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[title]Formed in Hong Kong in 2016, Bulletproof are one of the stand out punk-ska bands in Hong Kong. Guitarist and vocalist Lorenzo ‘Bai’ Nuñez says the band’s name was inspired by his experiences when he first moved to Hong Kong from Cebu. “Being away from my hometown, away from my friends and adapting to a new culture, it makes you feel lost, vulnerable and easily depressed,” he reveals. “It was hard for me at first, so I turned to my one and only passion – music. Music served as a bulletproof vest against depression, problems and certain pressures in life.”
Despite being only a year old, it hasn’t taken Bulletproof long to garner a solid contingent of fans both here and in the Philippines through their hard graft, excellent live shows and quality tunes. The release of their debut LP is the culmination of that: “The album is called Nostalgia,” Nuñez tells us. “It has 12 songs and one bonus track. The concept is basically going back to our roots, which is 90s punk rock music. We wanted to make an album that would take us back to the good old days and hopefully it will do the same for the listener.”
It’s a stellar debut, with clear nods to some of Bulletproof’s strongest influences – Operation Ivy, Suicide Machines, Green Day, Sublime, Goldfinger and Rancid. That’s not to say that Nostalgia is derivative: it carves out a clear identity of its own with uniquely melodic ska flourishes refreshing the well-trodden punk markers.
With the release of Nostalgia and having being added to the bill for this year’s Endless Summer Reggae Ska Festival in August, Bulletproof have achieved a lot in a very short period. It seems there’s much more to come, so watch this space.
Nostalgia is available at Tom Lee Music in TST (1-9 Cameron Lane, Tsim Sha Tsui) and is also available for download via iTunes, Bandcamp and Spotify. You can also pick it up at any of Bulletproof’s gigs.
