BITCHIN' BREW #007 WITH KATE COULSON (ABOVE THE WAVES PROMOTIONS / THE JOINERS) IS OUT NOW

The long-awaited seventh episode of BITCHIN' BREW featuring your friend and mine, KATE COULSON of ABOVE THE WAVES PROMOTIONS (as well as the in-house promotions team at THE JOINERS in Southampton, the Best Venue In The World ©) is FINALLY here.

You can now listen to it on SOUNDCLOUD by clicking HERE or streaming it below, or you can listen on iTUNES and ACAST.

Thanks to everyone - especially Kate - who was so patient on this one. As you may well know, we decided to do an AMA portion on this podcast, where we answered your questions on Buckfast, crisps, David Beckham hairstyles and the Argentinian debt crisis of 2001. We also had more on-topic chats about our respective entrances to the Southampton punk rock scene and how we met backstage at a Frank Iero show and at one of Kate's legendary house shows, so don't worry, it's not just an hour and 20 minutes of us talking a bunch of tangential bollocks.

ALSO ON BITCHIN' BREW #007: Kate and I talk about her upcoming festival, SO PUNK FEST 3, which is happening across Southampton on February 3-5, and boasts a badass lineup full of UK punk and emo bands which she handpicked along with those dudes at FAILURE BY DESIGN RECORDS.

Friday night at SPF3 is being headlined by MUSKETS, Saturday night's bill is topped by APOLOGIES, I HAVE NONE, and then things will be capped off on Sunday with a solo performance from Dan of DUCKING PUNCHES. It's going to be all the great vibes, so make sure that you grab your weekend/individual tickets now over on the ATW BIGCARTEL PAGE.

You'd be a bit of a knob to ignore that lineup...

Danny

2016'S SPICIEST BANGERS | THE RR PLAYLIST VOL. V

IF YOU'RE READING THIS, CONGRATULATIONS: YOU SURVIVED BLUE MONDAY.

Of course, if you're like me and you don't believe in that pseudo-scientific horseshit, then bonus points to you, but for a lot of people out there, Blue Monday marks a point of no return: you can no longer use that age-old, post-Christmas/New Year 'sorry, I'm just settling back into my routine' excuse for not doing work as efficiently (or at all), your new year's resolutions were fucked from the very start, and efforts to avoid throwing away the toffee pennies that lonesomely occupy the Quality Street tin in the corner of your living room because you 'might want to eat them at some point' are growing more and more futile.

This mid-January funk isn't necessarily as unrealistic as the belief that the third Monday of the month is inherently shit, but at least we still have a year like 2016 to look back on and go 'well, what a solid 12 months of wall-to-wall bangers that was'.

We had an abundance of tracks in 2016 that make you feel invincible when you blast them on repeat - as if you could take down a speeding juggernaut with your little finger - as well as tracks that just make you want to smash a beer can open with your own face, chug the foamy remnants, and stagedive onto your mates' heads. It is this window of sonic glory that I've prised back open with Vol. V of THE RR PLAYLIST.

Within the space of just 20 tracks, there's reminders of the undeniable knockout return of WEEZER, the Rancid-meets-No Doubt badassery of THE INTERRUPTERS, the raucous, punk 'n' roll punches delivered from the likes of THE DIRTY NIL and WACO, and the shameless saccharine catchiness of WATERPARKS and TANCRED.

If that's not enough, there's offerings from Britain's burgeoning DIY punk scene courtesy of THE NEW TUSK, DOE and MUNCIE GIRLS, the carefree, summery bliss of PINEGROVE and JOYCE MANOR, and some top-drawer whoa-oh sing-a-longs from JEFF ROSENSTOCK and EAT ME.

All that, and loads more, is now available to stream below via the Randon's Reviews Spotify page. Don't forget to subscribe for playlists of past, present and future (if 2017 lives up to its predecessor)...

Danny