Album Review: Rumkicks - Hit A Nerve
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Formed in Seoul, South Korea in 2018, Rumkicks is a trio of young ladies who have dedicated themselves to the punk aesthetic. I’ve managed to catch the band three times at Blackpool’s Rebellion festival and all three times they’ve delivered high-energy performances and always finding themselves higher up the festival bill with each booking.
Their combination of classic punk rock with pop-punk sensibilities made then a firm favourite at Rebellion as the trio seem to be able to effortlessly blend both aspects of their approach into a coherent whole.
With Hit the Nerve, their new and sophomoric record, Rumkicks have continued the project begun on the debut, Born Rude, by serving up eleven slices of K-punk all wrapped in a c.twenty-five-minute run-time.
Beginning with the short sharp We Are Rumkicks, the band’s introduction is based around a solid, military-sounding drum and simple guitars, played at speed and with a belligerent attitude.
Rumkicks revel in delivering the two-minute takes, be they the bubble-gum pop-punk composition of Punk Rock Boy, which feels as though it would have been a sure-fire hit when the genre ruled the airwaves, to the still accessible, but more punk oriented, Instant, Let’s Go and I Can’t Sleep.
By cross-pollinating, Rumkicks can use a more aggressive rhythm sound, while guitarist Jeong Yeawon’s riffs skate delicately over the top. It’s a balancing act that sounds easy to accomplish, but the precise relationship between Jeong and bassist, Choi Seun, pays dividends on my album highlight, Let’s Go, which includes a harder-edged sound, a dirtier presentation and grimy bridges without losing the essence of the poppy, accessible nature of the tune.
This isn’t to say Hit a Nerve is some Offspring or Sum 41 outing, as Rumkick’s punk is rooted in the origins of the scene. Mosquito Fighter is a fast tempo, with rampaging guitars and charging riffs, giving everything a much more mature aspect. Live Slowly, Die Old is similarly positioned with a fast and dirty core and high tempo; Sick of Seoul sounds like two-fingers up toward their hometown, while the only tune here that breaches the three-minute mark, Misery, bounces on Choi’s bassline and is brought to life on Jeong’s strings.
Rumkicks even manage to find some common ground, where the judicial mixing of genres finds some equilibrium. Birthday has a catchy singalong feel as well as a punk attitude, while Do I hides its accessibility behind sharp and edgy guitars.
It is of little concern that Rumkicks are three young Korean ladies, it only matters that they can play and create. They can, and if you like some classic punk vibes that are a little poppy and full of hooks, then you’d do worse than check out Hit the Nerve.
Good review. One coment though is that bassist Choi Seeun left in 2022, concentrating on her other band, Dead Chant. The current bassist is Heynam Sin, who is actually the third bassist since Choi Seeun left.