Shipyards - About Light LP

Waterslide / Imakinn (2024, Reissue)

Here we have the companion to last Monday's post.  About Lights is the second Shipyards full length and has also been lovingly brought to vinyl for the first time by the kind folks at Waterslide and Imakinn.  The album originally came out in 2014 and while it was their sophomore effort, it was the first album of theirs that I had heard.

And I just loved it.  It's that strain of melodic punk that firmly fits into the Snuffy Smile vein that started in the 90s.  It's everything that I love about Japanese punk rock.  They're writing catchy punk songs, but these songs are crafted so expertly and played so perfectly it's just stunning.  Everything about it is pefect.  The recording and performances are rough enough that they're authentic, but it never sounds lo fi or under recorded.  Every song rides that line and the end result is everything that I love about this style of music.

I don't feel that there are many bands making records like this anymore.  To be fair, even this one came out 11 years ago at this point.  Regardless, Shipyards should be lauded and celebrated for crafting the perfect 90s punk record that just so happened to have come out in 2014.  I can only hope that at some point we'll get another gem like this from them.  I'll be anxiously waiting.

Shipyards - About Light:
https://watersliderecords.bandcamp.com/album/shipyards-about-lights

Shipyards - Night of Fire LP

Waterslide / Imakinn (2024, Reissue)

I couldn't have been more excited when I found out that Waterslide records was going to reissue the two amazing Shipyards records on vinyl.  There's a specific strain of Japanese punk rock that is peerless when it comes to bands that I love, but it is also a scene that has not had nearly as many full length vinyl releases as others that I enjoy.  There's the occasional release here and there, but for the most part, CD is still the king.  I'm hopeful that the release of the two Shipyards records, the first of which I'm writing about today, will usher in a golden age of reissues.

Night of Fire originally was released in 2012, though I didn't hear it until after I had gotten a hold of their second album.  It's a classic melodic punk album that brings together all of the elements that makes me love bands like this.  The album is full of riffs that follow unique chord changes that keep you guessing.  The impassioned vocals that are a little strained at times, but never dissolve into screaming for the sake of it. Everything just feels genuine in a way that keeps me engaged.  And the incredible hooks and choruses always get my head nodding or drumming along on my steering wheel or whatever other surface is around when I'm listening.

I realize that this album is a little old at this point as 2012 was 13 years ago, but this still feels like a new record to me.  It's the sort of thing that I can go back to over and over again and it always sounds fresh and relevant.  I'm glad they have two albums out (the second of which I'll write about next week), but it just makes me wish they had more and that other bands were following suit and making incredible music like this.

Shipyards - Night of Fire :
https://watersliderecords.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-fire