The Swingin’ Utters – Here, Under Protest

There are many bands out there that never make it past the debut album and if they do, many fail to re-create the glory of their debut. Some bands fall into oblivion and disappear, never to be heard from again while others continually regurgitate new material that never lives up to it’s expectations. That’s why it’s so rare to find a band that has been around for more than twenty years still producing quality material.  Every once in a while though you find one and there’s something uniquely cavalier about them that makes you understand why it is that the band has had such staying power. The Swingin’ Utters are one of those bands and with Here, Under Protest (their first album in eight years), they show that they still have it in them twenty-four years into it all.

Fast, snotty, punk rock in a mixture of folk punk with classic punk ala Clash or Pogues. They have tinges of the signature Fat Wreck sound with fast, three chord punk that keeps the momentum flowing throughout it all. It’s akin to old Green Day with nasally vocals, and that’s not a bad thing.

The album starts off strong with Brand New Lungs (which first appeared on Harder, Fatter& Louder last year). It’s catchy, upbeat and memorable and right away you know that The Swingin’ Utters are here to stay – and that the eight year wait was well worth it. They follow it up with Taking The Long Way Home, where they really pummel in the Green Day point of reference, as vocalist Johnny Bonnel spits out lyrics with a vengeance. His vocals are unique, raspy with the slight Irish accent to them and delivered at a break neck speed to ensure that they remain distinctive and memorable.

No other time on the album is that evident than on the energetic Good Things. A song about drugs and alcohol, Bonnel begins the track with “Medicate yourself, you’ll feel much better. Take those drugs again, they’ll take you higher. Smoke your cigarettes for stress, drink more just to feel less. This must feel like paradise, but better” and you know you’re in for a treat.

The whole album is a treat in reality. A few bumps fall amidst it all (Kick It Over for instance) but even their faults are better than most band’s best efforts. This is authentic punk rock, eschewing many of the trends of today and instead delivering a catchy, beer soaked pop-punk album with high replay value that may not be the most ground breaking but succeeds nonetheless because after twenty-four years, The Swingin’ Utters have it down pat.