Up Yours! Punk's Not Dead
Credit: RateYourMusic.com

The Hunches - Stateside Garage Rock

Then & Now

I first heard this song on a CD that came free with 'Mojo record magazine', it was a compilation of old school punk stuff and newer material by some bands I hadn't heard at the time, mostly the main band featured here plus bands such as The Warlocks and The Yeah Yeah Yeah's. I had heard of The Libertines, The Strokes and The Hives who I thought were fantastic and more obviously all of the mainstream punk bands, I possibly was sucked into buying on the strength of some of the old classics and the couple of 'newer acts' I liked as well.

The CD was entitled 'Up Yours! - Punk's Not Dead'. As I said it was free in the magazine, when I checked the date in Discogs it surprised me has to how long ago now...

...I seem to remember having to work away from home for a week or so having to teach a course in another part of the country, which was good fun, but could get a bit lonely at times too, you kind of often missed the 'creature comforts' of being at home.

The usual drill for me was get to the train station get something to read, eat and a few 'tinnies' for the long journey. So, I found myself the something to read and could tick that one off the list....and as an added bonus, something to listen to as well! I have to say it kept me amused during the time I spent away, (as a teacher/trainer I would often have music on when I kicked off the session I was going to deliver, funnily enough I didn't play this though, they were a hard enough audience as it was!). I still have it lurking around in my record collection somewhere at home.

Up Yours Punks Not Dead

Track List

  • The Clash - 1977
  • The Strokes - The Modern Age
  • The Adverts - One Chord Wonder
  • The Hives - Main Offender
  • Vic Goddard - Ambition
  • Hot Hot Heat - Get In Or Get Out
  • Erase Errata - Tongue Tied
  • X-Ray Spex - Identity
  • The Hunches - Lisa Told Me
  • Johnny Thunders - Chinese Rocks
  • Part Chimp - Cover Me
  • The Undertones - True Confessions
  • The Catheters - Pale Horse
  • Sex Pistols - Submission
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Our Time
  • Siouxsie and The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
  • ATV - Action Time Vision
  • The Libertines - The Boy Looked at Johnny
  • Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict
  • Sleater-Kinney - Combat Rock
  • The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
  • Mudhoney - Urban Guerilla
  • The Damned - Neat, Neat, Neat
  • The Warlocks - Caveman Rock
  • Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy
  • Swearing at Motorists - Timing Is Everything

The Compilation was a mix of old punk and newer garage rock revival tracks all housed on a lurid green CD, there was the kind of predictable e.g. The Clash, The Undertones and The Sex Pistols all shook up with slightly more modern (at the time) tracks by newer bands such as The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Catheters and this band...

The Hunches with the track Lisa Told Me from 2003...

Kind of simplistic and stripped back in style, sounding a little bit old school, snotty, loud...Have to say it stood out for me.
 
They were
 
The Hunches were a Garage Rock band from Oregon and were active from 2000 - 2009. 
  • Vocals - Hart Gledhill
  • Bass - Sarah Epstein
  • Guitar - Chris Gunn
  • Drums - Ben Spencer
 

In The Red & Flying Bomb Records

They released 3 studio albums: Yes, No, Shut It (2002), Hobo Sunrise (2004) and Exit Dreams (2009) all on the US Indie label 'In The Red Recordings', a record company that produced for many other garage rock artists from the States including bands such as 'The Bassholes', 'The Mystery Girls' and 'The Dirtbombs'. Catch The Bassholes first release in 1992 with '98 Degrees In The Shade' at the link.
 
On the CD there was also a band called The Catheters which also interested me, it turns out the track 'Pale Horse' was the B Side to their single 'I Fall Easy' released on the independent U.S. label Sub Pop which unleashed the whole world of 'Grunge' bands such as Mudhoney. 

Dance Alone

As a band The Hunches kicked off with their first  E.P. called 'Dance Alone' in 2002 on another garage rock record label called 'Flying Bomb Records', you can check out their web site at the link. The track list for that E.P. is:
 
A1) Mind Fuck Blues
A2) Shake That Thing
B) Dance Alone
 
Catch the track 'Dance Alone'
It is pretty awesome and sounds wonderfully 'rough around the edges' kind of like early style punk mixed up with The Stooges, The Dead Boys etc. So many bands they have seemed to draw influence from, but they sounded really cool. Would have loved to have lived Stateside and seen them live (bet they kicked ass!). What a cool band and a shame they split.
 

Video Sources Thanks

 
jazzyenglishman
Bolt24 Hot Sounds
 

Picture Source Thanks

Rate Your Music
 

Info Sources Thanks

Discogs, Rate Your Music
 
 
 
 

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