The NaNaz—from Newport, Wales—formed as a result of Nana Punk; a punk music workshop held in 2024 and aimed at over 50s that sought to get participants actively involved in music for all the benefits it would bring, regardless of whether completely new to playing or just having a little experience.
Come 2026 and the band, now with one member under 50, is going from strength to strength, releasing debut EP Nanafesto on April 3rd, the CD version being reviewed below; and also being invited to play Loud Women NYC 2026 – an opportunity they need to raise money to take and have a Crowdfunder campaign in the name of (all links page end).
Nanafesto’s opening track ‘Harness the Darkness’ springs into life with a neat rockabilly riff, grows into a lively and highly infectious folk punk beat from there; lyrically a story of refusing to submit and bow down to the patriarchy, the song carries hints of The Pretenders, Blondie, Courtney Love, The Slits and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
‘Idiots Everywhere’ is quite a jolly ditty on the subject of going outside and having to deal with persons unknown until it becomes a profanity laden rant. Not big. Not clever. Very funny and enjoyable though!
Talking of ‘Persons Unknown’, track three ‘The Isles’ dug so deep into the same earthiness of essence as the Poison Girls’ legendry track, I thought it in some part a reworking in the name of paying homage without being anything like a cover; it absolutely worked too due to the high energy, passion, conviction and character in the delivery bringing a whole new vibrancy.
This idea made a lot of sense to me given the nature of the project went well beyond that of just creating music and some of the participants were completely new to the process; after all, any course I’ve ever done on production has had participants record known songs instead of add the time of creating something entirely from scratch.
That said, such a phenomenally good job had been done of it here that a comparison springing to mind would be that of Eddie Cochran’s incredible teen/youth social commentary in tracks like ‘Teenage Heaven’ and ‘Summertime Blues’ and that likewise found—and frequently overlooked due to the music’s “poppy” nature—in Wham!’s ‘Young Guns (Go For It!)’ and ‘Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)’.
Except what George Michael did differently was acknowledge the musical side of his influence in a separate track—‘Faith’—whereas here everything is combined into one.
So imagine my surprise when putting this to the band, only to be told none of them had heard of the Poison Girls’ track, and that nothing on the CD was a ‘reworking’ in any shape or form.
I can only hope none was and offer apologies for any offence potentially caused, for when putting it to the band it was without the comparison of above, and so could easily have come across that I was suggesting some tracks were essentially covers.
The thing is, though, even with the comparison to two of the greatest song writers to ever walk the Earth, I’m still suggesting an element of influence where there is none. Simply put, the song composition on offer here reaches outstanding entirely in its own right.
There are points in ‘Care Home Robbery’ that carry an airy lightness akin to Nena’s ‘99 Red Balloons’. Combined with the hook in the chorus—which alone perhaps makes it the catchiest track on Nanafesto (it’s been happily bopping around in my head for a couple of days, at least)—it can’t help but put a grin on the face.
The lyrics, though, relay a story that the essence of is sad: a heartfelt telling of the crime that’s happening in the name of care in far too many of those places; and written from a place of unfortunate knowing by band member Anne-Marie Bollen who describes the tale as “tragic”.
The combination of these aspects leads to a song rich with the deep warm emotion that lead to its writing, while powered by a fiery desire for others to learn of the injustice in a way that can’t be ignored.
‘60 Lies’ also targets injustice, this time by highlighting the WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) movement. The vocals carry so much anger for the discrimination they have the power to make hairs stand on end. Mixed with a vibe in the sound reminiscent of the Ramones it’s an instant punk anthem with serious cause and intent.
Having been given the opportunity to make a noise and be heard, the bull has well and truly been gripped by the horns with a steely determination that won’t let go until getting what it rightly deserves. Politicians beware!
The NaNaz
- Anne-Marie Bollen – vocals, song writer, bass guitar, organiser
- Marega Palser – multi-instrumentalist, vocals, song writer, creative genius
- Deborah de Lloyd – viola, admin, creative merch
- Claire Symons – rhythm guitar, vocals, song writer, merch queen
- Angela Pearce Samuel – lead guitar, vocals, song writer
- Jade Ball – drummer, backing vocals, social media guru
- Nina Langrish – general admin, merch sales
Links:
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N. P. Ryan
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