Degenerate Nonsense – Diamonds and Guns

Diamonds and Guns are back with their new EP Degenerate Nonsense, following up on 2023’s Making Cash For Heartless Crooks. That was an EP that impressed me, with its tempo, slightly melancholy lyrics and a pretty unique sound coming from a Swedish punk rock band.

With that in mind I started to listen to this new offering. And the sound is still there. That Hot Water Music-esque, mid-tempo punkrock, with a growling sounding frontman in the same vein as Chuck Ragan. The band certainly still shows a good sense of melodies and arrangements. It took me a few more listens than I remember I needed for the previous EP to get into it, but it has slowly won me over.

Lyrically it still has that reminiscing feeling, keeping the melancholy that I thought could be heard on the first EP. There’s a small political message in Old Songs, but Diamonds and Guns are still far from a political band. Half of the songs are about looking back on life as a teenager, about freedom, rebellion and life-choices. Thieves On Holiday got a bit of a Bonnie and Clyde feeling going on, might be the lyrically weakest song of the bunch, but makes up for it with the music, that is a bit more metal inspired. Kings and Queens of the Outcast Teens brings a little bit of emo-punk into the mix. My favourite track is Backseat Driver, which has an awesomely catchy chorus, and a bit of a poppy sound (the band themselves says they’re flirting with Lady Gaga on it, I haven’t listened to her in years so I can’t testify to that though).

I don’t know if it’s my age catching up with me, but I had to ask the band for a lyrical sheet, because I had a hard time catching all the lyrics at times. I think I did the same thing for the previous release, so it might have to do with the growly delivery, which I do enjoy though. That, together with the sometimes slightly poor grasp of the English language is my nit-picks for the release. But who am I to talk about the later though, frequently butchering the English language in these texts. Those things are also easily forgotten when you turn off the analytical thinking and just enjoy the music. The energy is there, the dynamics and it’s sonically easy on the ears.

All in all, Diamonds and Guns have created another really good EP in Degenerate Nonsense. Keeping their sound and lyrical style, while polishing the production a bit. Mixing influences from a range of subgenres, but delivering it in their own style. I’ll end the review in the same way the band ends the EP, “Diamonds and Guns baby!”.