New Town Animals Are Relic Punk

The New Town Animals don’t pretend to be anything fancy — they readily admit that they just play the old-school type of punk music they’ve listened to all their lives. And now they want you to witness their soundtrack to juvenile delinquency. New Town guitar-player, Jeff McCloy, is simply being frank when he says that there is nothing particularly unique about the band. "It’s not like we’re trying to change the world or anything like that," he says. "It’s totally unrealistic to assume that you’re going to break any new musical ground at this point in the game." McCloy, calling himself a "relic," thinks current music is boring so he doesn’t keep up on the who’s who of the music industry. "Like rap-rock and boy bands… both of those things are two of the grossest things that have happened in a long time," he says. McCloy says that when that sort of unpleasantness happens in the music industry, those who disapprove will fight back, and things like punk music are a by-product of that. It happened in the ’70s and it will always happen when crappy music takes over the airwaves. "[Punk Rock] was a total revolt against all those horrible bands in the ’70s so, theoretically, you’re doing the same thing," McCloy says. "What you’re doing has already been done but you’re doing it because it’s still just as horrible." Listening to The New Town Animals is certainly like taking a trip to a British punk show in the early days. For these boys, it’s all about having fun, and if people are having fun, then New Town has done its job. "Quite frankly, I think people spend too much time picking apart what they get in their music," McCloy says. "I hope they don’t really get anything from [our music]. I hope they just like it and if they don’t, then don’t listen to it. It’s as simple as that." New Town Animal tour dates:February 22 Victoria, BC @ TBAFebruary 23 Vancouver, BC TBAFebruary 28 London, ON @ Call The OfficeMarch 2 Toronto, ON @ The Horseshoe Tavern—April Labine