Good punk rock is hard to come by, usually falling into the same old clichés, the same old riffs, and usually comparable lyrics. However, for a band of veteran musicians, this band is anything but your standard dose of punk rock.
Comprised of former members of the Duchess and the Duke, Kinski, and a myriad of other lesser known garage punk bands from our famed Pacific NW, the Helpers played an incredible set of songs, most clocking in at around two minutes in length each. For Unnatural Helpers, brevity is definitely the name of their game.
Even so, the songs are incredibly well composed, garage punk at its finest, before rounding itself out with a decent dose of pop-punk and shredding guitars at their best. The lyrics are mildly reminiscent of Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, and his almost belittling smirking style, as well as being incredibly nonchalant at times.
While the album is far from perfect, their live show makes up for whatever is lacking in it. An entirely energetic performance lends itself to the hooks of the addictively short tracks, and kickstarted Sunday afternoon for a lot of fans at the festival. A great band with a very promising future and a damn good live show- and something to keep an eye out for, even if you aren’t a local. It was a definite welcome change from the overall indie vibe of the festival and their incredibly catchy tunes followed me around the rest of the day (both stuck in my head and on the lips of other photographers/fans). An awesome band and a great find for the festival.
Check them out at http://hardlyart.com/unnaturalhelpers.html
