Well done every one for going out and buying the album, its climbing up to the top of the charts as we speak. Apperently Mercury are recalling all the previous votes for this years competition...With an album as collosal as I CRY DEMOLITION! in the UK charts there can only be one true winner.

Check out the great sweaty,dirty and dark video Nick shot of our last gig...Thankyou you are a sweety pie xxx

Heres a little interview I did for the Subba Culture lot about the album....


Its wonderful to think how exciting and packed the UK underground is right now with vibrant, urgent bands who can give us exactly what we need, electrifying rock n roll full of passion, heart and excitement-without the usual career ending hype bomb of the NME we present to you, one of our favourite bands right now, Punish The Atom answering our Q&A

NAME: Joey Bell
BAND: Punish The Atom
INSTRUMENT: Singer


How did the recording sessions for the new album go?

Very, very quickly it was all done in under a week. A very draining week. We put all our energy into the album and let Echoboy have the control to take it where he wanted. It felt great to have the idea of the songs but have the freedom to mess around with the structure and experiment with different sounds and instruments.



What goals did you set yourself before you started recording?

We asked Richard Echoboy to capture the live energy/chaos on the record; it had to be rough, exciting and LOUD. We also didn't want every track to sound the same, and to be layered enough not to get boring. We all sat down and played Richard records we liked whatever the style of music and he played us a mix of Terry Riley, R N' B and MonteVerde. It was great brining in everyone's idea of what a great album should sound like. We also wanted it to be a statement of how it feels to live in Nottingham.

What do you feel are your own limitations when it comes to creating/writing music?

I can't write or play music, which is quite a limitation! I just stick to writing crap lines and shouting them (badly).


Tell us 3 of your own/bands favourite songs and the inspiration behind them?

I've always had a thing for our last single "First Line In Frankenstein"; maybe it's purely for Johnny's backing vocals. Maybe its because he's my favourite member of Punish. There's something special about that little, rabid, funky man. The song is very linked in my mind to the video Saam made for us. Scary, camp and messy. It was a long, cold shoot, stuck in a warehouse drowned in white emulsion. One of the best days I've ever had.

Next up would have to be "We Are Infection" because I'm very proud of the lyrics. The NME thought the song was PRO- Drugs but completely missed the point. It's about a time in my life when I was constantly ill and seemed to play every gig with the Flu. I was really like the image of Punish being a disease that gets spread from person to person.

And last I'd have to choose "Do The Demolition" it was practically written in the studio so no one was sure how it was going to sound. It was always going to be Dubby and a bit Dancehall but I was blown away with what Richard brought to the song, he really is our Eno. I also really enjoyed recording the vocal parts for this song it was at the end of the session and I just let out a lot of Primal screams by the end. I think I needed to, a celebration and a cathartic exercise.

What do you enjoy most about recording, and in contrast what do you enjoy Most about playing live?

I think we all prefer to play live. It's hard to know if you getting it right in the studio but on stage you know instantly from audience's reaction. I am also a prancing Cock who needs constant attention; I love to make an idiot of myself on stage. Its harder to wear make-up and costume and thrust your crotch about your in a small sweaty room recording a drum track.


What are the bands plans for the rest of the year?

The album "I Cry Demolition!" will be released on August the 14th (48 Crash), so we will be gigging as much as we can. We're going release another single just after "Year 0" and we'll be doing another video with Saam for that.

How would you describe your own/bands sound?

Pantomime Punk with a side splatter of Post No Wave Art Noise Techno Fear.


Who is currently moving you musically at the moment?

I'm a bit addicted to Talking Heads " Fear Of Music" at the moment especially the track "Cities" which is pretty much perfection for me. I love how stripped the album is and Byrnes vocals/Lyrics are so inspirational. I love listening to something and thinking how the fuck did they do that? I really admire their progression. And Eno! The Klaxons are pretty much the best British band at the moment, fantastic on record even better live. A band with ideals/style/costumes and a bit of wit. I love the whole gabba circus that gets whipped up when they play. Another album I'm currently in love with is "Surface To Air" by Zombi. If you love John Carpenter and Goblin you'll love this. Synth Horror Prog. YES! YES! YES! Other bands at the moment Crystal Castles, Zom Zoms, Man Man, P.I.L, Copter, Shy Child and Dandy Wind.



What album changed your life and why?

Hard question!
Probably Wire "Pink flag" it showed me that music did exist before Brit Pop and people were having far more exciting ideas years before any of the music I was listening to. Wire turned me on to so much and I thank them for that. "Pink Flag" is such a great punk album, Intelligent, sneering,, nasty, loud, Art- punk. They have obviously inspired us.

A moment in your life and a song that seem so perfectly intertwined in your memory? My whole childhood is linked to Nilsons " The Point!" sunny afternoons in front of my dads stereo, Tomato soup and early afternoon naps. Perfect. But the saddest album to let a child grow up on, its so bleak in places. The track "Are you sleeping?" has the power to break my heart on every listen.


Your proudest achievement so far?

Playing at SXSW and it was my birthday...God that was a FUN week. If it all ends tomorrow I'll feel so proud that we played at the best festival in the world.

If you could erase one single/album from history (your own or someone else's) which would it be and why?

If I get started I'll never stop...


How do you see yourself altering the band and your sound in the future? Is There anything you wish to attempt in the future that's inspiring you right Now?

More keyboards and a more electronic element to the band. I think we want to be a bit more experimental with the next album we've been jamming out some nice Can/ P.I.L style stuff. We've been using an old drum machine and its sounding great. I think its just getting it to a stage were its not boring to watch live.


A rumour you'd like to start about yourself, or one you'd like stopped?

I am neither a Cockney nor an American.


What drives you?

Kevin Rowland, Devo and Bryan Ferry.


What are your fears?

That people can't see the tongue shoved firmly in my cheek.

The revolution comes, who would you like to be first against the wall (and If you're feeling particularly bitchy, a second, third, fourth and so On...)?

The NME.


Best piece of advice you'd give to aspiring musicians, or the best piece of Advice you were given when you started?

Never slag of the town in which you are playing, especially if you're on
stage.

If you're in a car going at the speed of light, and someone turns the Headlamps on, would they do anything?

I'm more worried where the car is going.


Thanx to Joey himself, you star!

We've also been interviewed by PLUG Magazine (sorry Notts only), the interview is probably the most in depth and honest we've ever given...It also features lots of big words, several of which are used twice!

Heres a great review from Roomthirteen.com which got lost in all the critical plaudits...


From the opening track 'Battle of the Electric Tongues' Punish The Atom deliver songs that are raw and packed with off the wall attitude. They have sing a long choruses but they are never conventional and it's refreshing to hear something a little different where the musicians have clearly made a record for themselves without pandering to any sense of commercialism & it sounds all the better for it!

'I Cry Demolition' is not catchy in a conventional way, it's more infectious, they get under your skin and you find yourself getting into it without necessarily being able to recall any of the tracks afterwards! That said there are some great tracks on offer here 'Another Heart Strikes Out' for instance has the kind of off beat riff that DEVO would be proud of but it's coupled with a touch of Fugazi. There is an overt sense of creativity that is prominent in all the songs that gives them a real feel of originality. It's rare that I agree with the description of a band from their press release but you can't really argue when Punish The Atom's describes them as Art-Punk anarchy, that pretty much sums them up in a nutshell!

The majority of the songs are upbeat and never stop to dwell in quiet or mellow interludes, the frenetic pace is maintained throughout and Joey's fairly unique vocal style ensures that there is no let up in their urgency. There is plenty going on in the background too, none of the instruments are overpowering in the mix and on successive listens you'll find yourself discovering something new every time that should keep you hitting the repeat button several times at least. It's on final track 'Do The Demolition' where they really come into their own, at over eight minutes in length it combines all the elements that have been prevalent throughout the album and yet they still manage to inject yet more into this rambling monster of a tune. Taking their cue here from electronic punk crossover bands like P.i.L and early Killing Joke they produce a pretty outstanding track that careers through all manner of styles and finishes the album on a definite high.

The overall impression is one of intense angst fuelled energy, to appreciate it fully you have to give it your full attention, it certainly isn't background music but it's well worth the effort and on this evidence they should be a spectacular live band.

Good bye

Joey xxxxxxx