Warning: Explicit Language

Lancashire, England has given the world many different bands throughout the last century in different genres, but most commonly the punk scene in the 1970s.  A band that has been around since the early nineties and should really be known everywhere is Sunken Monkey.  From the beginning, Sunken Monkey has gone through many line-up changes, but they’ve figured out one that works and have created an awesome second album called Party Scars, out October 6th.

Album Cover

The album starts right off the bat with strong rowdy anthems “This Town’s Too Big (For The Both Of Us)” and “That’s What She Said”, with the band joining in singing, “You should know, he looks like a fucking dickhead!” on the former and in the latter having a call-and-response of “Hey! Fuck you! Well Fuck You Too!”

After a few songs, you realize the band does not try to hide their Lancastrian accents, which the band is very proud of.  On their website, they say that they “…don’t conform to the stereotype of singing punk rock in fake American accents, having silly hairstyles or worrying about (their) image, (the band) just get on with doing what we love. Recording and performing music (they) love and hope listeners can relate to.”

From left: Rob Ashworth, Craig “Spindle” Carlyon, Adam Stephenson and James Henderson

The album, running 13 tracks in length, are chalk full of fun, moshing songs similar to Rise Against, NOFX and PUP.  Songs such as “0 To Pissed (In 60 Seconds)” and “Lookin’ Ain’t Fuckin'” cover topics common in punk rock: drinking, partying, sexual escapades.

Craig “Spindle” Carlyon’s vocals are strong throughout the entire album, with supporting vocals from the rest of the band.  Spindle and Rob show expert guitar shredding on songs like “Don’t Dodge A Game Of Dares” and “Too Old For This Shit (Riggs)”, with James’ drumming lending the head-banging beats, especially in “Red Raw Stump” and “Never Looking Back”.  Adam rocks out on the bass in “Pissing In The Wind” and “More Beer Than Blood”

The album ends with a softer, acoustic song called “Til Death Do Us Party”.  After listening to this album, the listener will definitely want to book a flight to Northern England, just to see Sunken Monkey’s infamously fun and wild live shows.

The first single, “This Town’s Too Big (For The Both Of Us)” comes out August 18th, and here’s the video: