Even on my side of the Atlantic, Minneapolis has become a beacon for civilian resistance against overreaching government power, and as a Brit, the irony that these events echo the creation myth of The USA itself is certainly not lost on me.
And all struggles need their anthems, their cheerleaders, their rabble-rousers, their dialogue instigators, their champions…and Cindy Lawson is certainly that, and Long Live the Resistance is her latest quartet of anthems for these dark times.
‘The Reckoning’ comes on like a late ’60s proto-punk garage band given access to modern production values. The result is a scuzzy growl of razor-wire guitars and sneering vocals, delivering street-smart lyrics that leave no room for ambiguity in their anti-establishment flame-fanning. It’s Ignatia Pop and The Droogies!
Running on a purer punk, fist-in-the-air, shout-along, ‘Burn’ sets its sights on this circulating idea that the past was a better place, one of decency and order, that certain forces are trying to convince us that we should return to, as if the past didn’t have it’s own set of serious problems (hey, it’s happening here in the UK too). The song also reminds us that those espousing such values are also getting away with all sorts of horrific crimes as their minions monitor us through the crosshairs of a rose-tinted gun sight.
‘Eat The Rich’ continues the sonic attack, the title pretty much telling you everything you need to know, and ‘Howard Zinn Died For Your Sins’ is a slower, more anthemic celebration of that anarchic writer’s work and his portentous warnings that such dark days were always possible.
For the most part, punk music rallied against an abstract disaffection, mainly young kids moaning that the world wasn’t the way they wanted it to be, yes, a gross generalisation but not entirely untrue. Finally, punk is being put to proper use: incendiary anthems to rally the troops against a clear and present danger.
Great songs, of course, but important ones too and songs placed in a very specific context. That’s how you keep the punk spirit alive.
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