Fusing punk's ferocity with a rousing strain of melodic indie rock, U.K. duo Kombat made their debut in 2019 with a series of enthusiastically received independent singles. Based in Nottingham, longtime friends and musical collaborators Anish Denoon and Martin Valtchanov founded Kombat in 2019, taking a staunch D.I.Y. approach that saw them perform every instrument as well as engineer, mix, and master their first two singles, "Confiscate" and "Alright." Elements of wiry post-punk, grunge, Brit-pop, and straight-up rock & roll can be heard in their anthemic tracks, the third of which, "Move On," appeared near the end of the year. The fiery "Take It or Leave It" marked Kombat's first offering of 2020. ~ Timothy Monger