Politics and punk rock are two things that have always gone
hand in hand. In the world of modern punk music there is no bigger and more
successful politically charged band than Pittsburgh's Anti-Flag. Since forming
in 1988 the band have released ten studio albums, the most recent being
American Spring which was released by Spinefarm Records in May. I checked it
out.
Before I even started listening to the album I was amazed by
it just by looking at the artwork on the cover and liner notes. The level of
detail is incredible. People often say to me why do you still buy physical
music and not just download it, this is the exact reason why. I just love
looking at the artwork, especially when so much care and detail has gone into
the content.
American Spring starts off with a song named Fabled World.
The track opens fast but simply with just lead singer Justin Sane and a guitar as
he sings out the opening few lines before the rest of the band join him to
create that classic Anti-Flag sound. I can already imagine this song being
popular live. The song itself is about living in a world full of lies and how
dreams are often very different to reality. The Great Divide is a fast, hard
hitting song about the class war. At just one minute and twenty-eight seconds long
there is no time to pause for a breathe throughout the song but this just makes
the song even more effective at putting the bands message across. The third
song Brandenburg Gate is one of the stand out tracks on the album. Compared to
the opening two songs it feels slower and the guitar tones have a nice Rancid
vibe to them, perhaps not surprising considering that legendary Rancid front
man Tim Armstrong provides some guest vocals for the song. This is the
Anti-Flag version of a love song, it tells the tale of being in love with
someone on the opposite side of a war and arranging to meet up somewhere when
it's over. The chorus of this song is superbly catchy and the subject matter
feels unique and interesting. Sky Is Falling is the longest track on American
Spring. It's paced at a mid tempo speed and is the first song on the album to
really utilise bass player Chris #2's throaty yells alongside Justin Sane's
vocals and gives the song a powerful feeling of urgency. Sky Is Falling is
about everything seemingly crumbling down around you and feeling like there is
no way out. Something everyone has related to at some point.
The fifth track Walk Away is a real foot stomper. Chris #2
takes lead vocal duties and instantly gives the song a darker feel. This is
another track I can see being a very popular part of Anti-Flags live set, with
it's big chorus of "Walk Away, Walk
Away, It's What You Always Do, Be The Same, Be The Same, As They Want You To,
There Must Be More To Life Than This, There Must Be More To Life Than
This." Song For Your Enemy sees Anti-Flag slip into full of anthem
mode. Musically the song is a bit of a rollercoaster, switching for crunching
guitars, do slowed down thoughtful chords to a pounding beat for the chorus, it
has it all. To complete any great anthem there are plenty of whoa-oh moments
during the song that will get big reactions from any crowd. The seventh song on
the album Set Yourself On Fire starts out similarly to opener Fabled World with
Justin singing along with just his guitar before the band kick in. The song is
about slefish people who only look out for themselves and hoping that
everything goes wrong for someone with such a rubbish outlook on life. More
unique subject matter from Anti-Flag.
The second half of American Spring begins with a song called
All Of The Poison, All Of The Pain. This is another song about escape, in
particular all of the rubbish from the past. Again they've gone down the route
of having just vocals and a guitar to start the song. I like the affect it
gives but three times in the first eight songs feels a bit like overkill. I
really enjoyed the overall sound of the track though, reminds me of one of my
favourite bands - The Briggs. Something else I really enjoyed was the intro for
the next song Break Something. There's some interesting guitar work before a
pause. What infact is a most two seconds feels like ages and adds a great deal
of suspense to the song. The song is insanely catchy and will have you singing
along to the chorus after just a couple of listens. Without End is another
Anti-Flag punk anthem. Drummer Pat Thetic plays some simple sounding but very
interesting beats throughout the song. Whilst keeping the traditional sound of
the band this song feels poppier than any of their previous work. The guitar
solo in the middle of Without End is superb and anyone who says that punk rock
is just three chords needs to listen to this song to be proven wrong. Believer
is one of my favourite songs on American Spring. As I'm sure you can guess from
the title of the song the song is about standing up for what you believe in and
fighting the good fight. The chorus will allow for massive fist in the air sing
a-long's, Sane adds some great whoa-oh harmonies as well to give the song a
bigger sound.
To Hell With Boredom is the shortest track on the album
being only forty-eight seconds long but my word it packs a punch in that small
amount of time. This is by far the most aggressive song on the album with
lyrics like "Happiness Is Hanging
Your Landlord, No One Cares Until You're Dead." Despite this
aggression though the again promotes a fairly positive message about doing what
you love and not worrying about the consequences because nobody will care until
you're gone. Low Expectations is another song that I really enjoyed. On this
song Anti-Flag seem to have taken inspiration from The Menzingers style of punk
rock. I think that it is really cool that a long running band like Anti-Flag
would find inspiration from in comparison a relatively new band on the punk
rock scene. American Spring finishes with the song The Debate Is Over (If You
Want It). This track begins with a great Pat Thetic drumbeat and some gang
vocaled whoa-ohs that give the impression that something big is about to
happen. The song is the perfect closer for the album with it's big sound and
plenty of gang vocals. It's about picking your own side in an arguement and not
just going along with what "the man" whoever it may be says.
I have been off the punk rock radar for a little while so I
may have missed the build up but this Anti-Flag record felt a lot less hyped
than previous releases from the band. This has definitely helped it for me
because I didn't come in expecting the album of the year but after listening to
it there is a good chance it will finish very highly in my end of year lists.
Check out more from Anti-Flag here: https://www.facebook.com/anti.flag.official
Now listening to Apology by 5 Cent Deposit
No comments:
Post a Comment