Last year, members of Mean Girls and Half Price took a trip to Slovenia to attend the annual Punk Rock Holiday festival. Not long after, both bands were booked to play the festival, and now they’ve released a joint EP to further commemorate their fruitful collaboration.
Split Personalities, a meeting of worlds that epitomises the “same same but not same” of punk, serves as a window to the past, the present and the future of local punk music.
The EP is a fascinating mix of similarities and contrasts, best illustrated in the way both bands tackle various themes. “The Forgotten Future” – Half Price’s first politically charged tune in almost two decades – delivers a scathing commentary on the state of the country’s education system. Similarly, Mean Girls open with “Reverse Crusade,” a gritty anti-indoctrination anthem.
The two songs showcase the similarities between Half Price’s satirical ska sound and Mean Girls’ skate punk style. And, together, they embody punk’s quintessential anti-establishment attitude.
Mean Girls continue with socio-political themes encapsulating modern life on “Drain” – a punchy offering dealing with impostor syndrome and depression. Last up is “Not Yours” – a track about “taking back power, fighting against objectification and reclaiming bodily autonomy,” says Mean Girls guitarist and vocalist Carrie Anne Robertson.
Against these socially reflective efforts is Half Price’s more personal presentation of punk. “Friends and Family”, featuring Archi Alert, Alex Muller, Rene Traut, Lee Lips and Ross da Bone, is a feel good anthem celebrating the band’s love for partying, dating as far back as 2008. The track eventually morphs into “Southbound” – a nostalgic look at things the band did when they first started out.
“We all fit under a punk banner, but we still have different sounds within that,” says Robertson. Split Personalities offers something for everyone, from relatable angst to a jovial celebration of life. The two bands have successfully played around with a concept very seldom explored today, and simply hope that listeners will find the sense of community that exists within the local punk scene.
After a national tour that included travelling through a flood, almost sleeping at a petrol station and a vehicle breaking down in the Karoo, both bands are off to Europe this month. See the tour dates below:
26 July – Fürth: Kopf und Kragen (DE)
27 July – Minden: Papagei (DE)
28 July – Coesfeld: Die Pampa (DE)
29 July – Hannover: Nordstadtbraut (DE)
1 Aug – Hof: Punkrock Partykeller (DE)
2 Aug – Ulm: Beteigeuze (DE)
3 Aug – Augsburg: Krätzwerk (DE)
5-9 Aug – Punk Rock Holiday Festival (SI)
If Split Personalities is anything to go by, I think it’s safe to say that local punk is alive, thriving and kicking down doors.
