Although self-described as “folk punk”, it is clear from listening to ‘Dance Before You Sleep’ that Norwich’s Ducking Punches have more in common with punk than folk. This is a foot stomping, fist pumping, singalong record from start to finish. Opening with the acoustic rock of ‘It’s Been a Bad Few Weeks’, impassioned songwriter Dan Allen wears his heart firmly on his sleeve, wonderfully harmonised with bass player Sophie Porter’s lush backing vocals. The bar then gets raised with the almost Lucero-esque rock and roll song ‘I Cant See It Happening This Year’ which the band have released a video for, and it is just as wonderful. Sure to be a highlight of the band’s upcoming performance at the legendary Fest in Florida later this year. The energy level is kept up through the storming ‘Big Brown Pills From Lynn’, which again will certainly see many singalongs and spilt pints of beer across the summer.
The album slightly cools off in the sombre ‘Pills and Potions’, that tells a story of self-destruction from an outside perspective, which certainly gives way to some goose-bump inducing moments. The pace is then picked right back up across the latter half of the record with the band taking cues from former touring partner Frank Turner, through elements of Against Me! and even The Gaslight Anthem, before the album ends on the beautiful ‘Six Years’ – in which Dan Allen pays homage to a deceased friend – that is as moving as it is inspiring.
This record exudes the spirit, and true meaning of punk from the core of the band. This is not a folk punk record that’s full of jigs about drinking, or even filled with protest songs. ‘Dance Before You Sleep’ is nine tracks of well-written, cohesive songs that are straight from the heart, which is exactly the place that punk should come from. Morrissey once sang “I thought that if you had an acoustic guitar, then it meant that you are a protest singer?” Well unfortunately Steven, in this case you are wrong, as Ducking Punches are so much more than that. Be sure to catch them if they are playing any dive bars in your town, because it won’t be long before they are gracing bigger stages across the world.
GLEN BUSHELL