Political punk bands that advocate anti-capitalism, anarchy and animal rights generally don’t sign to major labels. What’s more, these types of bands generally don’t work with music legends like Tony Visconti, nor do they usually experience success at said major labels. Anti-Flag, then, is an anomaly in having defied all of these expectations. Their newest release, The Bright Lights of America, is politically engaging and has damn catchy music. Try to argue with that combination.
Think child choirs and punk rock can’t go together? The raucous opening track, “Good and Ready,” is prepared to prove you wrong. Listening to a choir of young kids sing “You’ll get yours when you’re good and ready/ You’ll get yours and go straight to hell” is a bit jarring, but it makes for a compelling refrain guaranteed to stick in your head like superglue.
In comparison, “The Modern Rome Burning” is more representative of a classic Anti-Flag song. The lead-in to this track is an excerpt of a speech made by Mumia Abu-Jamal, in which he calls America “the prisonhouse of nations” and speaks of a fever for imprisonment here that hasn’t been seen since the Roman Empire. The track “We Are the Lost” takes the fast pace of the album down a notch and adds in a cello arrangement for a haunting, dramatic melody.
The addition of producer Tony Visconti is a surprising yet welcome one. For those unfamiliar with him, Visconti is a legend within the music industry and has previously worked with David Bowie, T. Rex, and Morrissey (of Brit-pop band The Smiths). Although Anti-Flag appears to be a rather strange credit to add to this list, Visconti’s production gives the album a rich depth musically.
Also giving the album renewed vigor are the backing vocals of Kristeen Young, featured mainly on the song “If You Wanna Steal (You Better Learn How To Lie).” Young recently opened for Morrissey during his last world tour, and she gives one hell of a performance. Her onstage vocals translate well to this album — so much so that I’d like to suggest a touring partnership between Anti-Flag and Young.
But it’s the single, the generic title track that loses points for sounding like every other punk/emo song released in recent memory. Lyrically, the song is strong — no problems here. It’s essentially the arrangement that doesn’t work. Case in point: Was that Anti-Flag vocalist Justin Sane singing about a 16-year-old girl looking for some prettiness, or was it Saves the Day vocalist Chris Conley? The fact that two widely different bands can be called to mind so easily when listening to this song shows just how out of place the track feels.
Anti-Flag’s political causes aren’t only limited to their lyrics. One album insert contains four postcards, three of which are pre-addressed to the United Nations. The postcards all focus on activism regarding issues of the environment, health care and torture in wartime. By having listeners sign and send these postcards, the band hopes those issues will be given an additional measure of importance in front of the U.N. Anti-Flag also advocates free speech in an additional album insert, a poster of the album cover’s mascot — a man in a suit with a bald eagle head. The poster also includes directions for making wheat paste, to put up this, or any other poster with a message one would wish to spread.
From a band that sticks to its beliefs without being overly preachy and still makes a great album in the process, The Bright Lights of America is a great pick. With music and lyrics that’ll make you want to take to the streets, Anti-Flag is definitely a must-listen.
4 stars out of 5
