A Tribute to the Manchester Punk Scene – Little Punks Volume 1

The one year anniversary of Little Punk Records brought the debut compilation record Little Punk Records Vol. 1 (2025). Little Punk Records are an independent grassroots record label formed in Manchester in 2024. With a strong ethos of fairness, Little Punk Records have always aimed  to diversify the punk scene and make it more accessible and safer for bands with female and queer members, and those from underrepresented backgrounds. Being punk, it turns out, isn’t about social media or streaming, but about paying bands properly and offering fair ticket prices. Run by the members of Ancient Good Stuff, Angie and Gustavo, they brought together an array of local talents who brought so many different styles to this record. The week before release day, Little Punk Records hosted an exclusive first listening party, so I ventured down to Spirit Studios in Manchester ready to celebrate this amazing debut release. 

Everyone was gathered in excitement to hear this unique compilation of  songs for the first time with friends in what was a lovely cosy atmosphere. It felt intimate and special as the energy around the room was bouncing around the walls in anticipation. It felt like such a wonderful way to celebrate a year of Little Punk Records with all these contributions from varying artistic styles fostered in a grassroots environment.

Track 1: ‘Nervous’ – Humongous Fungus

Humongus Fungus are a desert-flavoured alternative rock trio and, after chatting with them after the record finished, it was clear to see how thrilled they were to open this record. ‘Nervous’ tackles the idea of overwhelming feelings of love that can detach oneself from the world , and the feeling of being isolated in your mind. Kicking off with sinister guitar and bass riffs, there is an immediate tension that becomes an overarching theme across the record. The sudden explosion into the bridge before the chorus brought Metallica-style riffs and Foo Fighters-esque vocals. It’s such an exciting song with echoing drums, well blended joint vocals, and simplistic but effective guitar riffs. I loved the guitar solo at the end with its distortion and constant up and down movements that closed out the song.

Track 2: ‘What’s A Girl.’ – Open Fly

Open Fly are all about having a great friendship and making lots of noise but always keeping things DIY. The song is about not being respected as a woman and being really angry about it, a sentiment highly relatable for many in the music industry, as well as many others. Building from Humongus Fungus, this second track had another strong intro, short and sweet, with plenty of distortion and hardcore punk style drumming straight out of the early 2000s. The verses switched into what felt more like 70s style riffs with powerful vocals throughout the song that overarched the wall of sound. What really made this song feel complete was the screeches that added an extra layer to the build up before the final chorus on top of this record’s impalpable tension.

Track 3: ‘Happy Little Life’ – Woke Nonsense

Woke Nonsense spawned from the idea of combining blends of Riotgirl punk and shoegaze and their contribution to this record was the perfect showcase of these opposing natures. This is a song of metaphors, the idea of worrying about all the time and energy you put into something/someone and whether it will pay off; juxtaposing with uplifting motifs and making the best of any hardship. It tackles stereotypical expectations of women and how to never give up on something you want to achieve no matter how much it hurts. They had the most warming introduction to a song which reminded me of ‘Everlong’ by Foo Fighters. High powered guitar solos interrupted this warm opening before launching into shaky style vocals that blended with spoken word. In the bridge, it featured a complete cut in all the instruments so all you could hear was vocals and this fleeting moment was enough to excite the instruments back in at high speed to close out the song.

Track 4: ‘Still Bleed Red’ – Banana Undertones

Keeping up the high standards, this record has exhibited so far with probably my favourite band name is Banana Undertones with ‘Still Bleed Red’, a track that has had quite an evolution across its history. From name changes such as ‘Red Trickle’ and its topic of menstruation, its one constant was the guitar riff which was written when vocalist Yanat Mengisha was in sixth form. A year ago, the lyrics were rewritten to focus on fleeting love. It asks the question of whether love is permanent or is it worth it to love at all. This song produces a positive answer to those questions as the ‘narrator’ believes even though one may be heartbroken; it is a privilege to love in the first place. Once again, this was another song with a captivating intro that felt very much like a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club riff. The contrasting tempos and vocals in this song blended so well with shaky quiet vocals in the intro and the sudden switch to a rapid pace with shouting assertive vocals that portrayed the story of the song. 

Track 5: ‘Useless’ – Box Wine

Reaching the middle of the record with an immediate vibe change from the outro of the preceding song was ‘Useless’ by Box Wine. The bridge is from over 4 years ago, when guitarist Tom was inspired by the bouncing rhythms of the trains passing by where he lived. The title comes from issues in the world invoking a sense of uselessness and feeling nothing anyone does will make a difference. But the lyrics encourage people to do something because if you want change then you have to make it happen and that’s a message everyone should get behind and feels truly ideological to punk. There was no nonsense with this song with a super short power riff launching straight into vocals and booming drums. The chorus had beautiful harmonies singing “useless” repeatedly to make a simple but effective chorus. The middle of the song shortly builds up tension before launching into a bridge with those characteristic single-string verses and fuzzy tones throughout. The sudden end to the song was the perfect round up to finish.

Track 6: ‘Wet/Hot’ – Dierotica

Dierotica are a gothgaze band which made me realise we need more gothgaze! Lead guitarist Jessie wrote this song back when the band were only a trio before the additions of Pol on drums and Willow on bass, the latter who’s also in Humongus Fungus and helped produce this record. Their contribution to the record tackles when Jessie was out with someone she had a crush on, but they spilt a drink on her! This anecdote inspired the chorus lyrics “set me alight, case me in ice.” If trans lesbian crushes aren’t what they’re about then they don’t know what is! ‘Wet/Hot’ was my favourite tune off the record with its haunting, dominating nature. They had the most unique introduction with just a xylophone playing before the other instruments creeped in to amalgamate to create a gloomy atmosphere. There was such a desperation in the vocals that added to this doom and gloom atmosphere which ended in a beautifully cyclical manner with the xylophone.

Track 7: ‘Down Under’ – Bleep Test

Bleep Test emerged in 2022 to write an anti-landlord post-punk anthem, a song I think most people need in their lives. These guys can be viewed as a multi-headed campy-goth-punk beast who made ‘Down Under’ on the back of their synthesiser player Sofia moved to New Zealand for a year. It blends New Zealand ‘travelogue’ with UK sulk that was made across opposing time zones. This tune was a combination of hefty groovy and whimsy music with very flamboyant vocals throughout the song. It was the funkiest tune on the record with synths laying the foundation of this bluesy new-wave tune. 

Track 8: ‘Your Worst Nightmare’ – Ancient Good Stuff

Ancient Good Stuff are originally from Argentina, and they moved to Manchester in 2018. They started in lockdown whilst standing up for what they believe in such as rights for discriminated minorities. Their track ‘Your Worst Nightmare’ explores the acceptance of becoming a force with chaos. Frontwoman Angie was fed up with trying to meet everyone else’s expectations and being silenced so this is an anthem for the unapologetically free women who are society’s worst nightmare. This is such a hyperactive song with a huge wall of sound despite only using bass and drums with no support from any guitar whatsoever. Their vocals blend beautifully and I love the laughter in the bridge syncing with the drums before launching into the final chorus of what can only be described as a short and sweet song.

Track 9:‘Divine’ – Moss Valley

Moss Valley have been friends since university and after switching around their instrument roles, they settled on their current set up in September 2024. They’re all Celtic so themes of nature and mysticism can be felt throughout their music. ‘Divine’ tackles the inherent patriarchal fear and control the witch trials brought. The song gives voice to the rage the victims would’ve felt and fighting back against the systems that tried to silence them which has parallels to the society of today. The song has an in-your-face shock factor guitar intro that hooks you in straight away with this unforgettable tension. The way the vocals blended with the guitar gave this smooth ethereal atmosphere in the verses. This contradicted the ghostly vocals that faced the rapid guitar and drums in the bridge to keep you on your toes as you listened. 

Overall, this was an exceptional record that respected and showed tribute to the roots of the punk scene of the 70s and for these bands to be part of the Manchester scene felt poetic in reference to iconic gigs like the Lesser Free Trade Hall gig in 1976. All bands did an incredible job to keep this gripping tension that you couldn’t ignore across the whole record and the excitement I felt rippling through the room as attendees moshed to the songs and were beaming when they realised their song was on the speakers. The Listening Party was such a special evening to be a part of, and everyone’s energy was so infectious that you couldn’t not be buzzing yourself for the record to be in everyone else’s hands.

Words by Ruby Macklin