Milton Keynes – best known for its concrete roundabouts and…cows. So a pretty fitting album title from the MK pop punk band that is Graveltrap. The town is home to many great bands such as Capdown, Odd Man Out, and Phema – and Graveltrap are no exception to the trend. They play neat Pop Punk with a distinct English sound and play it a lot better than most of their American counterparts. This four piece only have an average age of 19 yet already have a large fan base and it doesn’t take a genius to see why. Graveltrap are an extremely talented young band that play infectious pop punk that gets stuck in your head – getting you singing along and jumping around manically.
This twelve track album proves to be something special with pounding bass lines, loud guitar playing, fast drumming and awesome vocals. They have already had success with tune ‘S.R.J’ on P-Rock TV and are now moving on to try to conquer Scuzz with the same song with the video that can only be shown after 10pm due to its content. It is no surprise that they are gaining new fans with this track being on Sky TV as it is a catchy Punk Rock track with an awesome outbreak of Ska in the middle of it. It is a really infectious tune with some strong drumming, fiery bass lines and great vocals. This tune is good but there are some other tracks that really stand out on this CD such as ‘Primal Fear,’ ‘Kickin’ Chickens,’ and ‘What About The Marigolds.’
‘Primal Fear’ kicks this CD off and is a great track, kicking it all off musically sounding like a cross between Nerf Herder and Bad Religion but with their own very unique vocal style and making them stand out from the pack as they are not just another American Pop-Punk tribute band, they have their own flair that makes them Graveltrap, and no one can ever take that away from them. The lyrics are also cool on this one – just the all round feel to it is great as it is so energetic with a great beat to it and awesome guitar licks. ‘Kickin’ Chickens’ kicks off with a Ska feel to it before moving into a more Punk Rock tune that is catchy, and full of fun. The drumming is fast and furious – I always listen out for the drumming as I have a soft spot for the drums and the drummer here really puts his all into it, pulling it off marvellously, creating a really cool beat. This song is vocally slick with a chorus that sticks in your head and for all the right reasons! ‘What About The Marigolds’ on the other hand is a great tune that sees the band take a more hardcore stance and a heavier approach. You can feel that the vocals are building up to something from the very beginning and about two and a half minutes into the record the band seem to explode and come out with some extremely heavy vocals. The feel to this one is extremely different to the feel on the other songs but the band still pull it off with flying colours and show that they have not pigeonholed themselves to any one particular genre. They can play Ska, they can play Pop-Punk, they can play downright Punk Rock – yet with this one they show that they can also play Hardcore and play it extremely well I must say!
There you have it, that is Graveltrap’s ‘Concrete & Udder Chaos’ and what a fine little album it turned out to be! The drumming was amazing, played with great speed yet full of rhythm, the guitars were played loud, the bass was fiery, and the vocals were superb with very meaningful lyrics that you will find yourself singing after a couple of listens (trust me, I should know!) Once again, a Milton Keynes band have left me gob smacked and the reason for this is their catchy Punk Rock that is sure to impress. Check them out if you have any sense and try and get along to one of their shows if you can as I’m sure that it would be a blinder!
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
