Starcrawler are not so much crawling as assaulting you in the face! This LA rock/punk/grunge outfit combine ferocious guitars, dark lyrics and the spectacular stage presence of Arrow de Wilde into something that is impossible to ignore. From Devour You and Goodtime Girl to their later adventures, this is a band built on noise, attitude and a healthy disregard for behaving themselves.
The Bombpops – “Zero Remorse”
The Bombpops’ Death in Venice Beach blew me away when I first heard it in 2020. Ferocious guitars, huge melodies, dark humour and lyrics with considerably more bite than their irresistible choruses might suggest — this was punk with both brains and attitude. I wanted to know who The Bombpops were, where they’d come from, and whether the band could survive the departure of founding member Poli van Dam. Four years later, with a 2023 interview with Jen Razavi under our belt, we know the story continued.