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Sick On The Bus Title - Set Fire To Someone In Authority Label - Go-Kart (Reviewed 5/01) I've been having such a Hell of a time discovering somenew (and some not-so-new) Punk and Hardcore bands to rally behind lately.....out of nowhere I receive a CD in the mail by a band I've never in my life heard of which thenbecomes a new fave.....forcing me to go on endless CD hunts for their older material. Such has been the case with a few other bands.....and now with SICK ON THE BUS. This all goes to prove that the rumours of Punk's demise have been greatly exaggerated. It also goes to show that the future of Punk does NOT lie in the grubby hands of Green Day, Offspring, Good Charlotte.....or any of those countless other MTV flavors of the week. Set Fire To Someone In Authority is a fine example of pure Hardcore-ishPunk in the GBH, Murphy's Law, Exploited, and Minor Threat vein. The music's harsh, the vocals nasty......there are some interesting breaks, and solos taken from the old Motorhead school of guitar playing (I can imagine Fast Eddy Clarke nodding in approval). "Artificial" has that GBH "Time Bomb" feel to it, with a skanky middle part to break things up for ya. "Just Sex" grooves with its slinky bass line laying the foundation.....you won't be able to help Rockin' to this one. "New Life" (one of my faves as well) has a great "woa-oh" part and a slightly New York Hardcore influenced rhythm and shout-along chorus.....making for a crowd-pleaser live, I'm sure. When all is said and done you will have been subjected to sixteen amazing PurePunk gems that'll have you eagerly anticipating this British band's next U.S. tour. Personally, I'm finding myself wishing they would've been a part of the Warped Tour.....instead of 2/3 of this year's roster. Yes, kids, as I've said before real Punk is alive and well.....and, thankfully, NOT on MTV. Next time you're considering spending your hard-earned cash on some major label rubbish, try looking a little harder and plunk down that green for this one instead.....

Fat Records Free Radio, Set Fire To Someone In Authority (Go Kart Records) Sick On The Bus is Biff from Varukers and Wag from Legion Of Parasites. Both those bands are legendary U.K. scum punk bands and this collaboration is an extension of that form of music. The new album is Set Fire.. and it is absolutely blazing. For those who like comparisons, think Motorhead meets the Damned. It's really dirty punk rock-n-roll, the way I like it. They sound unabashed and unwashed - and that's a good thing! Unlike the bands they came from, S.O.T.B's lyrics deal less with politics and more with personal and social issues. They're not afraid to have fun with playful titles such as "Just Sex," "Let's Dance" and "Need Your Love." Some of these titles read like an Anti-Nowhere League record! The two CD set of Punk Police/Suck On Sick On The Bus is a reissue of their first two records. It's more of the same (also a good thing!) and it's a bargain - for the price of one CD, you'll get two!

www.sandiegopunk.com Set FireTo Someone In Authority (Go Kart Records)This album is one word. Tough. No, make that mutha' f*ckin' tough. It's fast, loud, angry, and catchy. If there is one thing a good punk album must have, it's catchy songs, and this album by these crazy British punk rock monsters has it all. I looked at the cover and laughed when I got it. The smashed face of someone (resembling Sid Vicious) is probably one of the kids who attended one to many of S.O.T.B.'s shows, as I am quite sure that their live shows would make your head explode (in a good way). Straight forward, aggressive punk rock. The guitar solos are well crafted and not sloppy. The vocals and gruff and angry but their lyrics make sense and aren't too preachy or too unorganized to comprehend. I couldn't pick a track or two to use as an example, because they are all rockin'. Similar artists: I would go with Motorhead. If you're a Motorhead fan, then buy this album. Also, near to new Exploited, GBH, Varukers, early DRI, and anything else that kicks your ass. The one thing I liked about the insert of this CD was that after each set of lyrics, there was a personal explanation about each song from the band. Very cool. Ever read lyrics to a song and wonder "what the hell does that mean?", well not with these guys. They have songs about love, hate, sex, violence, life, death, and don't forget the anti-authority songs like "Law & Order" and "Set Fire To Someone In Authority." Sick On The Bus is one band I'd love to see come to the states, as a mater of fact, it looks like they will be in the states this year with GBH, alright! Now go on over to www.sickonthebus.com and download some of their MP3's and read up on these blokes. I guarantee you'll be entertained. -J.J.

MAXIMUM ROCK AND ROLL

SUCK ON SICK ON THE BUS FUCK HEADS “GUTTER COLOURED VINYL, I HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING THIS BRUTAL SINCE GBH OR SOMETHING. IT SOUNDS LIKE THEIR GUITAR IS PLUGGED INTO YOUR SKULL, LIKE THE CRUCIFIX “DEHUMANIZATION” ALBUM.”(EC)

SICK ON THE BUS (CD) “GREAT CD FROM START TO FINISH, RAGING BRITISH HARDCORE. AT TIMES DECENTLY POLITICAL, AT TIMES SEXUALLY IRREVERENT, THIS RUNS THE GAUNTLET. MUSICALLY, IT’S THE SAME THING EVERYTHING FROM STRAIGHT FORWARD THRASH, TO MELODIOUS STUFF, TO A SMIDGEN OF METAL. IT ROCKS.” (LD)

SCARY IN THE DARK (EP) “MID TEMPO, HEAVY WELL PRODUCED ENGLISH PUNK ROCK WITH BIG CHUNKY CORDS. GRUFF BUT MELODIC VOCALS WITH CATCHY SINGALONG CHOUSES ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN LYRICS MAKE THIS RECORD MEMORABLE. NICE PICTURE SLEEVE ALSO.” (MM)

PUNK POLICE “HERE YOU GOT SOME FAST ‘N’ TOUGH BUZZSAW GUITAR ACTION THAT BREAKS THROUGH WITH SOME GUTTURAL SOLO ACTION TO BOOT. THIS MUSIC IS PLAYED LOUD, RAUCOUS AND EVEN HAS A MOTORHEAD SLANT AT TIMES. EXCEPT DUDES I KNOW YOU GOT TWO DREAD HEADS IN THE BAND, BUT THAT REGGAE BREAKDOWN THAT GOT SNUCK IN, TO MY UTTER DISMAY, HAS TO GO.OTHER THAN THAT,THIS IS PRETTY LOVABLE STUFF.”(DL)

KERRANG (KKK)

PUNK POLICE/SUCK ON (CD) “REMAKABLY TUNEFUL, CONSIDERING THE NAME OF THE NAME OF THEIR BAND AND THE FACT THAT WHENEVER YOU SEE ANY OF THEM THEY’RE USUALLY WANKERED ON CHEAP CIDER, SOTB ARE A CROSS BETWEEN PUNK PERENNIALS UK SUBS AND CHAOS UK WITH A DASH OF PRIME-ERA ENGLISH DOGS CHUCKED IN FOR GOOD MEASURE. SINCE THEY’VE SENT ABSOLUTELY NO INFO WITH THIS AT ALL, ITS DIFFICULT TO TELL YOU MUCH MORE ABOUT THEM (EXCEPT DON’T SIT NEXT TO THEM ON A BUS, OBVIOUSLY) BUT IF YOU WANT GOOD OLD SCHOOL PUNK THIS LOT ARE JUST THE TICKET” (MORAT)

METAL HAMMER (8)

SUCK ON SICK ON THE BUS FUCK HEADS “LOOKING AT THE SLEEVE ART (PRESENTED IN PLAYSCHOOL STYLEE COURTESY OF SINGER BIFF) AND SNAZZY GREEN VOMIT COLOURED VINYL, YOU MIGHT JUST WRITE SOTB OFF AS AMIABLE NUTTERS FROM NORTHANTS. WHICH WOULD BE A SHAME. THERE’S SOME DAMN FINE PUNK ON HERE IN AN EARLY GBH MEETS EARLY DAMNED VEIN, INCLUDING SOME SMART BRIAN JAMES STYLE, PAINT BLISTERING GUITAR BREAKS.” (VAGINIA BLACK)

CARGO SUCK ON SICK ON THE BUS FUCK HEADS “ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING BRITISH NEW RELEASES IN QUITE A WHILE FEATURING MEMBERS OF TOP UK PUNK BAND THE VARUKERS. BRILLIANT SING-A-LONG STUFF THAT COMES ACROSS LIKE A MIXTURE OF EARLY GBH, 1st ALBUM VIBRATORS & BLANKS 77, DESTINED TO KICK THE BOLLOX OF THE CURRENT BRITISH CIRCUIT.” (TOM PROCTOR)

CONTROL LIVE REVIEW”HIGHLIGHTS AND MOST SUPRISINGLY WERE SICK ON THE BUS. WITH A NAME LIKE THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT SOME SNOTTY, JUVENILE PRANK BAND-SICK ON THE BUS CAN MATCH SICK OF IT ALL FOR POWER AND ANY BAND ON THE BILL TODAY FOR A SHEER WEALTH OF SHIT HOT SONGS. TOP MARKS. SUPERB! BUT FUCKING UGLY!!”

www.punkandjunk.com Sick On The Bus - Set Fire To Someone In Authority Review by Tony I rated this 9/10 Fucking Punk Rock!!! What a sweet CD this is. The sound is amazing, it's not like high quaility or anything like your NFG or something, it's a lot more raw than that, but it makes it sweet. The lyrics are fairly simple, yet familier and brutally honest. They tell it like it is and I think a lot of that is missing in punk rock now. No Whining about chicks on this CD! It's shit like this that reminds me why I really got into punk rock. "Do you believe in this country, great and true, You lie! You lie! Do you believe the shit they sell to you, You lie! You lie!" See what I was talking about simple? It's honest though, and it comes with the rage. If you listen to a lot of your average pop/punk and think to yourself..."there's got to be more to punk rock than this." Then this might be a very good start. You should really check it out. www.gokartrecords.com

www.punkfix.net Sick on the Bus - "Set Fire to Someone in Authority", Go Kart by Verve "Fucking hell, sniff, sob sob sob, sniffle, fucking hell..." When I heard this with some Kum-Ba-Ya strumming in the background, I thought I'd put in the wrong CD. This was supposed to be hardcore. It looks like hardcore. The cover is black with an image of some fool who looks like Sid Vicious on the front. The album's called "Set Fire to Someone in Authority," for the love of Reed. What's a guy got to do to avoid emo? My embarrassment didn't last, fortunately enough, as the album got going with precisely the rip-roaring thrash I'd been earnestly desiring. While I reserve the right to bitch about silly song and album intros, for the moment I remain transfixed by the gorgeous grit and aggression of this CD. Sick on the Bus hail from England (I'd find out more about them, but their web site keeps blue-screening my computer. Stupid computer), where punk rock was supposed to have gone to finishing school for sneering lessons, pogo-tutoring, and four-letter-word theory. And the lads do this theory, as well as the whole tradition of British punk, proud. Every song on SFTSIA is as loud and savage as it is catchy, which is more or less the perfect combination for anything punk, or hardcore, or hardcore punk, or whatever it is they're calling rock that doesn't suck these days. Their lyrical content is simple, and more or less variations on a single angry theme. Desire, disrespect, disreputability, they all find a place to express and break free here, taunting the human spirit no more. Despite that, Sick on the Bus cannot fairly be tarred with the critical whine of "Every song sounds like every other song". The band easily switches from rockabillyish swing like "Just Sex" to near-Motorhead moments like "Brain Dead." Add to all this the fact that lead singer manages to shout his way through without sounding like he's just shouting his way through, and you have a CD worth the $13. 'course, the whole thing's a remix of their 1995 debut album. But what'cha gonna do?

www.ink19.com Set Fire to Someone in Authority Punk Police/ Suck on Sick on the Bus Go Kart In reference to the title of Set Fire to Someone in Authority, the liner notes say: "An amusing way of dealing with the pigs, traffic wardens, teachers, parents, judges, probation officers, government officials, and any fucker else who thinks they have the right to tell you what to do. Die you bastards!" With a lead singer named Biff and a drummer named Wag, these British punks play tunes with a lot of sneering, anti-authoritarian attitude. SOTB presents the world as terribly corrupt, full of cameras so "THEY" can watch "US," and crammed with leaders who lie to us. There are also songs about intoxicating substances and only wanting sex without the relationship. Fun. Musically, the whole thing sounds like background music on a skate video and may be painful to listen to all at once. Read the liner notes because they're funny. Yes, it's definitely vomit punk at its anti-everything best. Punk Police/Suck on Sick on the Bus consists of two albums that support SOTB's stance against, well, everything: supermarkets, television, religion, love, hate, police, and authority in general. You name it, and I'm sure they are against it. It's sort of refreshing to hear something that's not overly political and serious. My personal favorite out of the two discs is track four on Punk Police, "No Need For That." Breaking up the heavy, fuzzy, old school punk sound, this tune with a ska sounding hook contains lyrics like, "People say I'm dirty, my mind is unclean/But I've got the right to be heard and seen." I hate using such a cliché reference, but the singer's vocal style (especially in that last track I talked about) really is similar to the sneering British defiance of The Sex Pistols. The songs that aren't anti-everything are mostly about beer and girls, and a rather amusing track called "Kill Yourself" (need I explain that one further?). This record is like watching that kid who ate worms in kindergarten -- you know you're only encouraging his delinquency, but it's just so fun to watch! Liza Hearon

www.inmusicwetrust.com Suck On Sick On The Bus / Punk Police 2xCD-EP (Go Kart Records) By: Alex Steininger Fast, whip lash punk rock with plenty of bite, the snarl of the lead singer and the sting of the Punk Police catapults the band into blasting punk mayhem, delivering sonic rhythms alongside chunky, three chord punk rock. This isn't your skater friend's punk band. No, this is for the hardcore punk fans, the people that like their music hard, fast, and careless, not giving a shit about melody or anything except playing loud, fast, and offensive. On the other disc, Suck On Sick On the Bus delivers more melodic, '77 style pogo punk with enough Ramones influence to hook you. Yet, it's got enough Sex Pistols to rip into with some fury and enough street punk cred to just tear up shit and keep the punk rock flowing with spite and hard-hitting chaos. I'll give this a B+.

www.inmusicwetrust.com Suck On Sick On The Bus / Punk Police 2xCD-EP (Go Kart Records) By: Alex Steininger Blazing, manic punk rage bursting out of every pore, this is melodic-less punk music that cares more about playing fast, loud, and abrasive, rather than dragging you in with a hook or a catchy melody. Though, at times, the band drops the speed, throws out a melody for fun, catching you off guard, and then ripping right back into you. This is the shit that will have your head spinning, your blood pumping, and your fists pounding. I'll give it a B+.