IF you want to fill your speakers with sharp, loud and sometimes funny political rap-rock this Xmas, I suggest you buy as much Bob Vylan product as you can.
 
I’ll try to tell you how Bob Vylan sounds by pointing to the ways they are like some other bands in the political rock rap area, but comparisons only take you so far, because they are also very like themselves. The duo are made up of singer-guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer, Bobbie Vylan.

This band-members-all-with- nearly-the-same-name-as-the-band is not their only atypical feature: when I caught the band in Southampton last month, lead singer Bobby Vylan announced “We will be starting this gig, like all our gigs, with a moment of yoga stretching and meditation, and you are welcome to join us” and preceded to do just that, to a low guitar hum.

It is a sign of how Bob Vylan isn’t afraid of being 100 per cent “right on,” but can also carry their “right on” views with good-natured humour as well as fierce anger.
 
Musically the band see themselves a mash-up of punk rock and grime-y rap. The punky guitar sound is of the hardcore, slightly metal-y kind — enough for them to play well at hard rock festivals like Download. The rapping and singing are full-on political, with slogan-y choruses backed by plenty of wordplay.

As the oldest guy at the gig, my reference points can be a bit historical, but in some ways, they reminded me of the shouty, political rap-metal you get with Rage Against the Machine or Ice T’s hard rock band Body Count. Bobby Vylan is a charismatic presence and a sharp lyricist.
 
For those with long memories, they have a bit of a feel of The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, who also mixed political rap with a more abrasive sound than Michael Franti’s later work (quite literally — when I saw the Disposable Heroes, their onstage instruments included an industrial angle grinder).
 
Bob Vylan has been running since 2017. They’ve released two albums on their own label because mainstream record companies wouldn’t be comfortable pushing tracks with titles like Lynch Your Leaders or lyrics like “The BBC/Are talking about the GDP/That means fuck all to me/I gotta eat!” They’ve built a very solid following from the grassroots up. Their second album got into the top 20 charts and won Kerrang Magazine’s best album of 2022.
 
You can (and should) buy both of their first two albums, We Live Here (2020) and Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life (2022) as digital downloads from Bandcamp. I’d recommend getting the “deluxe” editions: the extras are worth the small extra price.

Standout songs include the title track off of We Live Here, which is a very real and heartfelt tale of growing up mixed race and poor in a country that can give you a hard time for both, and Health is Wealth from Price of Life, which completely changes the gear: it is a skanking reggae number with the surprising theme breaking with the high fat processed foods isn’t just a good idea, it’s the duty of every revolutionary to be healthy for the struggle.
 
Bob Vylan will play more live dates and release a new album next year. I strongly recommend catching the band live if you can but be ready by practising your Mountain Poses, Downward Dog, Tree Poses and other yoga stretches.