The cold Glasgow night was filled with an air of pop-punk and pizza. Yes, Wrexham formed Neck Deep were in town, bringing the teenage angst in full. The band from North Wales stopped by on the UK leg of their world tour along with Light Years, Creeper and State Champs.

First to the stage was Light Years, of Ohio. The band blend modern pop-punk tones with the turn of the century Blink 182 era of pop punk. At times mellow, the band managed to efficiently work the crowd despite being first on. As a whole this is a band I would recommend you experience at least once, even if it is just listening to an album through once.

If you’re a fan of Blink 182, Weezer or +44 with a more ‘classic’ pop-punk sound. A few of their songs struck me on the night, “Living In Hell” in particular caught my ear. The song, written about hating their hometown is a quintessential formula for a pop-punk song and does the genre a great service.

Another song which came off well on the night was “Parking Lot” which is another typical pop-punk song weighted well with the guitar and vocals including a driving chorus. The only downfall of this band I feel is that they are extremely predictable and are yet to really change it up and throw in some surprises. 3/5

Following Light Years was a band who completely fooled me into thinking they were some kind of weird side project of Noel Fielding. However, no. It was in fact Creeper fronted by Will Gould (and not The Mighty Boosh star!). Creeper, on the night brought a different tone to the show.

The band’s sound, which I’m going to dub soft-core punk brought a nice change to the atmosphere. The band as a unit have a very strong stage presence, all sporting a biker jacket with their “Callous Heart” patch sewn onto the back. It was hard not to get drawn into the self described “Creeper Cult” and it is clear to see why to many this was the breakout band of 2015.

Even to the extent the band were given support in a tweet from Nikki Sixx. On the night the band’s best song had to be the anthemic “The Honeymoon Suite” which at times has shades of the “I Brought You Bullets…” era of My Chemical Romance which could be attributed to some of the bands influences.

Another song which went down well brilliantly on the night was “Gloom” in which the influence of MCR is heard clearly in the solo. This is a band I feel is destined for bigger things in the coming year, with such a well organised live show and the backing of some anthems they will without doubt break down some barriers this year.

STATE CHAMPS - O2 Academy, Glasgow, 2 February 2016

Sub headlining this tour was New York’s, State Champs. This is another band for me which falls into the pop-punk but not much else category. Although at times they can offer a little variations there is also times there isn’t much that separates their songs. I often found myself questioning, in large part due to the energy they have and the little time they spent between songs, wondering where one song began and the other ended or if it was just one big long song.

However the band must be commended on the aforementioned energy of their live show. Despite the energy of the band they are another band guilty of being overly repetitive. Although, songs such as “Secrets” and “All You Are Is History” were brilliant on the night further helping their on stage presence. This band have all the potential to move on to bigger things however this can be helped with more variation in their sound.

NECK DEEP - O2 Academy, Glasgow, 2 February 2016

The main band on the night were Neck Deep and they came out and instantly proved why. The astounding “Citizens of the Earth” was the first song on the night, the opener to their new album “Life’s Not Out To Get You”. Within seconds the front rows became swamped with people falling over each other in an attempt to get as close as they can to the stage.

The band’s setlist included many hits including “Kali Ma”, “Lime St”, “Crushing Grief (No Remedy)” and finished with “Can’t Kick Up The Roots”. Between the brilliant setlist, amazing stage presence and set up the band proved once again why they are at the forefront of the newest pop punk movement. This band are paving the way for a modern blend of pop punk to make waves in the music scene (such as the ones featured on this tour!).

If you haven’t heard Neck Deep before and have a spare 40 seconds, go listen to All Hype, No Heart. This will give you a brief introduction to the band. From then on, you’re hooked.

Review by Dillon Grant

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)