REVIEW: Bruise Control - Bruise Control

Manchester’s BRUISE CONTROL are quickly carving out a name for themselves on the punk scene, and this new EP makes it easy to see why. They mix the raw punch of late hardcore with jagged, restless indie guitars, and it hits like they’re playing right in your living room. The vocals cut through every track with sharp, no-nonsense energy, driving the songs forward while never letting the chaos run wild. By the end, it’s clear. BRUISE CONTROL are a band with confidence, bite, and a sound that’s only going to get bigger. 

BRUISE CONTROL gets straight to it. It's a six track EP. No breathing space. No attempt to clean things up for the sake of it. This is DIY punk in its natural state. Tense, rough around the edges, and fuelled by the kind of pressure that doesn’t politely wait its turn. Be Like You comes flying out first, all noise and nervous energy. It’s scrappy, loud, and charged with that end of the week head’s gone feeling. The kind of release you need before everything tips over. There’s no gentle intro, no build-up. You’re dropped right in the middle of it. Left Behind bites harder. Written after the loss of Manchester’s Brunswick Mill rehearsal space, there’s real frustration running through it. The guitars feel tighter, more pointed, and the drums push everything forward with purpose. It sounds like a band watching their city change for the worse and refusing to shrug it off. There’s anger here, but it’s controlled. It's not just volume for the sake of volume. It's speaking to be heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeOZg2GwtzU

Spinners Mill and Gone To Ground keep the pressure up. The riffs groove and twist, the rhythm section barely lets the songs settle, and there’s this constant feeling that things might fall apart at any second. It’s the sound of burnout and carrying on anyway, of being stretched thin but still moving. If You’re Not Mine hits the deepest. It’s got a hook that stays with you, but it doesn’t smooth out the rough parts to get there. There’s a push and pull to it. Desperate, urgent, and completely believable. You can already see how this one goes off live. Bodies crammed together, sweat dripping from the ceiling, every word coming back at the stage twice as loud. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0Av8YGygU

Jumping Ship closes things out without any big dramatic finish. Instead, it feels drained, not defeated, just worn down. It’s the sound of someone stepping back for a second because they’ve got nothing left to give. A low-burn ending that suits the record perfectly. This self titled EP doesn’t aim for perfection. It aims to be heard, and that’s exactly why it works. It captures a band in the moment, still wired, still frustrated, still loud. BRUISE CONTROL aren’t pretending to have solutions. They’re just letting it out and sometimes that’s the most honest thing you can do. 

Score: 9/10

Bruise Control will be released on 20th February via Republic of Music

Words: Jack Norris

Photos: Lauren Quarmby