Style: oi, punk, hard rock
Label: Streetpunk
Year: 1986
Home: England
Members: Kev ~ vocals
Mick ~ guitars/b. vocals
Gunk ~ bass/b. vocals
Cliff ~ drums
The music may not wow you with its predictable endlessly churning aggressive rhythms, though its worth noting there's some interesting guitar parts & melodic textures (i.e. "Gang Warfare", the bass opening on "Survive", "Unite"). This is all about the lyrics. The music, to my ears, is simply a background for the message. The message is one that is powerful, sometimes witty, feels very autobiographical & story-like, & shockingly uplifting over dwelling in morbidity. Actually, I find many of these songs far more interesting than more famous punk bands, & feel more down to earth & autobiographical than most 80's hair bands. While I personally condemn the violence that was a part of the skinhead & Oi! punk scenes, as I can't understand how beating up another band achieves anything productive, & likely would have been a trendy looking Suedehead, I find the lyrics of so many of these bands some of the most interesting activist/protest songs out there, alongside Dylan & Baez, Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen. Love or hate the music, but the lyrics are worth listening to. This is not about trying to impress you, but to wake you up. The album opens with the anthem-like "Survive" which really sets the mood for the whole album. It has the chorus: "Spice of life / good to be alive / no need to die ... / do what you want in your own way." For angry young man music, this is not about wanting to be moody like you might in the Smiths, or wanting to escape society like Jim Morrison, but to take life by the horns. Life is good. Life is worth living. Don't kill yourself, but live as yourself. Don't let anyone get you down. Not just that, but you're not alone. We're all in this together, as "Gang Warfare" & "Unite" shout out. Society might beat you down, such as discussed in the all too visual "Riot Squad" (ie. "All the old biz just stand & stare / They don't realize we're loyal ones / All they know is the use of guns ... / Riot squad, riot squad / They call us the British sods"), but keep standing. "Young Blood" is a call to survive to fight another day. It talks about those dying, & those surviving. It might be an ode to the Vietnam War, or any war, but it could also be a warning to not become a corporate zombie lost to society's game & bureaucracy. The narrative of the album is a wonderful unfolding story that opens with the big picture & then finally zooms down to the anthem-like "Skinheads." This is your problem? Well, this is who we are! This album is proud. Its honest. I can see many folks gravitating to the message of this album & hopefully being inspired by it. Its not all attacking society. "Teenage Slag" & "Under Her Thumb" are the two light weight moments in the biting social commentary, turning the focus on girlfriends. In "Under Her Thumb" they lay down the law with "I'll live my life the way I want to it girl / Do what I like don't want to do what you tell / Mistreated me / Can't you see? / You ain't gonna tell me what to do." While "Teenage Slag" moves from cringy to comical with: "If you pick a nice White virgin / Will she be the best of the bunch / Cause after you laid her a few times / She'll want it ever so much / & when you try & show her another position / She'll think it's so obscene / But she'll soon find out how good it is / & she'll still feel pure & clean ... & she'll end up driving you mad / She'll probably end up with your dad." Though, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Is the teenage slag wanted or not? Nice girls need not apply? Not sure, but honestly, these two light songs are fun but not necessary on what is a great protest album.
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