burn ‘em down
Our rights!
We’re gonna smoke ‘em out
And then bring them screaming to their knees
This was the point of the night where I checked out to be honest. It was well past my bedtime when Lead Shot Hazard took to the stage. Pretty gutted, because from this song alone these guys might be one of my new favourite bands.
You should all know by now how much I like angry political ska – and Braggin’ Rights is that to a T. Satisfying horn grooves, iconic chorus hook… there’s only so many times I can repeat these terms, but what else is there to say? That’s what this track has. This song is such an earworm and hasn’t left my head once since I first heard it. Definitely need to catch them live properly at some point.
11: Kill Tory Scum – Killdren
Overkill is Underrated – 2018 – Rave-Punk
https://killdren.bandcamp.com/album/overkill-is-underrated
Tory – Tory – scum scum scum We’ve got to rid the country of…
Kill tory scum before they kill you
Killdren were on super late on the Friday, so as much as I wanted to see them, I was far too dead to deal with their pounding electroclash beats and unapologetic anti-Tory rhetoric at that moment.
I first heard this song when looking for anti-Tory songs, and this might be the best one. It got ‘em kicked off of Glastonbury one year, it’s responsible for a lot of top tier merch from the band, and more times than I’m proud to admit it’s the song that gets me out of bed when I’m having a bad mental health day and can’t hack life. (Just kidding, I am absolutely proud to admit that.)
I listened to a few of their other songs, and it’s more of the same, which if you’re into the punkier flavoured drum ‘n’ bass is great. If I wasn’t an old lady in spirit, I’d 100% have stayed for this perfect way to wrap up the first evening of the best festival in the country.
12: Empty Rewards – Casual Nausea
Demons – 2019 – Punk
https://casual-nausea.bandcamp.com/album/demons
I should sacrifice my time for society
Be thankful for the pennies that you pay me
So I can buy better furniture and give my life away
Drop everything I’m dreaming of and do just as you say
Saturday was more low-key for me. I spent most of my time at the comedy stage, which was as delightfully chaotic as I could’ve hoped. Got to see a lot of friends and chill out and recover a bit after what was a fairly full-on day before by my standards.
Casual Nausea were a band I was curious about but didn’t end up seeing. I love this song though.
Lyrically it kind of reminds me of Dropkick Murphys, although musically they couldn’t be further apart. (I mean they could’ve been they could’ve sounded like Tom Jones and Robbie Williams singing the soundtrack of the Full Monty – but you knew I was exaggerating, stop being so pedantic.)
This is just great punk rock about how bad capitalist exploitation is. If I need to explain why I like that, then you’ve clearly not been reading these close enough.
13: I Hate This Place – Throwing Stuff
I Hate This Place – 2023 – Hardcore
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/track/i-hate-this-place-2
I’ll keep at
Your throat
Until you
Let go of mine
Throwing Stuff is a great band name. Throwing Stuff play upbeat hardcore music very well. This song is about the UK’s number one post-Brexit export: Racist cunts travelling the world and condescending foreign cultures and being outraged that they’re not being treated as royalty for being from the ‘best’ country.
I think we’ve all encountered these people. Thankfully a lot of them were kicked out of the countries they’d retired to after voting for Brexit – because it turns out the EU actually did quite a bit for us as well. In fact, some may argue that we’ve actually lost more than we’ve gained by leaving the Union, but you know me, I don’t like to get all political in my blogs.
Yeah, “I Hate This Place” sums it up nicely. Good job gang, this song has the official Jonny Collins seal of approval (what all bands most covet, of course).
14: NHS (National Health Simpson) – Boom Boom Racoon
Now That’s What I Call Boom Boom Racoon Vol 1 – 2018 – Ska Punk
https://boomboomracoon.bandcamp.com/album/now-thats-what-i-call-boom-boom-racoon-vol-1
Prioritising profits while so many people die,
only those with money have the right to stay alive
Another band I was gutted to miss. This song I discovered doing my NHS/private healthcare playlist – and is an addictive little bluesy acoustic ska track sampling a Simpson’s meme and Owen Jones commentary.
This song has such a great sense of rhythm despite not having any drums (something I have only just realized writing this). The guitar is played almost percussively, with a very defined beat on the first strum of any given bar, which is really impressive. As someone who can’t even play in time with myself with a metronome, the fact that they’ve pulled together such a cohesive and full track without any percussion backing is mind-blowing to me frankly. Such talented musicians, such a solid track.
15: All My Nameless Friends – Call Me Malcolm
I Was Broken When You Got Here – 2018 – Ska Punk
https://callmemalcolm.bandcamp.com/album/i-was-broken-when-you-got-here
Beat up and let down in a bad year
Broke down but got up and I’m still here
Most of my mates went off to see Call Me Malcolm, and I kind of regret not doing, even though they clashed with Boom Boom Racoon anyway. This is a band I’ve always liked but never fully gotten into beyond a kind of “Yeah this is decent” kind of way.
Over the last few weeks compiling this playlist I got really into this specific track, which almost sounds like if Jimmy Eat World were a ska band. It’s got a distinctly emo flavour to its structure and harmonizing, and the lyrics wouldn’t be out of place in a later MCR track.
I can’t find any specifics about what this song means – although it’s got a very solid theme of friendship and being there for each other that just feels wholesome and nice. I particularly like the chorus and outro on this song – the repetition is something my brain enjoys particularly with messages like this, to beat my brain out of whatever needless thing it’s decided to be anxious or depressed about today.
It’s just an uplifting ode to friendship and community, delivered through immaculately produced pop-punk flavoured ska music. I love it so much.
16: Answer The Question – The Sewer Cats
Cute Aggression – 2022 – Riot Grrl
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cute-aggression
Answer the question,
What will it take, for you to say it straight?
I’d been listening to The Sewer Cats for about a year since I first heard of them after last year’s MPF – but this was the first time I’d actually seen them on stage, and I genuinely didn’t realize this was only a two-person band.
Moreover, the lead singer is also the drummer, which I have never seen before. Talking with a mate about this it’s not as uncommon as I was lead to believe (turns out some people know more things than me, what the fuck) – but it’s something I’d not seen before, and I am wildly impressed with the skill and dexterity it must take to be able to drum and sing well at the same time.
Drums are one of the most important parts of any band, being the foundation that any riffs/melody etc will be built on top of. And singing is probably the first thing most people notice from any band. Doing both things at the same time just makes my brain ache. Playing guitar and singing at the same time is hard enough, but drumming and singing means your hands/feet and voice are doing completely different things, and not only do you need to concentrate on keeping the beat, but also singing in time and on key as well?
Maybe I’m just bad at music (I definitely am) but that impresses the fuck out of me.
The guitar riffs and tones are also incredibly well-constructed and give the music a sense of depth that makes it sound at least like there’s a bass as well under it, if not a second guitarist. I don’t understand how a two-person band can make music in this genre that’s so incredibly densely packed. Between the two of them they rival the volume and arrangement of so many of the 4, 5 and more piece bands on this line-up.
But enough fangirling – this song is all about frustration with politicians and pundits being on TV all the time doing interviews/PMQs, etc, using so many words to say so little and basically never answering a straight question when a journalist or member of the public or anyone asks it.
I think after 3 years of Boris, nearing 1 year of Rishi, and no years of Truss that felt like so much longer, we can all hard relate to this message.
17: Heterosexuality is a Construct – Onsind
Dissatisfactions – 2010 – Indie Punk
https://onsind.bandcamp.com/album/dissatisfactions
Love is not a crime,
and I’d rather colour, outside of the lines,
love knows no gender and it’s about time,
you nailed your colours up next to mine.
This was probably my Saturday highlight. I only know 2-3 Onsind songs, but on vibes alone they are definitely a favourite band. They’re the most adorable boys at the front of this band – and the backup singers they had on as a result of them losing their voices and being unable to sing very much did the original vocals justice.
They’re one of these bands who absolutely do not hide their Durham accents, and it’s just delightful – particularly in this song. It’s always nice when punk/indie/alternative bands don’t either try and put on an American pop-punk voice or Oi based cockney slant and embrace their own distinct voices.
This is the kind of band you absolutely couldn’t get out of the states or south of England. Singing along with the chorus you can’t not emulate the accent a little bit, because it’s so ingrained in the little language quirks embedded into the lyrics, and it just works so much more than it would in any other accent, I feel.
This is the kind of gay pride anthem I’m here for. Just some adorable North-Eastern English nerds passionately singing about love and community and solidarity over pleasant acoustic/power-pop instrumentals. This kind of music makes me proud to be from this country – which is a tall fucking statement.
Fuck it, Onsind for Eurovision 2024, let’s make this happen.
18: Twat Out of Hell – Lightyear
Chris gentlemen’s hairdresser and railway bookshop – 2003 – Ska Punk
https://chas.bandcamp.com/album/chris-gentlemens-hairdresser-and-railway-bookshop
So Where’s Wally?
He’s in the Whitehouse
He’s playing army
He’s smoking a fat cigar
So we’ll chop his balls off
(Chop his balls off)
And make a pie
(Make a pie)
And over dinner we will ask him
Why innocent people die
A late addition to this playlist – I didn’t see this band; I went home earlier on the Saturday. In fact, I didn’t even make it out on the Sunday, so all of these upcoming bands I missed live, so I’ll just stop mentioning that.
One of my mates did though, and “Twat Out of Hell” is a great song title. The song seems to be largely about the war in Iraq – and specifically George W Bush and Tony Blair’s war crimes. Honestly, it’s weird to see the line “Where’s Wally? He’s in the Whitehouse” in a song and it is not about Donald Trump – but this song was released in 2003, so yeah. Things have changed, but they’re kind of the same too.
Lightyear are kind of folk punky ska, it’s hard to really explain exactly what they sound like, as I can’t think of a direct comparison. There’s some 90s/00s flavour pop-punk in there too. Structurally the song does jump around both musical and lyrical ideas, but it all has a cohesion to it that carries you through it well enough that it’s not too jarring. It’s just fucking good, let’s leave it at that and move on – we’ve still got like 9 songs to go.
19: All Cats Are Beautiful – Fit to Work
Voluntary Severance – 2018 – Crossover
https://fittowork.bandcamp.com/album/voluntary-severance
Cops are fucking racist rapist motherfuckers
Cops are fucking murdering pigfucking scum
But All Cats Are Beautiful
All Cats Are Beautiful
This was a track that made me laugh out loud as soon as I clicked that the title was just saying ACAB. I’m easily entertained. Whilst I don’t know if I’d go far enough to say that all cats are beautiful, it’s fair to say that enough of them are to make the others are guilty by association, and complicit in the overall beauty of these cats.
Musically it’s approaching Thrash metal at points. The riffs and structure sound very Municipal Waste, although the lyrics are much closer to more traditional hardcore. If I was the kind of person who moshed, I’d lose my shit to this song, this goes fucking hard.
20: We Turned The Lights Out – Syd.31
Machine Ready – 2021 – Industrial
https://syd31.bandcamp.com/album/machine-ready-2
We turned the lights out
We’re gonna make ‘em pay
We turned the lights out
It’s gonna be judgement day
Syd.31 seemed to surprise a lot of people, and I can understand why. They’re definitely more along the lines of Industrial/Dub electronica than Punk in a strict genre sense. But if this festival has taught me anything, it’s that Punk is more than musical conventions – it is an outlook, ideology and creative drive. And We Turned The Lights Out is as angry and hard as any of this distorted guitar driven bands I’ve already mentioned.
Inspired initially by Brexit and Trump in 2016, this song was left unfinished and revisited in 2021 after the Jan 6th insurrection in the States. It captures a feeling I think we can all relate to of just wanting to burn the system to the ground and end/restart it all.
The eclectic mix of Industrial ambience, dub basslines, and more traditional punk shouted vocals creates a sound that’s both relaxing, unsettling and angry in equal measures. Like the vocals is your brain internally screaming at everything, while the dub is hiding your emotions on the outside, and the creepy industrial elements are that part of you getting ready to commit mass arson.
It’s one of the longer tracks on this playlist, crossing the 5-minute mark, but the groove keeps going and you get far too lost in the soundscape to even realize or get sick of it. Definitely the most unique track on this list, and an artist I’m curious to hear more from.
21: There’s a Bar at the end of the World – Jess Silk
Blitz Spirit – 2021 – Folk
https://jesssilk.bandcamp.com/album/blitz-spirit
With the same four chords and this knackered guitar
With a pint in my hand and a seat at the bar I’ll be waiting when you get there With these open arms and a seat by my side
With a hand you can hold and a safe place to hide I’ll be waiting when you get there If you need me to be
There were a lot of bands I was gutted to miss when my body decided I just couldn’t hack the 3rd day, but Jess Silk might’ve been the one I regret missing the most for this song only. Some songs on this list I’ve had to listen to a few times to really appreciate, but every now and then I’ll hear a song that just clicks immediately. This is one of them.
There are a lot of singer/songwriters with guitars out there, some good, many bland, but some who absolutely push the medium and create works of acoustical art that are going to keep connecting to people generation after generation. Even if the song never breaks into mainstream success, it will be waiting for people to discover and fall in love with it.
This is a difficult song to break down exactly what it means – but it has a same thematic vibe as All My Nameless Friends of friendship and mental health and struggles and being there for each other in any way we can. The verses have a dreary melancholic frustration and desire to help from the point of view of the narrator, breaking into an uplifting chorus chord progression, retaining the slightly sad tones of the vocals, pushed out with determination as if that narrator knows they can’t fix everything, or even anything, but are going to try with all their might nonetheless.
The uplifting view of this song is that it’s speaking to someone who’s struggling, letting them know that they’re here if they need them. Although there is some ambiguity, “The Bar at the End Of The World that we’ll meet when it’s over” could be a euphemism for death/afterlife – and a more intense reading of this song could be about someone who was defeated by mental health and struggles, and this song is a mournful dirge, wishing that they could’ve done something more to help.
I genuinely don’t know if either of these are a correct reading or what the writer intended – but it’s a powerful piece of art that works when interpreted through either lens. It’s such an evocative modern folk song and moves me every single time it comes on. And comforts me.
The artist has never met me, and I’ll probably never meet her, but through this work, she has done what she’s expressed in this song, and has been there for me when I’ve needed someone.
I’ll stop rambling now, because I don’t think any words, I write about this can encapsulate the beauty of this piece of music and how much it means to me.
22: YOU’LL SEE – The Meffs
Lockdown Singles – 2022 – Oi!
https://themeffs.bandcamp.com/album/lockdown-singles-ep
People say I’m far too young
To have a view, so I bite my tongue
Put more clothes on, take them off
Can’t please them all, can’t please the lot
Okay, something much more upbeat now to cleanse the palette.
“You’ll See” is a classic empowerment anthem for young punk women. Simple progression of chugging power chords – energetic and defiant lyrics against all the criticism and belittling she faces from (presumably older punks, or possibly just general establishment people). This song has an excellent bounce and is a unifying call for anyone who’s been gatekept or ignored or belittled in the scene or outside of it.
It’s about being uniquely you and true to yourself, and that’s always a good message. (Unless your truth is a neo-Nazi or something, in which case maybe break that down and challenge that until you’re not, ‘cause that’s the opposite of poggers tbh. I can’t believe I just typed that.)
23: Call Your Bluff – Catbite
Nice One – 2021 – Ska Punk
https://catbite.bandcamp.com/album/nice-one
Why would I wanna change
I just wanna stay the same
Don’t agree with what you think
I’m just happy being me
Living life and living free
Following a similar theme, this track by Catbite is also about being true to yourself, expressing how you want, and owning your life. Musically it’s distinct by being closer to two-tone ska than the solid punk of The Meffs. Maybe you have a preference for musical style – but either way both of these tracks are bouncy and empowering, and I like ‘em.
24: Poor Man’s Show – Millie Manders & The Shutup
Telling Truths, Breaking Ties – 2020 – Ska Punk
https://milliemanders.bandcamp.com/album/telling-truths-breaking-ties
Tightest squeeze on budgets in NHS historics
Death rates up in hospitals, no mental health resources
Ambulances forced to wait while waiting rooms are full
And there’s people having heart attacks out on the stone cold floor
There’s no more money for the nurses to do the jobs we need
But apparently there’s trillions for bombing overseas
Getting near to the end now, phew. The problem with doing this playlist is that I have a rule of how long a playlist can be in minutes, not track numbers. That means that when I’m doing a playlist completely based around MPF bands, the songs are rarely longer than 3 minutes, meaning I have loads more to talk about.
On the one hand that’s good because it’s easier to shortlist because I don’t need to remove as many tracks I like. But on the other hand I’ve been typing this solidly for three hours rather than fulfilling many of the other obligations I should be doing.
Millie Manders & The Shutup are fucking great – and have many superb tracks to look at but given the nature of Blizzard I thought I’d opt for one of the more overtly political tracks they’ve put out.
Poor Man’s Show almost is reminiscent of later No Doubt – except if Gwen Stefani was about 95% less embarrassing. It’s one of those Ska Punk tracks that leans a lot more on Ska and pop than Punk musically, but very much retains the Punk sentiment in the lyrics. The verses are densely packed raps, ranting about many of the ways this Country is terrible and has let us down – transitioning seamlessly into a soulful chorus to punctuate this thesis statement.
Not her most punky of songs – but it’s the one that I related to the most. If you’re not a fan of this specifically I’d still recommend checking out the full album, as this is somewhat of an outlier stylistically, and there’s a lot more punk influence on other tracks.
25: The Righteous & The Rats – Billy Liar
Some Legacy – 2019 – Anti-Folk
https://officialbillyliar.bandcamp.com/album/some-legacy
Do you know any songs
we all can sing
Do you know any songs
The kind that mean something
I backended this playlist with a lot more folky stuff huh? This song is just so fun to sing along to. Has a very natural build to it, the kind of song that you could see live at both a niche punk festival, as well as the ending credits of ’00s college comedy movie.
The pre-chorus is one of my faves on this list, and even after a first listen I was hooked. Great guitar work, great lyrics, great musical flow, this is just quintessential pop-punk/folk-punk.
26: Protest and Survive – Discharge
Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing – 1982 – Hardcore
It’s up to us to change the course
Protest and survive
One of the great things about this festival is there is always a nice selection of newish talent, but they always try and get a few hard hitting bands from the 80s & 90s as well – and it is kind of delightful seeing bands who you can both only find on Bandcamp and bands who have Wikipedia pages with limited information on their complete discography. Niche bands from two ends of the spectrum, I love it.
If you’re at all into Punk, you’ve probably heard of Discharge. If not, they’re a great classic hardcore band. Light on lyrics, heavy on riffs, you know what you’re getting when you listen to Discharge, and what you’re getting is fucking good. You can see influence from bands like Discharge in many of the other bands on this list. It’s really lovely to see them performing alongside them, crossing generations of kick ass musicians and still going strong.
27: Fuck the Tories – Glitchers
Thought Crimes – 2021 – Punk
Fuck the Tories
Fuck fuck the Tory cunts
What better way to round up this playlist than another anarchistic anti-Tory anthem. I feel like there’s not a lot to discuss about this song, other than it’s just heavy, groovy, aggressive, and uses the f word and “Tories” together enough times to make The Kunts seem like the Liberal Democrats.
It also has a really satisfying conclusion, just in case anyone was confused, reminding us not to actually fuck Tories, as ew gross. The song breaks down into riffage that can only be described as sick, but not by me, because that word in that context does not sound right coming from my mouth.
It’s just really fucking cool, and I’m a sucker for a good breakdown, leave me alone.
There we are, these are my personal highlights from the bands at MPF2023 – and believe me, it was a hard fucking choice.
Did I miss anyone?
I don’t think you can comment on these articles, but type your suggestions into a word document anyway, then close without saving, and I’ll get it. If you were at the festival, I hope you had a great time seeing some or all of these bands, and if you weren’t, I hope this list helps you find some of your new favourite bands. The festival certainly has that effect on me every year, whether or not I’m there.
And after you’ve listened to this – why not book your free tickets to our next upcoming live shows here: https://www.outsavvy.com/organiser/blizzard-comedy
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