Stoke Signals are not from Stoke but are getting a review on the basis of their name. They’re actually a melodic punk band based in LA, and aiming for fans of the likes of The Menzingers or Alkaline Trio, even Blink 182 and NOFX, so fans of melodic pop punk should be able to predict the sound.
“Stoke Signals is here to comfort and hold you, but very loudly,” they promise on their website, a nod to the fact that the sound is not new (and neither are they, they all look like veterans of the punk stage).
“Alternative Medicine” opens cleanly, with snare and kick drum followed by a guitar riff and some nice kick drum before it goes punk. Opening lyrics are “Sleeping in doorways / Are you going my way … cause I might get hit by a bus tomorrow … but none of that matters / if you don’t get sad when you hear that I’ve turned into roadkill”, so some Blink dark humour in there, although the song is about someone either mentally ill or broken-hearted, living rough to avoid confronting life.
A later song, “Mummy” is clearly about the former: “All the self-help books say give it up already / And all the self-harm books say I’m doing just fine”. All a bit emo, although the lyrics are hard to make out.
Nothing new but they do it well, and there is something comforting about its familiarity.
JMC
