We Speak Music

Jersey Calling Share New Album ‘Parasocial Security’

Published

2 years ago

December 18, 2023

Punk-rock group Jersey Calling, which was founded in 2002 by Randy, Josh, and Sean, put out two albums before calling it quits in 2005. They got back together in 2020 during the pandemic, with Victoria on vocals and a new drummer. They released their third album ‘Punk Rock Retirement’ (2020) and re-released their first two albums as a double album called ‘Daddy Re-Issues’ (2021) on all streaming services. ‘Parasocial Security’, their fourth album, marks their comeback.

To date, ‘Parasocial Security’ is their most ambitious record. They examine issues of loss and loneliness while also finding comfort in the close bonds they have with one another, their friends, and their family.

All the classic punk elements are present in this ten-track album, which features a vocalist whose voice is reminiscent of the punk icons of the ‘90s, as well as power chords and catchy riffs supported by a driving bass and drumbeat.

‘Gods & Cowboys’ is about colonization – of land, of mind, and of spirit – how their history affects how they live today.

‘Content’ is about being an artist in the age of social media.

‘The Things Life Leaves Behind’ is about the loss of a loved one, and reflecting about their own mortality as they grieve.

‘Twisted Paradigm’ is about toxic relationships and knowing when and how to set boundaries.

‘Backseat Driver’ is about feeling a lack of control over one’s own life, and claiming autonomy over their decisions.

‘Mid-life Crisis’ is about aging as a musician, and how that affects their mindset and songwriting.

‘Self-Will Run Riot’ is about struggling to survive under late-stage capitalism.

‘Heartstrings’ is about finding love in the face of personal struggles and global disharmony.

‘Queen of the Unclean’ is about having agency in choosing one’s identity.

‘Hasta Luego’ is about casting off the shackles of authoritarianism and fighting against the systems of control that hold them back from their full potential.

On the album, Jersey Calling comments, “Our most ambitious album to date, ‘Parasocial Security’, explores themes of isolation and loss, while simultaneously finding solace in the personal relationships we’ve found in each other and our friends and family.”

We Speak Music

BEST BAND invite you into their bizarre and surreal punk world with new album ‘The People’s Cub’

Published

4 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

Don Reed

Sometimes London based three-piece Best Band’s band name genuinely angers people and they think that the band are being cocky and are exclaiming that they are the ‘best band’ ever created. However, the name came about after drummer Simon and guitarist Richard were inspired both personally and creatively with the goal to make the ‘best band’ that they possibly could.

The pair first met as members of improvised band ‘Improvisi’ and then they formed ‘Baffy’, a surreal band with a dada approach and a failed musical. Then came punk / free jazz band ‘Madchen 84’ and instrumental / experimental project ‘Stan Dingwater’. ‘Best Band’, however is the evolution of these previous incarnations, with the name being a triumphant marker of Simon and Richard’s journey to date.

“It was always a dream to do this- the “best band” that we could make”, explains Simon. “After failing many times to try and find singers and band members for all the cool instrumentals Richard makes, eventually after some debating and persuasion, I just said, “Fuck it, I’ll sing and put poems to it”, which makes things easier for everyone. We are finally living our dream, with also Cai, who was the ONLY person to answer our advert for bassist”, he furtheradds.

With their drummer also being their singer, Best Band have an unconventional and chaotic presence, both live and in the studio. The three members also span three different generations: one being from Gen Z, one being a millennial and one being from Gen X. It’s an unlikely combination that somehow works awesomely and has given birth to two albums ‘Life as a Baby’ (2024) and ‘Go In Rooms’ (2025), with the third, ‘The Peoples Cub’, now ready to be unveiled.

Musically, Best Band are influenced by post punk, disco and drone rock methods and emerge as an intoxicating blend of outsider pop / avant punk, groove rock, pub rock and weird pop which they themselves describe as ‘Zolo dada no-wave avant bogrock’. The tracks on the ‘The People’s Cub’ all have a looping bassline to make a sort of hypnotizing repetition, instead of conventional verse-chorus-verse changes, which the band find more interesting and fun to play. The People’s Cub himself is a quasi-political figure, with many of the tracks on the album involving creature characters. There’s a flea, a hedgehog, voles, owls, vultures and beasts.

Album opening track and first single, ‘Broken Coast’ is a scrappy blast of energy that is both strangely catchy and weirdly poetic in its own eccentric way. The track is about personal legacies, ideals, beliefs and opinions and humans wanting to be perceived / remembered in certain ways, then that being juxtaposed with not being able to get out of bed in the morning due to depression. The band use a flea as a metaphor for believing in an idea of who you are and how you’re perceived/remembered, and your integrity, beliefs and ideals. In the song, the flea is eventually killedas the band break free from living up to any imagined idea of themselves and the created self.

Elsewhere on the album, ‘Boghouse’ is an ode to the lower ‘toilet venue’ end of the London music scene, describing all the little events, actions and intentions of any small rock band playing in Boghouses. It features wailing guitar solos all over the track, as a tongue-in-cheek homage to many of the bands Best Band have played with over the years on the circuit.The titletrack ‘The People’s Cub’ is an off kilter discordant yet cuddly political satire featuring the main character and mascot of the album. ‘The People’s Cub’ is an MP / Mayor but is also a little cub so he needs to stand on a tub to make speeches and he cuts the ribbon on new a village pub/cultural hub with his little furry stub.

Overall, the record is a bizarre and surreal journey through Best Band’s own disturbed inner psyche, set within erratic fuzzy rock styles that veer between 70s / 80s punk and 90s lo-fi indie worlds. With its offbeat themes of psychosis, unironic irony, modernity, depression, pathetic love, street nomadism, smelting, the afterlife, bus journeys, dread and defiance, ‘The People’s Cub’ is an excellently odd and candidly potent soundtrack to the times in which we all now live.

Catch Best Band playing the following shows in London:

27th May Dublin Castle, Camden

30th May Dash The Henge, Camberwell (early 3pm show)

17^th June- Old Dispensary, Camberwell