Béton ArméCAN
RobberNL
Oi! from Montreal
By 2026, virtually all pop music and most of the punk scene too has been thoroughly soaked in the English language. Punk music as well? NO! A small corner of the hardcore scene, populated by French Canadian Oi! punks, continues to bravely resist this Anglo centric takeover. We’re talking about Béton Armé, which translates to Reinforced Concrete, and here in the Netherlands we know better than anyone that that’s a damn fine name for a punk band.
As children, they must have fallen headfirst into a vat of Komintern Sect and Camera Silens, and as a result we now get to enjoy records like Second Souffle and Renaissance. My French is a little rusty, but luckily you can still shout along to the oohooo’s, woohooo’s, and oi! oi! oi! without any trouble.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Robber are coming along too. Haarlem’s finest, Amsterdam’s toughest, and Groningen’s nicest all rolled into one band. What a party. Their two track demo is up on Bandcamp, and it’s a joy from start to finish, just like always. The kind of good that makes you jealous. See you in the pit! | Robert