Wonk Unit - Mr Splashy

The Wonk can be serious, funny, fiery, poetic, angry, romantic, ironic, wistful, often in the same song. True to their punk roots they are never restrained, confined or defined by them. 

There’s plenty here that rocks like a bastard. Awful Jeans criticises slave labour in the garment industry and bad dress sense. I Told You So is all buzzsaw Buzzcocks guitar. Bin Him tackles domestic abuse, with suitably heavy music. The upbeat Silly Voices is a surprisingly touching paean to maturing relationships. The grunge-indie Model On The Northern Line could almost be Blur or Pulp at their punkiest. Old Man sums up how I feel pretty much every morning. We Are The England beats Slaves at their own game.

The rockers are universally great but it is the gentler numbers that make Mr Splashy exceptional. The mournful, acoustic guitar and string driven tale of everyday working life that is And You Call This Normal and the elegy to slam-door rolling stock of Old Trains are just sublime.