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Freeplay: Shotgun Democracy
By Megan Carneal
mcarneal@mscd.edu

Download Shotgun Democracy's self-titled EP at http://montyzoomer.blogspot.com.

The United Kingdom has long been offering the world its own style of crass and anarchic punk. All the way across the Atlantic Ocean, the American East Coast has had a different approach to punk, fusing it with hardcore and adding more anthemic elements. With their self-titled EP, Shotgun Democracy has blown away the international differences and are well on their way to becoming the UK’s next big export.

Even though Shotgun Democracy is a British band they sound more like the American East Coast mix of punk and hardcore. In the first track “As Freedom Fails,” they create a style of street punk, much like that of Boston’s The Unseen, by using riffs that are both aggressive and melodic, with fast, muted-chord progressions and hardcore style drumming.

Not only do they sound like many East Coast punk bands that teeter on the edge of hardcore, they also make the same mistakes. Hardcore influence in punk has always been a great merge of genres, but getting the right combination can be tricky. Shotgun Democracy has added hardcore style drumming, lyrics and some guitar to their punk base.

Hardcore is more musically complex than punk, so adding hardcore-style drumming can give depth and variation. Since punk usually has an up-beat tempo, adding hardcore lyrics?which tend to be insightful and, oddly enough, sensitive—can make a track sound more like emo or pop punk. They also gain more of a post-hardcore sound from their unstructured guitar transitions and echoed riffs.

Even with the minor blunders that can come from incorporating hardcore styles, Shotgun Democracy proves they are still punk by using the tried and true technique of playing three super-fast chords, and yelling out their disdain for the current state of things.