Anthrax - Island Mentality

This is Anthrax the UK anarcho punk band, not Anthrax the US heavy metal band. They formed in Gravesend, Kent, back in 1980 during the time that Crass were sniffing out bullshit and Maggie Thatcher was breeding a generation of voracious capitalists. They were a band that we needed back then and we still need them today. 

They've just released a new album. It's their first for almost a decade, it's titled Serfs Out, and it's available from the band's Grow Your Own Records. As you might expect, they aren't happy with the state of the nation. They attack leaders ("care and compassion are no longer in fashion"), the media ("dumb it down dumb it down, vilify, throw it out there, repeat the lie") and those that enable this current shit show ("I'm so fuckin' proud of my country, I love to watch it fall from grace"). It's an album about the rich conning the poor with the help of a complicit media and it's simultaneously a great listen and a saddening one. It's about food banks, Brexit, greed and dumbing down. It's modern day life, maybe it's life as it's always been and sadly always will be. 

A few of the songs are re recorded versions of tracks that have appeared in recent years, a few are new, all fit together nicely to make up one of the best albums of 2021.

The track I'm highlighting here is the one that concerns itself with little Englanders yearning for a glorious past that didn't actually exist. It's called Island Mentality... 

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51st State - Great British Public

51st State are a duo from Exeter. They describe their music as Bass & beat punk/dub/industrial. Louder Than War's Nathan Brown, whilst reviewing previous ep Plastic called their sound a hippy-punk mashup of anarcho punk, ska, dub, thrash and space rock. I think it's fair to say the band like to experiment and that you never quite know what to expect. 

On their new single however (or at least on the song they've just released a video for), they've gone for a more traditional anarcho punk sound. And very good it is too. 

The single will be out soon on Grow Your Own Records (as is the case globally, the single is at the mercy of the vinyl pressing plants which are all logjammed at the moment). Pretty sure the wait will be worthwhile. 

This is Great British Public...

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Omega Tribe - Dandara Dos Santos

Omega Tribe formed in Barnet in 1981 (as Deadly Game) before splitting in 1988. There was a brief reunion in 1995 but it was 2016 before they got back together properly.

They've just released a new 6 track ep on Grow Your Own Records which is available on 10" turquoise with flecks vinyl, cd and digital download on Bandcamp.

Musically their sound may have changed but their ethos remains the same. On the surface Dandara Dos Santos is a gentle sounding love song until you listen to the lyrics. It's a tender tribute in memory of a 42 year old transgender woman who was beaten, tortured, shot and bludgeoned in Fortaleza, Brazil. It's a case that highlighted the high number of attacks on transgender people. You can read more here.

Rotura - Insurrección

Rotura are a 3 piece anarcho punk band from Barcelona featuring members of Simulacro and Estigiä. They recently released a Self Titled 5 track ep which is available "name your price" on Bandcamp.

They remind me a little of one of my favourite Spanish bands, Accidente. Female vocals combine with melodic punk stylings and political lyrics to create a very palatable whole. Topics covered include rebellion in Latin America, euthanasia and repression. It's conveyed in their native tongue but Google will help you understand the lyrics on Bandcamp. All in all, a very promising debut.

This is the opening track, it's titled Insurrección...

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