Hooligan – Criminal Damage (7″ EP Review)

Hooligan a punk/rock ‘n’ roll band formed in Dublin, Ireland in October 2009. Their fourth and latest 7″ EP ‘Criminal Damage’ features guest appearances from Tony Van Frater (Cockney Rejects) on guitar and bass, with Decca Wade and Nicky Buck (original and latter day Angelic Upstarts) splitting drum duties. ‘Criminal Damage’ was produced by Mond Cowie (Angelic Upstarts) and Decca Wade.

First and title track Criminal Damage with its ner ner ner siren style riffage had me thinking of a clash between The Angelic Upstarts and, who else but, The Clash think something like I Fought The Law meets Police Oppression. Perhaps an obvious choice but I thought Street Punk Hero had a vibe of Anti-Nowhere League’s Dead Heroes.

When I heard the opening drum beat to Bastards I thought of Iron Maiden but it soon ran into something more like a mix of Nuclear Holiday by 3 Colours Red and Beat The Bastards by The Exploited, Ok so it’s nowhere near as  hardcore but it still beats the bastards! Keep The Faith started off with a Judas Priest drum beat then became more like a Stiff Little Fingers number.

A great little EP for fans of bands like The Angelic Upstarts, The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers with a bit of added pop punk, some heavy drum beats, soaring riffs and well crafted lyrics thrown in. It would be criminal not to at least give it a listen!

Highlight Track – Street Punk Hero

Track List:

Criminal Damage
Street Punk Hero
Bastards
Keep The Faith

Band Members:

David Linehan – Guitar, Vocals
Adrian Csapo – Bass, Backing Vocals
Jean Philippe Morer – Drums

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hooligan.dub

Website: http://www.hooligandublin.com/