OUR SOULS – I Won’t Tell You The Same Lie EP (Big Egg Records)

storied punk rock

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And these aren’t the stories that I want to tell
I know that it’s sad, but these days they fill themselves
These aren’t the stories that I want to tell
Routine kills ambition like the bars in this hell

Ekman’s 7th

Over the last five years, Leicester-based OUR SOULS have quietly released EPs, singles and a full-length album. They are new to me, so when the ever-eclectic Big Egg Records announced they would be putting out their new five-track EP, that it was for fans of “Leatherface, Iron Chic, Banner Pilot, The Lawrence Arms, Nothington, Dillinger Four, plaid shirts, beards and having a few too many at the weekend“, my interest was piqued.

Listening to that exquisite guitar chug at the start of Cuckoo Clock – harnessed so effectively by COCKNEY REJECTS and countless others since – you could be forgiven for thinking that they’d have to do something pretty heinous to fuck this up. Thankfully they don’t, but then, though that particular sound is sadly underused, this is no Oi!/street-punk foray. That’s not to say that ‘I Won’t Tell You The Same Lie‘ doesn’t have anthems, just that OUR SOULS are scratching around in a whole different sandbox. The vocalist has a slightly off-key delivery, akin to a West Midlands Tim Armstrong, or even Mike Ness, so Cuckoo Clock emerges as an amped-up fist waver, RANCID with beards and plaid shirts (heh). The gritty emo-sing-a-long of Ekman’s 7th breaks out the LEATHERFACE guitar-picking, sharing sonic similarities with the top table who orbited the 2000s Out Of Spite Leeds scene – JOE NINETY, DUGONG, THE LEIF ERICSSON, THE DAUNTLESS ELITE, say. Janey‘s twangy bounce, prodigious guitar riff and those off-key vocals lend it a country-punk feel and, following 12312342‘s strapping skate-punk, the EP ends with the doughty Something Fierce. Pulling another insanely catchy guitar hook out of their bag o’ tricks, as well as a chorus to make CHUCK RAGAN blush, gritty sentiments ride this melodic barroom powerhouse to a close.

I could pay you a visit on a one way ticket
And know I ain’t ever coming home
But I don’t think I’m ready just yet
To spend my time in the company of ghosts
Oh no, oh no

So tell me gently

Something fierce, something fierce
Oh I miss you something fierce
My dear you’ve no idea how I miss you something fierce
Something fierce

Something Fierce

As time moves inexorably along, melodic punk bands will look to the past for inspiration. Inject it with grit, passion, a little personality, and I’m all in. OUR SOULS’ storied song-writing gives their abrasive punk rock a real shot in the arm: these are songs that sound like they were written by the hungover guy at the bar, an armful of tales to tell and a close band of true believers to back him up. Solid stuff.

CD & download released by Big Egg Records on October 6th 2023

https://shop.bigeggrecords.co.uk/products/746368-i-wont-tell-you-the-same-lie-our-souls