Punch is an American
punk rock band that formed in 2006.
The San Francisco-based band's lyrics discuss topics such as
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet (nutrition), diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is kn ...
,
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
,
and also shares members with the bands
Loma Prieta
Loma Prieta (from Spanish ''loma'' -hill, ''prieta'' -dark) is high and is the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California.
Although the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was named for this mountain, the actual epicenter was ...
and Living Eyes.
Punch co-released several EPs and LPs through local indie labels
625 Thrashcore
Max Ward, occasionally playing under the moniker of Hirax Max, is an American power violence and thrashcore musician, playing for such bands as Spazz, Plutocracy, Capitalist Casualties, What Happens Next?, Bombs of Death, and Scholastic Deth. ...
and Discos Huelga before signing to
Jacob Bannon
Jacob Bannon (born October 15, 1976) is an American musician who is the vocalist, lyricist and graphic artist for the metalcore band Converge. He is the co-founder and owner of the record label Deathwish Inc. and the author of many visual works ...
's (
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
,
Supermachiner
Supermachiner was an experimental music project that Jacob Bannon and Ryan Parker began writing for in 1994 and soon became a collection of four track recordings. When Converge (band), Converge had about six months of down time as the band searche ...
) label
Deathwish Inc. in 2011.
Punch guitarist Keeth began writing for the band's third studio album in late 2013, and the full group came together in early 2014. Punch entered the studio with
Jack Shirley
Jack Shirley is a Grammy Award nominated American record producer, audio engineer and musician. He is known for his analog driven aesthetic, and work with eclectic artists, including Deafheaven, whose 2013 sophomore album ''Sunbather'' received wi ...
(
Deafheaven
Deafheaven is an American post-metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following i ...
,
Joyce Manor
Joyce Manor is an American punk rock band from Torrance, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. Since their formation, the band hav ...
) and recorded a new album in three days in March/April 2014.
Vocalist Meghan O'Neil described the band's mindset while writing the album: "This may sound weird, but we came into this one differently by saying to ourselves 'this is going to be our best record.' Just believing that and putting the extra time in to practice and tweak the songs. I also slightly changed my vocal approach and was happy with the results."
The album, titled ''They Don't Have to Believe'', was released on August 19, 2014 through Deathwish.
O'Neil said the title was derived from
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band B ...
's (
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered th ...
,
Le Tigre
Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest ...
) speech at the end of the 2013 documentary film ''
The Punk Singer
''The Punk Singer'' is a 2013 documentary film about feminist singer Kathleen Hanna who fronted the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and who was a central figure in the riot grrrl movement. Directed by filmmaker Sini Anderson and produced by An ...
''. She said the title is "an ode to being unapologetically yourself," and in the film's speech, Hanna said: "she doesn't expect everyone to understand or believe in feminism or her personal battle with illness, but they should have to stay out of her way."
''They Don't Have to Believe'' was well received by music critics,
and peaked at number 50 on ''
Billboards
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart.
Only a couple of weeks after the release of ''They Don't Have to Believe'', O'Neil left the band in September 2014.
After Punch, O'Neil joined a new band called
Super Unison (named after a
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy an ...
song) in late 2014, and released a self-titled EP in May 2015.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Punch'' (2009)
* ''Push Pull'' (2010)
* ''They Don't Have to Believe'' (2014)
EPs
* ''Eyeless'' (2008)
* ''Nothing Lasts'' (2011)
References
External links
*
Punchon
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
Punch discographyon
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
Punch discographyon
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2006
Deathwish Inc. artists
Musical groups from San Francisco
2006 establishments in California
Hardcore punk groups from California