Danish indie skatepunk party band Forever Unclean made the long flight to Australia in 2018 for an April / May tour that coincided a special Aussie Tour edition of their acclaimed ‘Float’ EP being released with 2 new bonus tracks*. Fast gritty abrasive pop punk for fans of The Flatliners, Stars Burn Stripes, Gnarwolves, The Arteries. facebook.com/foreveruncleanband
Pressing:
500 x CDs
REVIEWS:
The Punk Archive
FOREVER UNCLEAN – Float
All this week I’ve been listening to the new EP from Denmark’s Forever Unclean and to be honest I didn’t even realise they were Danish until I read the associated biography that came with the EP. I try to listen to the music first so as not to prejudice my thoughts (not that being Danish is a bad thing) but on listening I would have put them down as American or English as this EP stands comparison with contemporaries of the skate punk scene such as Gnarwolves and (to my ears anyway) Pup. Formed from the ashes of skate punks Stars Burn Stripes, this is their second release after debut EP Shreds and it’s a bit of a banger. At just four tracks and totalling just over nine minutes this is fast, raucous punk rock as it should be done. First track Dinosaur perfectly encapsulates all of this with a maelstrom of deliberately chaotic noise as it races along on a bouncy bassline, packed with riffs and a catchy as hell chorus that will have you singing along well before the song finishes. The intro to title track Float is melancholic with impassioned vocals before the pace picks up again as the instruments crash in. The melodies underneath the noise ensure that each and every song on the EP worm their way into your brain At almost three minutes Worthless is epic in scale compared to the other tracks but buzzes along at the same velocity, mixing clean verses with the more abrasive chorus yet still retaining the instant hit of the day’s first coffee; whilst Waves is an intense raging hyperactive punk rock track with some real moments of brilliance as they slow things down with a mass gang vocal that is made for live settings and is sure to have half the crowd screaming along whilst the other half go mental in the mosh pit it’s bound to stir up. By not taking themselves too seriously, Forever Unclean have managed to put out an excellent EP that will make you smile, sing, dance and generally have a great time. What more can you ask for? With a UK tour already booked in for May in support of this release I highly recommend checking them out. Reviewed By: Lee Morton
Rockfreaks.net
FOREVER UNCLEAN – Float
“Float” is the sophomore EP by the Copenhagen, Denmark-based melodic punk rockers Forever Unclean, which largely consists of members from the now-defunct Stars Burn Stripes lineup. Stylistically, they are notably less shouty and aggressive than their former band, relying on rowdy Fat Wreck / Epitaph style punk rock melodies instead, albeit Lasse Mikkelsen’s vocals remain nearly as raw as before. Aside from that, their soundscape is best described with buzzing guitars, infectious melodies, a great upbeat tempo throughout, and an easygoing party vibe that’s key for this type of punk rock to be successful. Think of it falling somewhere between The Flatliners, Gnarwolves and Crucial Dudes on the punk rock map and you’re on the right track. “Dinosaur” opens the festivities with rumbling bass lines and vibrant distorted guitars, leading into arguably the best chorus these guys have written so far: cries of “nothing at all, nothing at all…come on, race me to the bottom!” should become a familiar chant in local Copenhagen venues in due time. The title track “Float” is another banger with groovy guitar melodies, but it’s the sudden tempo shift and big, gang-shoutable sing along of “Waves” that steals the attention on the record later on. It’s perhaps not quite as catchy and sing-alongable as “Dinosaur” earlier, but it’s an explosive moment that gives the record some variety. Production-wise, the mix has been left nice and rough, giving the record a charming, buzzing vibe as so many other basement style melodic punk bands before them. Too much polish and you risk ironing out the energetic feel, and too little, well, then it just doesn’t sound good. Here, Forever Unclean have managed a good balance between the two, which should be enough to play these songs into the hearts of intimate, basement style sing along punk rock crowds across Europe. 7.5/10
Punk Online
FOREVER UNCLEAN – Float
Forever Unclean formed from the ashes of European skatepunk scene legends Stars Burn Stripes in 2015 and have been busy honing the punk rock tinged with indie punk sound since. After their debut EP ‘Shreds’ in 2015, the band have been busy touring throughout Europe and the UK, appearing on various compilations around the world and creating some pretty awesome videos in their basement practice space. The EP opens with some feedback and menacing spoken word film clip before it takes off into a beautiful bass driven punk rock gem, Dinosaur. It’s fast, furious and melodic with some superb mixing and production enhancing the raw sound and melodic vocals. The title track, Float, lets the vocals lead into a superb guitar riff and then that ever present bass holds together another melodic skate punk extravaganza that I simply loved. Like Counterpunch meet Bad Religion, these boys make a great noise. Third up is Worthless and it maintains the energy and pace and maybe, just maybe, takes things up a notch or two in terms of power and aggression and it leads to the closer, Waves, which is just a tad grungier/dirtier in guitar sound and ends a very satisfactory introduction to Forever Unclean for me…
