Wall of Sound Presents: “2020 YEAR IN REVIEW” – By Wall of Sound Writer Carys Hurcom

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

This year, essential worked across the world kept the wheels turning and our very own ska punk Carys was one of those legends keeping the education world moving.

However, in between educating the next generation of Australian kids, she educated us all about some fo the best punk releases of the year! Take a look at her Year In Review to see what you might have missed…

TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2020

1. The Bombpops – Death in Venice Beach
2. Less Than Jake – Silver Linings
3. Mad Caddies – House on Fire EP
4. Zebrahead – Wanna Sell Your Soul? EP
5. Goldfinger – Never Look Back

6. NOFX & Frank Turner – West Coast vs Wessex
7. The Aquabats – Kooky, Spooky In Stereo
8. Bad Cop Bad Cop – The Ride
9. Fear No Empire – Fear No Empire EP
10. The Suicide Machines – Revolution Spring

TOP 5 SONGS OF 2020

‘Everything She Wants’ – Alien Ant Farm
‘One Single Second’ – Set It Off
‘Shock and Awe by the Sea’ – Zebrahead
‘Waiting For The Real Thing’ – Mad Caddies
‘Revolt’ – Fear No Empire

BEST MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2020

The Bombpops – ‘Zero Remorse’

A clip about women literally and metaphorically kicking arse and being powerful.

The Aquabats – ‘Pajamazon’

The most Covid-19 video clip, and song ever, the video clip is full of celeb cameos, my fave being Muno, Brobee, Foofa, Plex and Toodee (if you have kids, or force your nephews and niece to watch punk adjacent kids shows, you know who I am talking about!)

LAST GIG YOU CAUGHT BEFORE COVID?

In all honesty the last performance I saw before Covid locked everything down, albeit for a brief period of time in comparison to the rest of the country, was Michael Buble. And I am not ashamed of that, the man is charming, hilarious, has an amazing voice and can put on a show! It was brilliant.

Prior to that, the last “Wall of Sound” gig was Pennywise, Strung Out and No Fun At All, at Metro Freo, back in February, which I also had a great time at! (Review here)

Luckily, I have managed to catch a few other gigs since, obviously local bands and gigs, but when Karnivool is one of those local bands, there isn’t any reason to complain.

Photo by Denis Radacic (@denocide).

HOW DID COVID/LOCKDOWNS AFFECT YOU IN 2020?

Perth gets a bad rap for being boring-ville, and how international tours travel to the west coast less and less, but during Covid, everyone freaking appreciated being in Perth. Our lockdown lasted a couple of weeks, and life went pretty much back to normal, minus travelling outside the state. The cinemas, and gigs took a bit longer to reopen/ restart, but by May restaurants and bars were all open, with social distancing measures, of course.

Biggest thing was my partner and I had planned on going to Europe in July, specifically to see Rammstein in France, but that has been postponed until next year (maybe longer?). In the scheme of things, we were pretty lucky.

BIGGEST THING YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF THIS YEAR?

I didn’t learn anything new, but a few things were reinforced for me this year, such as the importance of family and true friendship, and having a job you love!

Oh, and how much I like being the boss (in my day to day job) – After choosing to step aside from my position four years ago, to just teach, I was re-promoted to my old position, after coming to the realisation that this is where I am supposed to be.

FAV NEW BAND/MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2020

I have been on a real female fronted punk kick lately, so although I knew of Bad Cop Bad Cop, I didn’t really fully start listening to them until this year.