At a time when a lot of the music is flimsy, prefabricated, or even nonsensical, some things never change.
Punk rock was the education we got about social injustice when other genres were unwilling and still mostly unwilling to talk about it.
As it has been handed down one generation to another, Naga City’s the Class have taken up that mantle of these angry street partisans.
Formed in 2010, the trio of Andio Encilla (vocals, guitars), Phing Tuason (bass, vocals), and Francis Francis (drums) previously put out three albums on streaming – Fast, Loud, and Drunk in 2015, Seven Years of F****** Punk Rock (2017), and Pulang Demonyo in 2019.
Now, they’ll reach out to another audience altogether with their self-titled extended play single release on vinyl this end of November from underground punk rock label Mutilated Noise Records.
The EP features two new tracks – “Panatiko” and “Gago” with the flipside tracks – “Soluyson Ka Ba O Problema” and “Pramis” taken from a digital EP release from 2017 titled, Chapter VII.
“Our songs are usually about skateboarding, corrupt politicians, and socio-political problems,” said Francis.
Coming off the heels of Mutilated Noise’s successful vinyl releases of The Jerks on 45 as well as Betrayed’s Then & Now, The Class is a return to a release more underground. Previously, they also put out the Ex-Senadors’ scathing mini-album Kamatayan O Kalayaan on seven-inch vinyl.
“It feels great to be noticed by a respected label such as Mutilated Noise. It’s a big accomplishment for us,” added Francis.
“As a band, putting up your songs on vinyl is a dream come true. That makes you a tangible part of music history. And besides the recent resurgence of vinyl, not many bands still get to be put out on vinyl. Mutilated Noise has given us the confidence and the belief to know that our songs are good enough to be put on vinyl.”
The four-song EP will be out this end of November on standard black seven-inch vinyl. Fans of the Class, punk rockers, and vinyl enthusiasts may inquire at Mutilated Noise Records’ Facebook page on how to acquire this new Pinoy punk release.