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Please Sir can I have some more?

Nottingham five piece Punish The Atom release their second album 'I Cry Demolition', recorded in just one week it follows a successful couple of years that has seen them garner rave reviews and return triumphant from the acclaimed SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

From the opening track 'Battle of the Electric Tongues' Punish The Atom deliver songs that are raw and packed with off the wall attitude. They have sing a long choruses but they are never conventional and it's refreshing to hear something a little different where the musicians have clearly made a record for themselves without pandering to any sense of commercialism & it sounds all the better for it!

'I Cry Demolition' is not catchy in a conventional way, it's more infectious, they get under your skin and you find yourself getting into it without necessarily being able to recall any of the tracks afterwards! That said there are some great tracks on offer here 'Another Heart Strikes Out' for instance has the kind of off beat riff that DEVO would be proud of but it's coupled with a touch of Fugazi. There is an overt sense of creativity that is prominent in all the songs that gives them a real feel of originality. It's rare that I agree with the description of a band from their press release but you can't really argue when Punish The Atom's describes them as Art-Punk anarchy, that pretty much sums them up in a nutshell!

The majority of the songs are upbeat and never stop to dwell in quiet or mellow interludes, the frenetic pace is maintained throughout and Joey's fairly unique vocal style ensures that there is no let up in their urgency. There is plenty going on in the background too, none of the instruments are overpowering in the mix and on successive listens you'll find yourself discovering something new every time that should keep you hitting the repeat button several times at least. It's on final track 'Do The Demolition' where they really come into their own, at over eight minutes in length it combines all the elements that have been prevalent throughout the album and yet they still manage to inject yet more into this rambling monster of a tune. Taking their cue here from electronic punk crossover bands like P.i.L and early Killing Joke they produce a pretty outstanding track that careers through all manner of styles and finishes the album on a definite high.

The overall impression is one of intense angst fuelled energy, to appreciate it fully you have to give it your full attention, it certainly isn't background music but it's well worth the effort and on this evidence they should be a spectacular live band.