Remember the first punk band you fell in love
with? Can you recall how liberating it was to sing along
to words you believed in and what it was like to share a
sense of community with complete strangers? Yes, before punk
rock was co-opted by major labels, six-figure marketing campaigns,
and corporate sponsors, all of us could probably name one
band be it Black Flag or Operation Ivy who were responsible
for getting us into this punk rock in the first place. For
the past seven years, Strike Anywhere have kept that spirit
alive for the latest generation of non-complacent youths
and Dead FM is their masterpiece.
Formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1999, the band’s current
and only lineup singer Thomas Barnett, guitarists Matt Sherwood
and Matt Smith, bassist Garth Petrie, and drummer Eric Kane
have been sharpening their distinctive brand of melodic punk
rock punctuated by their 2001 debut LP, Change Is A Sound.
However, while 2003’s Exit English was well-received
in the press and helped them reach a wider audience via appearances
the Warped Tour and tours with acts like Anti-Flag, Dead
FM is a return to form for the band; and with the help
of longtime producer Brian McTernan, the band were able to
capture the explosive energy of their live shows while also
writing the strongest songs of their career.
”Exit English was written in three months
and Dead FM was written in three years”, Barnett
explains. Recorded without the pressure of a strenuous recording
schedule, Dead FM’s recording process recalls
the band’s early material (which were chronicled on
last year’s To Live In Discontent compilation). “We
spent nine months away from each other after the Warped Tour,
and then we’d meet up on the weekends and write songs
because we chose to, not because we had to, so Dead FM shows
us getting into different styles and exploring different
sounds.”
Lyrically, Strike Anywhere have become known for their intense
social and political critiques, and while those themes are
developed further and fiercer on Dead FM, the songs
are grounded and strengthened by a biographical candor that
is inclusive enough for those of us unfamiliar with Noam
Chomsky to comprehend. “Punk saved my life”,
Barnett explains. “But the metaphors on this disc are
drawn out enough for everyone to relate to, because it doesn’t
make sense for me to pontificate about my own problems if
they’re not able to help or heal someone else with
their issues in the world and the way they’ve been
treated.”
From the opening scream of “Sedition” (which
chronicles Barnett’s grandfather’s unknowing
role in the Manhattan Project) to “House Arrest” (which
is probably the catchiest song ever written about being unjustly
incarcerated), Dead FM chronicles actual experiences
instead of relying on empty slogans. However, like all of
Strike Anywhere’s music, there’s a red thread
of hopefulness imbedded in the album’s storied themes.
While Barnett understandably wants to “Get the fuck
out of here!” while stuck with his band mates in a
jail cell in Japan three years ago, the very next sentence
he admits, “I walk this wasteland with you and it’s
the least I can do.”
But ultimately Strike Anywhere aren’t martyrs, nor
do they claim to be. They’re simply trying to give
back to a community that changed their lives and these days
that means singing about their friendships and commitment
to the punk subculture. “The catharsis is as real as
it ever needed to be on Dead FM, and we really put our hearts
into this record”, Barnett sums up. “If we can
offer something, if anything, to the world that means the
world to us, then we’ve already succeeded.” |
