Washington D.C. and its surrounding neighborhoods are synonymous with punk rock. This specific area of the country has produced some of the most groundbreaking bands the genre has ever seen, culminating in small scenes across D.C. While plenty of neck-breaking LPs fueled by angst were birthed out of the 80s, not every band was blessed with longevity. The amount of failed hopefuls that were left in the dust of these blooming scenes is countless, but every now and again, a second wind breezes through the nation’s capital. Thanks to the good people over at Sea Note and Drag City, a forgotten punk project is gracing the internet in an explosion of blistering tempos and ahead-of-their-time pure punk. Skam was only active between 1980 and 1983, those three years saw the band play a handful of shows, gain small recognition within their respective scene, and disappear, until now. No Name is the official debut LP of Skam, the D.C.-based punk group who were only around a short time but formulated a futuristic take on early punk.
The 17 songs that make up No Name showcase a band far ahead of their time. Skam’s chugging bass lines and keen sense of melody evoke the feeling of pop punk before the term entered the lexicon. Their youthful energy penetrates time and emerges in 2023 with enough charisma and pure musicianship to make up for the decades these records were dormant. Skam plays with a palpable urgency but these songs appear relaxed as the tension they build is broken up by fiery guitar solos and gripping drum patterns. While Skam may have cut their teeth in the legendary D.C. scene, they quickly separated themselves from the other legendary punk groups that emerged from this era. No Name is a raw, gritty look into the early days of punk and the creative process of a band with seemingly limitless potential.
Skam’s official greeting to the world is one of explosive proportions. Everything from the moments of pure thrashing to the layered harmonies is driven by youthful energy and a blank slate. The band was able to take the tropes of punk and reconfigure them into firework-style arrangements and throat-scratching vocals that grab your attention and refuse to let go until the last note is played. The title track welcomes you to this LP, it is a delightfully aggressive welcome mat to the world of Skam. You can hear the rawness of the backing vocals add crunchy textures to the chanting hook, it is songs like this that make No Name an essential listen to anyone who claims to be a punk.
The rest of the LP follows this same sonic juxtaposition of Skam’s frantic playing and their heaven-sent harmonies. A song like “Search and Destroy” showcases the band’s high-flying guitar work as a backing track for some of the album’s most intimate songwriting. The way the band is able to make their small punk project sound larger than life is a true testament to their craftsmanship. The lyrics of No Name evoke this era of punk’s signature angst and disdain for a conventional lifestyle, aiming their pen at things like capitalism and conventional religion.
