Track Review: Nice While It Lasted // The Qwarks
Described as “exceptional” (Music For All), “…one of the best proto-punk sounds you will ever hear’ (TJPL News) and “charging forth with their unique sounds into the future of music” (Red Rock Magazine), I think it’s safe to say The Qwarks are making a good impression. Eclectic, unique and obscure, the UK-based group have a sound of their own. Not knowing where to place them genre-wise, if it is possible to place them at all, Phil Johnstone (vocals/ guitar), Simon Young (bass) and Nick Flowers (drums) are a force to be reckoned with. The latest addition to their discography is the single ‘Nice While It Lasted’.
Following a busy year of releases, The Qwarks polished off 2022 in style with their kaleidoscopic ‘Nice While It Lasted’. As I mentioned, the trio are difficult to categorise and their new song is evidence of their experimental nature. Almost schizophrenic in its style, there are movements from brash and abrupt to smooth and flowing within the melody. Tinges of punk meld with glam-rock and classic rock wrapped in a psychedelic sonic package. The interspersed trumpet brings a hint of funk-rock charm to ‘Nice While It Lasted’, but it is really the haziness of their vocals and easy sing-along nature that makes it fun. The almost drunken slur of their lyricism brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.
Speaking about the year past, The Qwarks say that it was pretty good while it lasted; however, this light-hearted comment scratches the surface of the lyrical depth. Inspired by life and humanity in its entirety, ‘Nice While It Lasted’ looks at contagious societal phenomena, like social media, leaving people “staring into devices getting enraged at things designed to enrage them, division continues and madness increases…” Yet, at the same time, these anxiety-ridden themes are slathered with an upbeat, danceable, hyped-up melody. The Qwarks explain that the song is “fun and defiant…things are ending but what beauty is there to be felt…take a moment, breath it in, lift up your hearts, let us sing”
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