The battle of musical genres combine and now, apparently intertwine. For, Tuesdays with Lazerbeak imparts upon us all that Pittsburgh’s proudest punk group, Anti-Flag, entreat their fans with the November 3rd release of Without End. But, in this common tale of established band, and new releases comes an interesting plot twist. The mentioned new single from Anti-Flag is a remixed version of their original track from the 2015 album, American Spring. The new and, to some even, improved version draws from collaborative forces: Minneapolis punk-in-nature hip hop artist, P.O.S, and legendary guitar god, current political activist Tom Morello lend their rhymes and riffs to one hell of a winter warmer kind of head banger.
Without End precipitates a drool-worthy first 25 seconds. The track opens up with Pat Thetic’s slightly-just-cracked hits to the snare drum, with coordinating, clean compliments to the snare and bass drums. The beat is riveting, but the anticipation, the metaphoric “holding back” in part by the drummer leads the listener towards a borderline catatonic type of withdrawal.
However, an ultimate addition of a swift electric guitar and a grizzly vocal eradicate such immense longing brought on by the artful drummed induction, and eventually lead to the anthemic qualities of…Shhh, dare I say it? Pop-Punk glory. But, ahhh yes, for the impeccable, nearly polished production quality divulged within the track’s nature draws a grey-ish line between punk (i.e. anti-____ fill in the blank here) and pop in sound.
So, maybe this is a little far-reaching, but given Anti-Flag’s (and Morello’s) history for their less-than satisfied views on American politics and government, and the current mockery that is the US 2016 Presidential debate, Without End’s ultimate purpose appears to graze at the surface of all of this senseless taking from innocent bystanders, i.e. the American people within the “great bureaucracy”. Circa 1:05 in the mentioned single angry affirmations of “Without end you stole from me, my home, my heart, my family…its the same game we all play, its the same game we can’t change”. Anti-Flag and Co. poke at the stark reality, which lies at the core of this nation: the repetition of “my” alludes to just a normal, everyday person. However, the vague “games” mentioned subsequently in the track hint at the diminutive actions by legislatures, and the massive rug pulled over the common man. Ultimately, Anti-Flag, Tom Morello, and P.O.S. chose to release their latest efforts at a time where a mounting political debacle seems to be reaching its inevitable climax. The track’s nearly singsongy qualities allude to the same catchy tag lines and mindless following of vacant political leaders, that ultimately end in a wake-up call that is well, just, too little too late. Evidently, one might find themselves without their hypothetical or rather metaphorical home and even heart, in a game that is by nature designed to benefit the few on top.
So, while Without End’s permissible qualities that most lends itself to every epic, high school Saturday night garage hangout, or drive through the open roads of someone’s older brother’s hand-me-down Volvo, at the root of all this catchiness lies an uncomfortable need to question.
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