Towards the end of 2017 I posted a song I'd stumbled across by Oakland (California) band Neutrals. Titled Motorcycle Cop (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2017/11/neutrals-motorcycle-cop.html), it was a catchy indie
singalong and it featured on their Promotional Cassette 2. A band worth keeping an eye on I thought. https://www.facebook.com/neutralsnotswiss/
Fast forward to June 2019 and the release of debut album Kebab Disco. The first thing you'll probably notice about the band is that vocalist Allan McNaughton has a Scottish accent. He's a native Glaswegian. Alongside him in the band are a couple of Phils, Phil Benson (bass/vocals) and Phil Lantz (drums). The next thing you'll notice is the music. It's indie punk. It's C86 inspired post punk. It'll have you racking your brains to decide who you think it sounds like (Maximumrocknroll suggests they'd fit in next to Monochrome Set on the Cherry Red Roster or maybe alongside Meat Whiplash on Creation). The album's a loose life story of singer Allan, side one set in Scotland, side 2 in San Francisco. If you were a fan of Scottish bands like Ballboy or Arab Strap, Neutrals might be for you (though they're possibly a little more lively). Give them a try, they're good.
There were a few songs I was toying with highlighting but as they've released a video I'll go with this. It's "a reaction to the celebrations around the anniversary of the summer of love in San Francisco; there was something gross about this place which is the most visible representation of the vast imbalance between the haves and the have-nots, patting themselves on the back for some celebration of ‘revolution’ that was really about flares, tie-dye and drugs, ignoring any of the positive ideas or true radicalism of the 60's counter-culture. A rose-tinted John Lennon specs view of the world as it was then." I Hate The Summer Of Love...
