The Bastard Suns

"A real mix of punk rock with an Irish feel to it. Fans of bands like Dropkick Murphys, Neck, and Flogging Molly will probably get boners over this album. It's well written and the recording/mix are excellent. It showcases this lot to be a very impressive and well organized band. I can imagine that they enjoy a nice Guinness and put on a very raucous booze-fueled live show. Add in a ska based cover of Dire Straits 'Walk of Life' which even had me, someone who hates Ska, singing and moving along, that's bloody impressive work. A true and fine mix of punk, rock, ska and all getting plastered in an Irish pub. Definitely recommended!"- Mr. T - Lights Go Out - UK Fanzine

Opening performance for 311, Matisyahu and The English Beat - HiFi Buys Amphitheater - Atlanta, GA - July 19th 2007.

The Bastard Suns gave an energizing and thoroughly stellar performance thurzday afternoon. Their 6-song opening set for 311 and matisyahu was an explosive introduktion to the evening'z lineup. Clay'z krisp and addiktive vokalz complemented the band'z hypnotik groovz.
- Band Bunny

To me, splits have always been an interesting concept. Instead of going the normal route of releasing an individual EP, a band, or label, decides to release an album with songs from two separate bands. More often than not the split seems to fall on its face. Whether it be because of a weaker band or a clashing of styles, it is sometimes fairly obvious they should have simply been released individually. However, every now and then a split will be released by two bands that seem to complement each other perfectly, such as the Hot Water Music & Leatherface split released some time ago. This, of course, brings me to Dropping Expectations by The Bastard Suns & No Fuego. The Bastard Suns are the first half of the 14 track Dropping Expectations. And, to be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting much from them. Luckily it didn’t even take the entirety of the first track, “My Pint,” to prove me wrong. The Bastard Suns do for reggae-influenced punk music what The Flatliners do for ska-influenced punk. That is to say, while they don’t exactly do anything new, they take a hybrid style of music and do a more than respectable job with it. I admittedly have a soft spot for bands that blend different genres together successfully, but they just do it so well. Instead of walking the line between the respective genres, The Bastard Suns are not afraid to speed things up like the better punk bands; nor are they shy to lean heavily on their reggae influence. It is nearly impossible to guess where they’re going to go with a song, but it will no doubt be a lot of fun figuring it out. Lead vocalist Clayton Hiers has a great voice, and what’s more he seems to have mastered the subtle nuances of changing his voice to fit the music. This, obviously, comes in handy with the type of music his band plays. On the beginning track “My Pint” he has a strong resemblance to Alex Brugge of Angel City Outcasts, whereas on the later reggae-influenced tracks the comparison would not be near as apt. Lyrically, the band once again shows their ability to seamlessly change things up. Often, sometimes in the same song, they’ll go from the fun “drinking” lyrics to the more socially-conscious lyrics often found in punk bands and are all the better for it. While I would like to spend more time on The Bastard Suns, there is another band on this album. It just took me a while to figure that out, because I was too busy replaying the first half of the album. No Fuego are yet another hybrid band, but this time they play the bagpipe-laden celtic punk much like The Dropkick Murphys. And they start off with a bang. “Savvi” is a fun song that had me pumped up for the rest of the album. Unfortunately, after that song the quality drops off quite a bit. For one thing, they never seem quite sure just what to DO with the bagpipe. This is kind of odd, seeing as how it’s one of the major points of the band. In a few of the songs it just seems to sit there in the background, existing for the sole reason of giving the bagpipe player something to do. Some of the lyrics are not particularly great, and sometimes they seem to get in the way of the song. This is where the difficulty with splits comes into play. I have a feeling if No Fuego were on a different album I would have a much more positive tone to my review of them. They’re really not a bad band; in fact I enjoy their half of the album. But they are, by far, outshined by The Bastard Suns and it reflects badly on them. So, while they show a lot of potential, I don’t see myself going past their first song on the album often. I suppose that means the split is a success; it introduced me to two bands I had previously never heard of and made me very interested in their future output. Really, I don’t think much more could be reasonably asked for. - AbsolutePunk.Net

From the dirty south (Atlanta, GA) comes the Bastard Suns with their 2nd full length release, Here Come the Suns. The geography is worth highlighting again because the hybrid punk sound that roils from this record isn’t what one usually expects from the south: punk rock injected with irish-folk, ska & dub reggae. It’s definitely an approach to music one would expect of a Boston area punk job. Although put forth as a second full-length, the album contains three stellar repeats—“Irish Drinking Song,” “RIP,” & “Away Away Away.” The band reportedly felt unsatisfied with the original production of these tunes. The old versions weren’t that bad, but these new releases are polished and sound thicker and are better timed than the originals, so in turn, the listener just isn’t getting some repeat album fillers with a sonic facelift.

What really rings out on this album is how the band organically blends the three disparate modes of music . In other words, the songs aren’t just punk anthems with folk, ska & reggae sprinkled over it to make the band standout in the crowd. “We’d Go For Broke,” one of the tightest tracks on the album, exemplifies this relationship completely. The punk style itself is dynamic, ranging from a traditional gallop-style punk with backup vocalists accenting the singer to a smooth technical sound that is between skate-punk & metal. While that forms the baseline, the song has abrupt shifts to ska & reggae and then huge chorus explosions that escalate into an almost Pantera-like drum frenzy. On top of this, the singer doesn’t remain neutral either, becoming an important instrument himself. The singer can range from an Irish flare to a row of articulate rocksteady. While some songs favor a folk feel—“Never Say Die,” “Oh, Celina,” “Pirates of the Whiskey Sea,” & “Irish Drinking Song”—and others have ska-reggae as the prominent mode—“Hold Fast,” “SBMT,” & “Who the Fuck”—the fusing & explosive transitions are a salient quality of the album as a whole. In the end, this effect makes the album unpredictable & surprising, especially on the first few listens.

The album also contains two covers that are done well, going beyond a jazzed up version of the original that many bands deliver. One of them is a ska-rendition of “Walk of Life” and the other is a hidden cover of Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.” What really rings clear when listening to the Suns is a band that works hard at a collaborative effort. No instrument player is forgettable or bound to one specific method. All of them bring several styles to each song and each are able to carve out space here & there to demonstrate their musicmanship. - Atomic Neverland

I have certainly said in previous posts that one of my favorite parts of covering a music festival like MidPoint, is that there are bands that you have never heard of that makes a splash and a bunch of fans along the way. The Bastard Suns is one of those bands. As I read the previous reviews of the band, who hails from Atlanta, I am surprised that I have not heard more about them. They are some where between ska, punk, and hard rock and they play with a fierce sense of urgency. In this genre, many bands take themselves too seriously but these guys keep a sense of humor through their whole show. The Bastard Suns took the stage at Fountain Square, Saturday, September 25, at 7 p.m.. From the first note the 5 piece band were kicking ass and taking names. Their set included original music as well as covers of everything from George Jones to the Allman Brothers. The most amazing thing about this band is I have never seen a band this hard rocking, with controversial lyrics, that got the kind of crowd response that this band did. Black people, townies, white people, punkers, old people, jocks, young people, nerds, everyone seemed to like them. Smiles, dancing and nodding your head was all that I saw on the square during their set. The Band has two full length releases and some other EPs. They have done some extensive touring but this was their first show in Cincinnati. Considering Rocklistreviews.com, says the Bastard Suns is the “Best live show you’ll see anywhere,” I am guessing you will be hearing a lot more about these guys. - John House, Cincinnati Music Examiner

BASTARD SUNS, THE - Here Come The Suns {Something Done Right} Just where the hell did this slab of pristine Punk Rock anthems come from? Atlanta, Georgia’s BASTARD SUNS have created a varied listen here, mixing Punk, Ska, acoustic drinking songs and a bit of Rock - but each genre is expertly played, fitted together seamlessly and laden with attitude. Most prevalent is a BOUNCING SOULS/ YOUTH BRIGADE feel, which is clear on opener ‘Never Say Die’. Elsewhere, ‘We’d Go For Broke’ takes GOOD RIDDANCE style melodic HC and throws in some slick Ska breakdowns, ‘SBMT’ rips Ram Jam’s ‘Black Betty’ and rocks while ‘R.I.P’ revels in a melancholic blues-laden swagger. Even the version of Dire Straits’ ‘Walk Of Life’ morphs into a marriage of thrashtastic Punk and skankalicious Ska! Real highlight is vocalist Clayton Hiers who, with songs titled ‘Irish Drinking Song’ and ‘Pirates Of The Whiskey Sea’, I imagined would have a faux MacGowan slur but this dude can really sing with clarity and balls. Excellent hidden Queen cover too. Production is clear and loud, resulting in an album the laboured likes of FLOGGING MOLLY can but dream of. (07.07.11) - Scanner Zine

With nine Top 10 Channel Achievements since 2007 and a #1 Channel Prize, Atlanta’s The Bastard Suns are the kings of the OurStage Punk Channel. Their winning song, “My Pint,” is a great representation of the band’s sound, which they describe as “reggae-infused punk often mixed with Irish drinking music.”
By any measure, the Bastard Suns are a successful band: three independent full length albums—the latest of which they put out on their own record label (Something Done Right)— opening slots for Pennywise, Hot Water Music and Against Me!, features in Atlanta magazines and radio, 10,000 + MySpace friends (plus their own dedicated street team) and regular tour dates throughout the Southeastern United States. But the Bastard Suns want to be known as more than a great local band: they want to be known as a great band, period.
After so many years together as a band, they knew that it was time for a bold move— their first coast-to-coast tour. Kicking off September 25th, The Bastard Suns will spend three weeks crossing the southern US in support of their January 2009 release Here Come The Suns. Will their gamble pay off? Only time will tell. But if their performance at last year’s SOCO Music Fest in Atlanta is any indication of their ability to win over a crowd, it’s safe to say that The Bastard Suns have a bright future ahead of them. - Ourstage.com

This was the third time in just a few weeks that I got to see the Bastard Suns from Atlanta and I must say that they have become one of my favorite live bands. After playing the SoCo Music Experience, opening up for Against Me!, one week later opening up for Pennywise and Strung Out, now they were having their first headlining show at the Masquerade. So it was a quite busy month for the band. They brought their label mates and friends from No Fuego along, with whom they recorded the Split-CD “Dropping Expectations” for Unable Records. I missed the first band again but got in right on time to see the second band. I don’t remember their name, but that doesn’t bother me at all, because they sucked! They are friends of the Bastard Suns, but play horribly boring 90’s alternative rock. It was actually painful. Sorry guys, but there would have been many other punk bands to fill in that slot that would have been excited to play the Masquerade and fit much better. After that No Fuego from Baton Rouge, LA saved the evening! They do a mix of punk rock a la Hot Water Music mixed with Bagpipes and a bit of Dropkick Murphys in there. They played a few songs from their Split with the Suns and also from their full length they put out by themselves. It was a good show and you definitely need to check them out! Then it was the Bastard Suns and they have apparently become a pretty popular band in Atlanta, since there were about 100 to 150 people there to see them, which is not bad at all for a local band. They played a solid show, doing their usual reggae and ska influenced drinking punk rock and the crowd loved it. I think we will hear lots more of this band in the future, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they become a big band someday. But in my opinion the Bastard Suns are not a headlining band, yet. They were much more fun when they only got 30 minutes and played song after song, without trying stupid stuff like a drum solo and so on. But even that couldn’t ruin their good and powerful performance. If you want to check them out, I’d advice you to buy the Split CD, cause you get the best of both bands and that’s a very good deal. It really is a very good CD So check both of them out and check at the Masquerade’s myspace page in a few days for pictures: www.myspace.com/thebastardsuns - 99X.com