punk this week: twenty one children, jacky cougar + 19 more

Hey, it’s Punk This Week. It’s a punk and rock'n'roll recommendations column, and since it’s a Bandcamp Friday, there’s a flood of new records. There are some pretty exceptional ones this week by bands like Twenty One Children, Jacky Cougar & the Vampyres From Africa, Mujeres Podridas, Shrudd, TY, and more.

You want to read about all 21 of the best records out this week? You want to take full advantage of Black Friday and read all the recent Punk This Week columns? This weekly column, bonus podcasts, and the always updating see/saw radio archive are available for people who subscribe for $4/month, $40/year, or barter (aka pay what you want, just hit me up). 

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Twenty One Children: After the Storm [Slovenly]

Twenty One Children are a young band operating out of Soweto, South Africa, but they sound like a young band ripping ’80s West Coast skate punk. The guitar sound on the new mini-album After the Storm is completely blown out, just feedback on distortion on feedback, though there’s enough room in the mix to hear their prodding lyrics delivered in a coarse holler. “Watch your back,” they repeatedly warn on “SCAB,” but the best shit on this record are the moments between songs where you can hear them being loose. 

There’s a tangibility to this record because they’re inviting the listener to understand their sense of humor and rhythms. The whole opening of “Rain Dance” spells out some potential autobiography that’s by no means region-locked: “All the kids that used to take drugs with us eventually got fucked,” they bark. This is jagged music that would’ve crushed on SST, but it’s not a museum piece. Twenty One Children are very much alive.