Discipline

Unlike many ostensibly "punk" bands, Trust Punks are done with attempts to glamourise the advantages that most guitar-toting white boys are born into. The result of this decision is 'Discipline,' a literate and engaging set of songs informed as much by Foucauldian social theory as it is by Fugazi.

'Discipline' is a record about the process of becoming a self-aware human being, realising that there are certain power relations embedded within our society that we are necessarily complicit in to varying degrees. Discipline could refer to the way those power relations are imposed on us from without, but it could also mean coming to terms with privileges we previously took for granted, which can involve regret/shame at our past actions, but also hopefully inspires us to think critically about how the world works and maybe try change what is wrong with it and ourselves.

While from afar, it may appear that Trust Punks are merely the latest weird punk/pop band to emerge out of the storied history of innovators that their home of New Zealand is traditionally known for, the band themselves urge that their work is contextualised more contemporaneously.

Trust Punks certainly have a rawness, a harder edge to them and could easily be compared to some of the previously mentioned bands. But where the hardcore scene may oppose pop, Trust Punks embrace it at times. Some international contemporaries that might draw a better comparison are: Iceage, Total Control, Naomi Punk, Chad VanGaalen, Viet Cong, Deerhunter, and Liars.

The band's seven track debut follows a series of free singles, self-released to their bandcamp. The only track from that early material which made the cut for the album, 'Prone Hold', is a masters touch in skewered pop. The others are all from a series of new recordings, which apparently emerged despite a more-than-healthy dose of self-doubt that the band themselves seem less than comfortable elaborating on.

Even so, Trust Punks have succeeded in creating a 27 minute album that is short and sharp. At some points it is guided by pop (Choker's Era), other times fury (Thicket). While there is more of a sheen to the recording than their earlier releases, it also comes with more purpose, more aggression and more beauty.