An album like a Delorean going back to the 80’s and 90’s – that’s Slingshot Anthems, the debut album of German Punk supergroup DUCHAMP.
The line up of the band is stacked as is the guest-list on their album. The band consists of Ingo Knollmann (Donots) on vocals, Christian Kruse (Adam Angst, Waterdown) pumping the bass, Benni Thiel (Schrottgrenze) driving the drums and Peter Tiedeken (Pale, One Man And His Droid) delivering the guitar-goods. As if these names were not enough, they got four legends to do guest parts on their album: The guest musicians are none other than Jason Shevchuk (Kid Dynamite / None More Black), Dave Smalley (Dag Nasty / Down By Law), Stephen Egerton (Descendents / ALL) and Brian McTernan (Battery / Be Well). Do you need more convincing that this will be an incredible album?
Since you continued reading, it seems like you do. Then let’s talk about the 13 tracks this album contains. In general, none of the songs break the three minute mark, though two are 2:59 long. For a punk album, these are almost like long-tracks. All of the tracks ooze an old-school vibe and, as said in the introduction, they are a real time machine taking you back to the glorious punk and hardcore days.
From the first song ”I Wanna Be Your Tool” on, the sound is distinctly old-school. The album sounds very classic in general. It’s not produced over the top with samples, quadruple-tracked guitars, thick compression and so on. It’s light, raw and just fun to listen to. The gang shouts really help with the atmosphere and are destined to be sung by hundreds of people at a DUCHAMP concert. They are also very inviting to start a circle pit around your living room, or hopefully soon in the venue of your choice.
A big question often is: How do the featured musicians contribute to the album? Are they just a nice addition or do they help to improve the album in a fair way? So here’s the answer: The singers have some of the best songs on Slingshot Anthems! Each guy is given his own song and they are so much fun. From the anthemic ”Train Dodge” with Brian McTernan to the mosh-pit-starting ”Non-Exister” sung by Stephen Egerton, the two-step beast ”The Art of Defiance” featuring Jason Shevchuk to, last but not least, the uplifting ”Teeth Gone Missing” with Dave Smalley – all of these are fantastic. The only gripe is, that they are not spread out throughout the album but almost all after one another. But hey, the album is only 27 minutes, so all songs are in close proximity to another.
If there is one song, that takes you back to your teenage years, it is definitely ”Video Games and Coffee”. Even I, who was born in the mid 90’s, felt taken back to sitting around an old CRT TV, playing games with your friends until late in the night. It’s just a joy to listen to these new songs and think of the “good old times”.
After its runtime of just 27 minutes, Slingshot Anthems leaves behind a warm feeling in your stomach, a smile on your face and the urge to flip the record over and start it again. Ingo and his friends created something special here: this is the kind of music, that you want to experience live and sing together with many strangers who thereby become family. This is the old-school hardcore way.
