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ANTI-FLAG
Underground Network (Fat Wreck Chords)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
The problem is there are a few hundred punk bands who get their name at least somewhat known who want to get a political message across. They just don't know what it is. They just know it'd be really cool if they could. They want to be like Anti-Flag. Would that they were.
Anti-Flag has been around for just over half a decade and they've changed a lot, mostly for the better. They've always had a lot to say, but at one time they were just so damned mad that they fell into line with all the other bands spitting out bile and looking to get a boot into the balls of... well, basically anyone. Not so the 2001 Anti-Flag. Now firmly entrenched at Fat Wreck Chords, Anti-Flag has become the voice for the thinking punk, filling a long empty void and giving old bastards like me hope for the future. Unfocused anger is just whining. Anti-Flag knows who the enemy is, and they don't just bitch. "Stand up! Fight back! Resist, refuse! Cause if we don't do it, no one's going to!" This is advice from the song "Vieques Puerto Rico: Bikini Revisited," a scream at the US government for what they've done to the Bikini Islands, which they regard as little more than a practice bombing site. In "The Panama Deception," they question several US motives, not just the handling of Panama, but military muscle flexed everywhere for monetary gain.
Yeah, you're right, other bands have written intelligent songs about hotbeds of US military bull-ring crashing, but for now let's just consider Ant-Flag. The music continues to improve, and at the moment they may be one of the five most talented punk bands on the planet; they are absolutely right on the money with their commentary about US involvement in most of these countries and the selfish reasoning behind it; and they have gone far beyond the call of duty by including a ton of info in their liner notes, from links to important activism groups to articles by historians and an entire links page. It even has a link to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The only problem is you need a magnifying glass to read it all. Not their fault. It's just... just... DON'T YOU #$&# HATE THESE TINY CD LINERS?!
With the right exposure Anti-Flag could become the Dead Kennedys of the 00s, only without the humor. Maybe they just don't see much to laugh about right now. Maybe there's not.
© 2001 - DJ Johnson