Though they’ve been around as individuals, Diagnostics are the newcomers to the London scene you haven’t heard of yet. Before releasing their first EP, they already managed to get the questionable honor of becoming the de facto opening band for (international) touring acts – the ones who have that same honor in their hometown.
I haven’t always paid a lot of attention to the English scene. Though a few bands made it on my radar in the past, they rarely left me impressed – the alternative punk scene there always seemed drenched in self-important indie rock that call themselves punk, or the rougher, more classic, versions of punk that miss the technical aspect and melodies I love so much.
As it turns out, there is more to it. There are a bunch of middle-aged punks (yes friends, we really are middle-aged) that are ready to relive their musical heyday; people who still believe that there is a place in punk rock for songs that are fast and anthemic, melodic without the need for horns or noodley guitar parts, and have lyrics that look at the world from a personal instead of political angle. You know, the stuff I keep writing about.
Diagnostics is one of those bands. It became a bit of a joke that I’ve missed every show they played so far, and outside some Instagram chats about that very important issue, I have absolutely no idea who actually plays in the band – I’m sure we hung out before, and I wouldn’t recognize any of them. They recently released their first EP, Thoughts to Forget, on Disconnect Disconnect Records, and to make sure they say hi next time they see me, I decided to give it a proper listen and review.
Starting with Forget, Diagnostics immediately makes their sound clear: we always wanted to be the kind of band put on a Punk-O-Rama release. Bands like Pulley, 88 Fingers Louie, and Deviates come to mind immediately. It’s a strong opener, the chorus has serious sing-along energy, and I can absolutely see this being used for a skateboarding promo video. The one weakness is innate to the genre: it lacks variety. This works great in the context of shorter songs, but there is absolutely no reason for it to be 3:38 minutes long – that last minute just drags on.
“I’m trying to explain but I don’t know, I’ve got this song, is that enough, or would you rather forget?”
Thoughts leans a bit more into the sound that’s common in European skate-punk. This gets shown off in the intro, with the repeated drum fills, followed by a short bass riff, before it throws its full speed and power chords at you. Small guitar licks show up throughout, making it feel more varied than you usually see on first releases. The mix buries the vocals and the guitars a bit too much, and whether it’s a stylistic choice to make it sound more 90’s-coded or just first release budgets, the result is that things feel a bit muted. That said, it’s a good, fast-paced, melodic skate punk song. Plus, it ends exactly when you expect it to.
“It’s kind of pointless to me. No regard for sympathy. I am not good at sharing my thoughts.”
The intro of I Won’t Be Around makes the argument that Diagnostics is no stranger to a love for pop punk, and it’s reminding me of a faster version of the Long Island band Gone Stereo. This entire song would likely do quite well in scenes where there’s a blend of melodic hardcore and pop-punk, having the speed and energy closer to hardcore, but the structure and small breaks that absolutely scream pop-punk. Even the lyrics perfectly fit between those two genres; the notes of being done with a relationship that takes more than it gives, while staying ambiguous on the role this person has in their lives.
“I won’t be around when you call me tonight. I’m no rebound every time there’s a fight. After all these years, it might be hard to understand, That everything you’ve done was a shortcut to the end.”
With Not Today, the trend of showing the variety of genres that inspired this EP becomes even clearer, and the melodic hardcore and hardcore punk influences really shine. Think along the lines of Gorilla Biscuits, 7 Seconds, Kid Dynamite, and Lifetime, but in the same way Satanic Surfers does it, where skate punk is the base it’s built on. It’s a good two minute banger, and one of the stronger examples of Diagnostics’ capability of writing songs that make the emotion shine through.
“The mirror shows a face I swear I’ve never met, my head is out of sync like the songs I do forget. Not today! Not today!”
There She Goes is a short one, and if I want to be a bit more creative than say it heavily leans into NOFX worship, I’d say it shows these guys also listen to the Decline and Nerdlinger.
“Many years will pass, what we had could never last, I wish you well, and hope the same for me.”
With Raise Your Glass we’re heading into melodic punk rock territory. It trades some of the speed and technicality for a more anthemic feeling. This shows through a long intro that builds up the song really well, and lines that are meant to be sung along to. It does what a proper album closer should do, and even goes beyond that by circling back to the first song. Where they open the EP wondering “I’ve got this song, is that enough?”, their ultimate conclusion seems to be that yes, if we still believe in this, if we have this song, if we can still come together, that is enough.
“Raise your glass with me now. Final chance, this is our sound. Are you with me now? Scream in key, this is our sound”
This is a very enjoyable first release by Diagnostics. Thoughts to Forget feels like a journey through the different musical influences that shaped the band, a love letter to the scene that built them up. It is still a first release for the band, and you can hear that; it suffers from the usual issues – a mix that feels a bit flat, a sound that hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet, and songs that sometimes drag a bit longer than they should. But if this is the tone they set, their firsthello world of music? Then I am excited to keep following what they’re doing. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll even play a show while I am in the country.
