Waterboarding School

There’s a certain kind of band that feels like a clenched fist punching straight through the speakers — raw, urgent and impossible to ignore. Waterboarding School are very much that kind of band, and their new EP Steer Clear lands like a blast of compressed fury that refuses to let up from the first second to the last. Clocking in at just four tracks and around eleven minutes, Steer Clear wastes absolutely no time getting its message across. What the EP lacks in length it more than makes up for in attitude, energy and punch, delivering a tight, no-nonsense slab of punk-fuelled noise that feels built for sweaty basement gigs and blown-out speakers.

The EP opens with “Functionality”, a track that immediately establishes the band’s sonic identity. Guitars slash through the mix with a gritty, distorted bite while the rhythm section barrels forward like a runaway train. The song feels restless and urgent, setting the tone for what follows: music that moves fast, hits hard and never hangs around long enough to get comfortable.

Next comes “Living A Lie,” the shortest track on the record, but also one of its most explosive. At just over two minutes, it’s a burst of pure adrenaline — the kind of song that sounds like it was written to be shouted back by a packed room of fans pressed up against the stage.

The third track, “Nonsense,” stretches things slightly but keeps the momentum firmly pinned to the floor. There’s a chaotic charm to the song’s structure: riffs collide, rhythms shift and the vocals ride the storm with snarling intensity. It’s messy in the best possible way — the sound of a band pushing their energy to the edge without ever losing control.

The EP closes with “Complaints,” arguably the record’s most cathartic moment. The song pulls together everything that makes Waterboarding School compelling: jagged guitars, relentless percussion and vocals that sound like they’re being spat directly from the pit of someone’s chest.

Across these four tracks, the band demonstrates a knack for packing maximum impact into minimal running time. There’s no filler here, no wasted moments — just fast, tight songs that feel deliberately built to be played loud and often.

What makes Steer Clear stand out isn’t just the speed or the aggression — it’s the sense that Waterboarding School understand the spirit of underground punk. The EP has that DIY immediacy, the feeling that these songs were born in rehearsal rooms, late-night writing sessions and chaotic live shows rather than polished studio boardrooms. Yet at the same time the production has enough clarity to let every instrument punch through the mix. The guitars crunch, the bass rumbles underneath the chaos and the drums snap with a sharp, driving urgency that keeps the whole thing hurtling forward.

Perhaps the most telling thing about Steer Clear is that the moment it ends, you immediately want to start it again. The EP’s four-track, rapid-fire format makes it feel almost like a concentrated shot of punk adrenaline — short enough to spin repeatedly, but powerful enough to leave a lasting impression. In an age of bloated albums and endless streaming playlists, there’s something refreshing about a band that keeps things lean, loud and unapologetically direct. With Steer Clear, Waterboarding School deliver exactly what the title promises: a blistering warning shot from a band that clearly isn’t interested in playing it safe. It’s fast, furious, and absolutely packed with attitude — the kind of EP that reminds you why underground guitar music still matters.

Turn it up, let it rip, and don’t be surprised if you end up playing it three times in a row.

For more information: Waterboarding School