Brighton has been the birthplace of many bands; Phinius Gage, Fighting Fiction, and, more recently, Tall Ships. The latest act to come from the city is Hellwinners, a punk rock band that has been created by members of Brides (a band championed by NME) and River Jumpers.

The self-titled EP, which can be downloaded from Bandcamp for free, is full of energetic verses, punk rock hooks and big choruses. Whilst focusing on melodies, the band stay true to their punk rock roots with duel vocal battles and manage to make the EP sound different yet consistent.

The EP does seem to run out of steam towards the end, and there is nothing really that makes Hellwinners stand out; nothing unique, no distinctiveness. The highlight of the EP is the first track “Living like Statues” and if the record was full of songs like this, the release would be an even bigger treat than it is.

The four tracks on the EP are all good, and have that punk rock fun and feel good factor about them, however, they don’t seem to have any change in tempo, and the result is that the end up sounding too much like each other – yet it’s a record you will be more than happy to listen to on repeat.

– Si Watten