Spring Moods – June 20th

There are no prizes for guessing when Forli, Italy’s Spring Moods released their sophomore album, however, the band’s chosen moniker is another matter, it’s ambiguous and could be pretty much anything, it’s a name that leaves your mind free of preconceptions, which is never a bad thing in my book. June 20th is also peppered with movie samples, some well known, some not so well known, that are quite possibly as bigger influence on Spring Moods as the punk scene that spawned them, influences that are as hard to pin down as some of the samples and will have you scratching your head for the origins.

Kicking off with a classic quote from Bladerunner you launch into Awaken, a laid back blast of upbeat punk rock that rolls influences from across the board into one short and sweet package. As you head further into June 20th the feeling that Spring Moods aren’t anchored in one particular set of influences, at times the melodic stylings of Mega City 4 and The Senseless Things come to the fore, at others it’s the likes of Ramones and Buzzcocks from the early days of the punk scene, these sit alongside DIY and the familiar Epifat influences, always embracing the melodic poppier side of punk, but this is far removed from pop punk as we’ve come to know it.

Spring Moods bring a familiar and welcome return of a style of punk that has never gone away, but has rarely met with commercial acclaim, fast and short, but always melodic and somehow Summery, at times they are musically, but definitely not lyrically, oddly comparable to Dirt Box Disco, somehow poppy yet not pop punk, fast but not frantic, original yet familiar, and all delivered with a charm that steadily grows on you over the album’s twenty minute run time. By the end of the June 20th I’m hooked, with hindsight maybe Spring Moods is the perfect name for this quartet, as it does lift your mood. The band’s sophomore album is one could equally be described as an eight track throwback or as contemporary melodic punk rock, whatever you get out of it, you won’t be disappointed.

You can stream and purchase June 20th via digital platforms including Bandcamp