- I’ve been trawling a lot of punk distros at the moment. Not buying much mind you, just getting some low level serotonin hits when seeing records I might want to buy at some point. The added benefit of trawling said distros is coming across interesting new bands I’ve never heard of, and the Irish Oi band, Sympos, from Waterford was one such band.
- On reflection it seems pretty weird that I’ve not come across more Irish Oi bands in the past. The combo just, sorta, seems like it makes sense and that there should be more bands in that lane. But, as someone who’s admittedly no Oi connoisseur, I haven’t come across any, which made me so excited to check these guys out, and they really didn’t disappoint.
- Really leaning into the more rootsy side of Oi, I can hear more than a touch fo the glam rock guitar and in Pub, Sympos hit us with a more of a bovver rock, stomp over a 1-2-1-2 tempo tear. I love that in a genre so defined by its love of pints and mentions of beer, Sympos have still managed to create a proper love song to boozer that, for my money, will really stand the test of time.
- The video is great too. It’s not often I say this about a punk music videos but the two protagonists are really good actors! Their performances fit the lighthearted vibe of the tune but are also well done enough to really elevate the video to something that is, dare I say, bordering on the cinematic, all the while retaining the feel of mates having a laugh down the pub. Crack open a can of the black stuff and enjoy Sympos!
