‘One Shot’ is the first album from Wipes. Wipes are a three-piece made up of Clive Ward, Vocals/Guitar, Steve Wilson, Bass and Simon Edwards, Drums. The latter will be familiar to those in the punk scene as drummer for Menace, who has also recently been helping out Denizens.
I have had the pleasure of seeing Wipes live and they are not your typical punk band and draw inspiration from punk, post punk and indie. You can hear many influences from classic punk bands such as The Damned, to bands like Husker Du, The Wedding Present, The Chameleons and Dinosaur Junior. But they still sound like themselves.
The album opens with ‘It’s True’ which has a cool indie riff before the drums and bass kick in. The heavy drums in the verses make a great contrast from the catchy chorus and clever instrumental interludes with moody guitar and bass lines and some machine gun drumming. ‘Baby’s Gonna Die’ has a much heavier feel with a driving rhythm and the lyrics tell a real story – this reminds of the stuff The International Swingers might do.
Lead track ‘One Shot’ has more of a pure punk feel with all the hallmarks of a classic punk tune – it is amazingly catchy and well-constructed. ‘All I See’ opens with the bass and is a great post punk tune with a story behind it – think The Wedding Present if they were from down south. ‘Fucked Up’ with extended guitar piece to start builds cleverly into a heavy punk tune as you might imagine from the title. It is full on and comes complete with fuzzy guitar and powerful bass and drums. The break is a clever departure before the manic end.
‘My Head’ is probably the best tune for me. The intro is explosive and the bass line makes it groove – it reminded me of early 90s bands like the Lemonheads – the last line is a tip to the Pistols who are clearly also an influence. ‘CIA’ is in a similar vein and to be honest is probably just as good. They obviously don’t just throw this shit together. ‘Don’t Run’ is well thought out too and very well played moving rhythm between indie rock and heavy punks riffs with ease.
‘You Got Something’ is a catchy pop punk with Steve Jones Professionals era type guitar and a very catchy chorus. ‘CPO’ is more post punk than punk but with loads of energy, a mesmerising guitar solo. melodic bass and frantic but controlled drumming. ‘Out Of The Shade’ motors along but is melodic too and very catchy with an impressive middle section which adds to the dynamic.
Final track ‘No A Place’ has an opening Joy Division would be proud of with some excellent bass riffs. It launches into a great upbeat song with Stooges type haunting guitar and crazy feedback which brings the album to a frenetic close.
They have crafted some real tunes here with well thought out lyrics and structure and are great live. The album is available now in a range of formats but don’t just listen to them, go and see a live show as they put out one hell of a powerful performance.
