GIMIC – “New Traditions” LP

The first full-length for this super-buzzy Bristol punk band has finally arrived. Much celebration in this household, and considering how hard these guys work the gig circuit, I imagine there are a great many other folk out there equally excited. Are expectations fulfilled? Sure, these twelve tracks, afterall, have been thoroughly exercised on stages up and down the UK, and the production values, courtesy of Nottingham’s JT Soar, perfectly enhances each aspect of the sound, giving us the Gimic experience with all the clarity, vitality and (slightly unhinged) dynamics as required. The four members get a quarter share of the sound, each one delivering the musical smarts, like you want to repeatedly play each track four times in a row so that you might fully appreciate each musician’s contribution. And I like that – it’s not on overly common occurrence for a punk band. Or any band, for that matter…
Band comparisons don’t come easy – but Sean Forbes hits the snail on the head with the pithy precision of “…a hardcore Minutemen mixed with an angry math rock band mixed with the musicianship of No Means No.” Any other attempts at comparisons by myself are superfluous (I’d probably waffle-on about obscure egg punk and partially remembered screamy hardcore of yesteryear*) – if you already know Gimic then you already know that this is an essential recording, and if you don’t know ’em – well, no doubt, if you’re reading this far you’re destined to click ‘play’ in order to find out…

*Assfactor 4!