[engl] Whaddya mean, you don’t know Dark Thoughts? They’ve mastered the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-twice energy of that sneaky subgenre some call ‘Ramonescore’ and made it their own, revelling in hooks and pace while making you wanna inhale a good lungful of industrial strength glue (no, your pritt stick won’t do the job). The Philadelphia trio have been making a ludicrously addictive noise for a few years now, dropping their self-titled debut back in 2016, and now they’re ready to move out of the shadows and firmly into ‘your new favourite band’ territory. References? You got ‘em: they’ll call to mind the Bay Area punk of the 80s/early 90s, the I-gotta-weld-that-sound-to-my-brain instancy of Dear Landlord, the in-yer-face-and-out-the-back-of-yer-skull buzzsaw racket of The Queers or The Riverdales (and you don’t even have to worry about that turd Ben Weasel being involved). They’re a goodtime noise for downbeat folks, and they know how to get your subconscious begging for more. Not many bands will make you wanna spike your boss’ drink with bleach before driving your car into a ravine with the volume turned way up. Dark Thoughts are one of ‘em. Get familiar, asap.

[engl] “You only get worse,” goes the first line on Dark Thoughts’ third album, but while they might be correct about your personal decline, this West Philly trio are quite evidently better than ever. Hot on the heels of 2018’s At Work LP – 18 months later, to be precise – this new collection sees the band at their wilfully-dumb-but-smarter-than-u best, knocking out Ramonescore nuggets of the purest gold as if their lives depended on it. Whether imploring you to ‘listen to the radio’ or simply ‘please don’t leave me alone’, Jim Shomo’s voice remains the perfect balance of snot-drenched sneer and wounded croon, while the band lock into their fast’n’furious groove to frame his lovelorn melodies with the correct amount of muscle, and maybe they’ll even pour a few beers directly into their amps while they’re at it. Sure, they retain the sound that powered those first two albums, but they know what they’re doing – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; if you’re broke, write a 90-second punk banger about it with an irresistible melody and play it as loud as possible. As if to prove that fact, synth-splashed closer Must Be Nice shows they might even have written their best cut yet. Getting back to that first song, Hesitate, Shomo goes on to say: “I’ve seen the future / It looks so much brighter than it used to.” On the basis of Be Nice, it’s difficult to argue with that assessment: this is the perfect synthesis of pop and punk and a welcome reminder that your 70s heroes just wanted to recreate the unforgettable 45s they heard on the radio as kids. The 12 songs here may be destined for your turntable rather than the wireless, but you’ll treasure ‘em every bit as much. Another classic from a band that just doesn’t know how to stop writing ‘em – Dark Thoughts forever. Will Fitzpatrick