Shield Recordings

Hardly an unknown entity to yours truly, this Dutch Hardcore/ Punk act from Utrecht, as I've been honoured to review the band's two earlier releases (full-length The Verve Crusade and mini-album/ 10-inch Repent. Repeat, reviews for which were posted respectively on 18/04/2010 and 18/08/2012 – both are still available for your fact-finding needs in this website's “Archive” section). It would seem that the band has been about to give things up, being put at a crossroads where they were either gonna go for things all the way, or lay it all to rest.

In 2011 four friends picked up their musical instruments and started to jam, influenced on the one side by older artists such as Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, and on the other side by contemporaries The Gaslight Anthem, Social Distortion, The Loved Ones and Alkaline Trio. Within a year, the guys played an impressive 50 shows and built up a fierce live reputation...and all of that without even a recording to their name!

I made my acquaintance with this Dutch Pop Punk band some 3 years ago at the opportunity of the release of the band's 2^nd album Making Enemies (review posted 23/05/2010, and still available for your fact-finding scrutiny in this same website's "Archive" section), and I daresay I had a nice time getting to know 'em, even if the album only made 80/100 in my rating system.