It is always very tricky to review a band like PERSHING BOYS. I assume that because of their longevity and because they formed in 1985, they must have an aura locally that cannot quite be grasped from the outside, and therefore the perspective that someone familiar with their status holds is necessarily different to mine. I had never heard of the band and was never much of a Deutschpunk expert, so here we go. They are from Konstanz, South Germany, and this is their new EP, with four songs of beefy hardcore punk with lyrics in German. The production is probably too polished and clean for its own good and is lacking in aggression, especially in the band’s faster moments. However, the clever songwriting highlights the band’s energy, reminiscent of the classic German punk bands that combined melodies with direct angry punk. PERSHING BOYS manage to remain quite catchy, whether through dark choruses or epic guitar leads (there are quite a few of them, be prepared), and the songs are never dull—overall, the mood is quite dark and the EP works. I love the introduction to the last song “Fortschritt” that sounds incredibly epic and triumphant and could have been lifted from a legendary Japanese hardcore record. I suspect fans of Deutschpunk, those who have a genuine connection with the genre, will enjoy this, because it is objectively a fine EP.
