Indie Music

Unwired Society – Wall Of Noise

Unwired Society

There is something extraordinarily fresh and exciting in Hull`s punk rock trio Unwired Society. I can`t fully put my finger on it. Could it be my weakness for young people picking up instruments and writing protest songs or perhaps a bit of nostalgia for the days when Epitaph acts ruled the charts?

‘Wall of Noise’ comes with a lot to unpack. Dylan Burton, Lydia Sioux and Max James created a shouty, energetic single that makes you want to jump around the room and scream at the government. They self produced, recorded, made a promotional video and plugged their art to magazines and writers. Full DIY approach and this will always win highest marks from me.

Musically, they place themselves somewhere between early Green Day (in their ‘1,000 Hours’/ ‘Slappy’ era) and Rancid (in their ‘And Out Come the Wolves’ period) – a full scale California punk rock revival so to speak.

But don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t feel dated. It feels genuinely fresh and very on time. What`s more important – this particular sound comes naturally to Unwired Society. How fascinating to see a British band that have never been to the Valleys and is too young to even remember the 90s being able to recreate a genre that originated thousands of miles from them. If I did not have a press release in front of me, I could seriously think Unwired Society came out of Anaheim Hills instead of East Yorkshire.

I feel like there is something curious about Unwired Society. For a lack of better words let me put it this way. I remember the very moment when I first heard Green Day over 25 years ago. Their song about sitting in a library. The band must have been about 16 when they wrote it. I still remember where I was, what kind of weather was outside and how somehow a tiny voice in my head said – this band will come to mean something. Fast forward a life time or two to 2021 and a tiny little voice in my head comes up again. Do you remember ‘At The Library’? Well now the song is called ‘Wall of Noise’ but everything else is pretty much the same. Call it alchemy, or an X factor or even more pragmatically – a potential. Those three kids, who call themselves best friends, have got it. And they may come to mean something in the music world with a bit of support and nourishment from the  industry (one of many reasons why everyone should support new and upcoming bands).

Allow me also to say few words about the video to ‘Wall of Noise’ – where the band crashes a studio of an unknown broadcaster and interrupts the evening news with their own musical message. While Dylan and Max are volcanoes of energy trying to get the audience involved, Lydia Sioux stands there motionless and unimpressed. The almost – statuesque bass player in a dark costume is an obligatory element in every band since Geezer Butler joined Black Sabbath but again, there is more here than just another cliché. Lydia channels such accomplished figures as Kristen Pfaff or Rayna Foss in her play and is clearly one hell of a talent. Chicks in bands rule – as a matter of fact.

I’m happy to give the band 9/10 with a small deduction because I feel like the vocals on the single could be louder but it’s such a small detail and there`s always a room for improvement.

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Malicia Dabrowicz (Vanadian Avenue)

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