Punk’s not dead. After all, how could you kill an idea, an attitude, and an outlook? And if that genre was the equivalent of a sonic opposition party to a governing force of acceptance and conformity, then perhaps we need it now more than ever. But the great thing about Barking Poets is that while the spirit of that formative musical force still runs through their musical veins, they have remembered one thing that most bands of their ilk have forgotten. Punk was progressive…a fire that burnt bright, if briefly, as it stormed the barricades.
Well, guess what. The barricades have grown larger and are better defended, and the need for progressive punk agitators has never been more vital. They don’t get specific about what the “Modern War” is, but in the words of Marlon Brando’s wild one, when asked what he was rebelling against, “What have you got?” still seems like a fair answer. It isn’t hard to find a worthy cause to align with.
And progressive is the right word here, because as the Poets carry their message of defiance to the streets, they do so over a blend of power-pop and punk, the same blend of Motown and garage rock that The Ramones cleverly made their own, muscle and melody, grit and groove.
Not only a beautiful battle cry but a timely one indeed.
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