EP Review: Slank

Having made their presence known via the vessel of 2024’s Smokefree Rockquest, The Splinters are a band ready to explode into New Zealand’s punk scene. Brash and snotty, intense and powerful, their debut EP Slank is out now to assault your earholes.

The first of the four tracks is How To Survive A Night In Manchester. A chugging intro, fraught with menace, erupts into a vocal roar, and a nicely tension-filled guitar riff. The rhythm section pounds along below, tight and bolshy. The vocals are spat out spoken, rather than sung, until the huge chorus which drops into a half-time beat, a tasty dynamic change. The sound of the vocals belies the youth of these young upstarts, reminiscent more of a grizzled veteran of the punk scene, whose throat bears the scars of too much whisky, too many cigarettes and all-nighters. From the authentic air of the lyrics, I’d not be at all surprised to discover that their author hails from Manchester himself, originally.

The next track is Diesel Sucking Mindset, and another splendid bit of riffery kicks this belter off. An ode to obnoxious petrolheads, those worshippers of the thick clouds of smoke produced by burnouts, addicted to the roar of the engine and the squealing of overburdened tyres. The self-obsessed nature of these purveyors of discord is ably captured in lyrics like “I overtake on corners when you test my patience” and “I pump iron and then photograph my biceps“. It would certainly seem as if the las in The Splinters have themselves encountered more than their fair share of these types.

Stale & Pale is devoted to our current government and its leadership, calling them out on all of their lies, arrogance, and failings. Musically raw and biting, vocally going straight for the jugular. The riffs are strong with this one, slamming the message home with power and conviction. No prizes for guessing where The Splinters’ political views lie. The final track is Fickle Creature, a song about mindless consumption. A grimy auto-wah type effect colours the intro riff to this one, giving way to a fun and bouncy feel. There are some great samples in this song (although I can’t include the sound of someone masticating in that description, that’s something I find extremely hard on the ears), and a uniquely interesting guitar solo. Everything increases in intensity towards the end, which is announced with a loud belch. A fitting end to a debut punk EP.