Punk veteran shows diverse landscape

Alice Bag is the stage name for 59-year-old Alicia Armendariz. Don’t let her age fool you. Alice is a punk rocker. As the lead singer of the Bags, a Los Angeles punk band from the ‘70s, Alice has remained active in the punk scene as well as the political scene. She sports strong feminist and activist that is shown through her lyrics and even her books which she was written. This stays with her in her new solo album Blueprint, out on Don Giovanni Records.

A song like “White Justice” shows Alice’s left-leaning views against the current regime and how the justice delivered in it do not fit for her. She howls “To say justice is color blind; I know you are lying,” as powerful piano chords mimic the style of usual punk power chords. The usual punk outline is still prominent on Blueprint. The opener “Turn It Up” still has those piano chords but the punk riff beginning the track sticks with the listener making for a very catchy track.

The differences between “Invisible” and “77” show the versatility this record has sonically. Many punk albums tend to pursue a single sound, but Alice is able to really show her diverse landscape as an artist – “Invisible” being more ballad-like, while “77” has punk shrieks reminiscent of Sleater-Kinney. “Adrift” also follows off of “Invisible” with its ballad structure. It has more in common with the Carpenters then it does with the Ramones. Although that punk structure is there for some songs, there is certainly a lot of different paths this album takes, no matter what statement Alice is trying to make.

“Se Cree Joven” is in Spanish. The bilingual artist is able to shadow similar acts like “Downtown Boys” who did something similar on their 2017 release Cost of Living, another politically fueled punk album lead by feminists. These two acts would certainly enjoy or find influence from each other.

It is difficult to avoid modern punk that doesn’t take a stand against the current political regime and Alice Bag is no exception. But that is where the roots of punk came from. Although the issues, voices and messages change over time, that rebellious behavior, or as Alice claims, “troublemaker” behavior will always remain in punk.