Catchiest songs of the year? These are certainly up there with the best of them!
The trials and tribulations of life have inspired many a great record, and ‘The Day Job Gets in The Way’ is a case in point. It’s the sixth album from Leeds trio Nervous Twitch, who combine the urgency of first-wave punk with jangly power-pop melodies that wouldn’t sound out of place on a C86 compilation. They’re doing more or less what they’ve always done, true, but they’re doing it very well.
As ever, their strength is the way they mix often world-weary and jaded-sounding lyrics with music that absolutely overflows with vitality. Vocalist/bassist Erin certainly doesn’t sound impressed as she takes aim at work obligations (the title track) and people who wrongly think themselves to be hilarious (‘Funny Bones’), but the way those guitars fizz and crackle…ooh, it doesn’t half make you feel alive.
It’s hard to pick favourites from such a strong set of songs, but ultimately we’d have to go for the duo of ‘Knitting With Anger’, with its glorious 60s girl-group vibes, and the highly danceable pop-punk rush of ‘Love 4 Me 2’. Elsewhere, ‘Rolling With The Punches’ is powered by a highly addictive riff, and the slower ‘The Man With His Head In The Sand’ comes drenched in guitar fuzz, sounding all the better for it.
We’ve probably listened to ‘The Day Job Gets In The Way’ about eight times over already, and each time it sounds even better than before. Goodness knows it’s good enough to really make things happen for Nervous Twitch, and goodness knows they deserve it. They’re a hard-touring bunch, and these songs will probably sound even better live, so…you know what to do.
All Photos: ANDICHRIST
- Don’t Get In Touch
- Game You’re Playing
- The Day Job Gets In The Way
- Knitting With Anger
- Love 4 Me 2
- Funny Bones
- Some People Have It All
- My Mum’s An Anarchist
- Rolling With The Punches
- You Really Let Me Down
- The Man With His Head In The Sand
- Alright John
- Minor Characters
Follow Nervous Twitch on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Pansy Division, London The Lexington, 9th July 2026
Pansy Division are finally back in town after nearly three decades, and they waste no time, getting us pogoing away to the introductory salvo of
Video premiere: Punk trio Gulls come out fighting on new single ‘Womb Raider’!
Brighton trio Gulls bring their own brand of Punk-Rock-Poem-Pop to new single ‘Womb Raider’, which highlights the struggle for bodily autonomy and the political forces
Punk Rock Creatives Podcast – June 2026 Update!
June was a month of getting out there and supporting the Punk community for Punk Rock Creatives Podcast, alongside special guests Trystan O’Connell of Bullitz23
EP Review – By the power of the coffee bean, Thronk! unleash ‘Kick Me While I’m Down’ to the masses
Self-described power-punk trio Thronk! are Newport/Weston-Super-Mare based, and their drummer, Rich Brown, was the original Split Dogs drummer. New 5-track EP ‘Kick Me While I’m
Interview: London’s Healthy Junkies on new single ‘Oh La La’ and their 2026 plans
On the eve of their latest single – ‘Oh L La’ – launch, Ruth caught up with London Alt-punks Healthy Junkies to discuss the single,
Compelling new ‘50 Years of Punk’ documentary captures the full controversy of the time!
A fascinating, thought-provoking and sometimes shocking insights into the 1976-7 Punk explosion, Mark Sloper’s documentary film ’50 Years of Punk’ hits a screen near you
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
