For a music scene that’s spawned some notable bands in recent years, in particular Gallows and Lower Than Atlantis, Watford has always struggled with venues to call home and that’s definitely impacted on new bands coming through. Since local heroes Captain Everything stood down there has also been a real lack of punk-rock talent to latch onto in the area and Janowski, named after a comical character from the TV show Eastbound & Down, are the latest hopefuls.
Lead track ‘Loose Change’ is a little raw but at the core is a great energy, an impressive build up in the bridge, and a pretty decent vocal melody. It would be easy to dismiss it as just another punk-rock track with a gruff vocal thrown in for good measure but this isn’t a-typical of the handful of bands from this scene and it’s a refreshing change. It’s backed up by ‘Catsayemate’ which is slightly quicker to start, settles into a nice groove in the verses and chorus, and then chugs impatiently through another excellent bridge.
It’s these moments, three quarters through a track, that Janowski really hit their stride and if they can sustain this over the course of their next EP then there’s no reason why they can’t make a name for themselves. Their brand of punk-rock is definitely more of a nod to US acts like Hot Water Music and The Menzingers here but there’s a great audience for that in the UK right now and very few bands doing it well. Time will tell!
TOM BECK