Anti-Flag’s powerful new sound

In the trend of angry people who sing about how the government has gone to hell and life is a… In the trend of angry people who sing about how the government has gone to hell and life is a facade of manufactured beauty, full of bleak outlooks, Anti-Flag has offered up its eighth studio release, titled The Bright Lights of America.

The Bright Lights of America Anti-Flag Rocks like: Bouncing Souls, Foo Fighters RCA

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Consisting of Chris Head, Justin Sane (guitars, vocals, Chris #2 (bass, vocals) and Pat Thetic (drums), Anti-Flag presents an America where the poor of the world are cannon fodder, and “the answers are written on the face of the oppressed.”

And it’s presented with a slightly heavier edge and more orchestral instrumentation than previously encountered with this quartet. It even uses a children’s choir in some songs, such as “The Ink and the Quill (Be Afraid).”

The group warns that this album is slightly different from its previous seven. Many groups have tried this route of offering a little something new to their fare to avoid the kiss-of-death “stale” moniker. Most have killed their careers faster than staleness would have in the hopes of renewal, but with Anti-Flag, the heavier instrumentation serves the group and its message well -a message which you can help spread.

Inside the jewel case are two pamphlets, one of which is a fold-out mini poster with the album art as a cut-out-and-paste figurine. The instructions on how to cut out the figure and make the glue are included, with the emphasis on the step that reads: “Repeat, repeat, repeat. Experiment with your art, create your own poster and your own message.” The reverse has the song lyrics.

The other pamphlet is standard CD fodder: glossy panorama paper folded in fourths. Unfolding it reveals addresses for the UNEP Regional Office for North America and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. What to do with them? Spread the message about human beliefs that Anti-Flag feels are being ignored. Not bad for a band many fans are calling “sell-outs.”

Starting the album itself is “Good and Ready,” which is probably what longtime fans will have to be when listening to the group’s relatively new sound. Beneath the heavier music, it offers an idealistic landscape of green fields and sunshine beaming down on heads skewered on wooden pikes, all while calling it an awe-inspiring sight, insinuating more ways than one.

The third track, “Vices,” describes a child’s nightmare, a full-time working mother, a molester father and a six-year-old at his mercy. “Fatherless is how I prefer to be known / At six years young I was left all on my own / The son of a full-time working mother / With a molester for father / who lives with a prison for home.”

“If you Wanna Steal (You Better Learn How to Lie),” the fifth track, details the genius father, Michael, giving the advice “If you wanna steal, you better learn to lie/ if you wanna live, you better not fear how you die.”

And that’s how the album plays out, mostly- pairing sublime imagery with the horrors of life that we do and don’t know about, all while Head’s and Sane’s vocals and guitar riffs blare the music into your ears in hopes of attaining subliminal influence.

But what they seem to attain is a new level of bitching. All the songs offer nothing more than macabre imagery and horrific scenarios. The songs eventually congeal into a blob of the same old stuff- you might miss their point unless you really pay attention. After all, there’s a fine line between spreading a message and just complaining.

But the slightly shifted musical style is something to rock out to. It still has some influence of the old punk while mixing heavier guitar riffs.

The riffs are fun to listen to, and it’s always interesting to hear how a band utilizes orchestral arrangements.

Anti-Flag does it with gutsy gusto, so fans should give it a listen. If you’re new to Anti-Flag and don’t mind some cheese with the wine, try it for the music.