SUICIDE MACHINES
A Match And Some Gasoline (Side One Dummy)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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After spending most of their career and releasing five albums proper and a "best of" on Disney's Hollywood label, the Suicide Machines are back on an indie label, the excellent Side One Dummy. This new one harkens back the their first two LPs, an infectious mix of speedy hardcore and ska-punk. Like many punk bands of late, they've gotten more political lyrically, especially on songs like "Did You Ever Get The Feeling Of Dread?" with lines like "Why do they wanna take us to war?/Why do they want to put us in a Government's war?/There's all this fighting and we don't know what for/So the richer get richer and the poor stay poor?" Other songs like "Invisible Government," "Your Silence" and "Politics Of Humanity" are scathing indictments of our present administration and people's blind acceptance of things like the IRAQ war, The Patriot Act and foreign policy in general. Sure there are some straightforward poppy-punk relationship-themed tunes, but the overall theme of this album seems to be anger and motivation to change things. Check out "Beat My Head Against The Wall" (not the Black Flag song) and "High Anxiety," songs that show how many of us are feeling powerless against a regime that is fucking things up more and more. This is a really great release, chock full of energy, conviction and words of inspiration.

© 2003 - Alan Wright