Punk mentors people needed
On September 10th, punk band Face to Face released their 12th album, No Way Out But Through. The SoCal-based band got their start in 1991 and saw some of their biggest hits with their 1996 self-titled album, such as “I Won’t Lie Down” and “Blind.” While the driving bass, gravelly voice and handful of “woah-oh”s doubtlessly make their latest album a punk piece, it is about more than the music. It’s a reflective story about wisdom and redemption.
The album opens with what feels like a condemnation of the listener. In “Black Eye Specialist,” the band claims their role as a mentor warning someone in a position they are regretfully familiar with—warning a younger version of themselves. As a connoisseur of teenagers’ altercations, he can cunningly hide the evidence of the fight but can’t protect his mentee from the pain and guilt of living with oneself. He can, however, provide advice.
In “No Way out But Through,” for example, though the speaker is still somewhat condescending, he explicitly acknowledges that he has been in his place before (or at least that he’s “not much different”). He knows that his mentee can’t change his mistakes of the past, but, as the title suggests, he can move forward.
“Anonymous” and “Ruination Here We Come” move the speaker and audience from a borderline parent-child relationship to an even playing field. Though the line, “Your generation’s doomed but so is mine/ It’s worse for you, but there may still be time,” makes it clear that he’s speaking to someone younger, the band highlights the fact that everyone is equally confused about where they belong.
In the second half of the album, the band begins to take satisfaction in this fictional mentee and the progress they’ve made. In “Long Way Down,” primarily, he reassures them that they have changed for the better, and they should be proud of how far they’ve come: “The odds were never in your favor/ You broke away/ despite the danger.” This is the point in the album where it becomes evident that the aforementioned concerns were not from a place of judgment but caring.
And, in the surf-rock-esque “Spit Shine,” the band slyly leaves their student to take the advice they’ve been given and take charge of their life independently. Reminiscent of the Beatles’ “Think For Yourself,” the listener is now on their own; change is inevitable, but remembering that will carry them through the trouble it may bring.
Yet, this guide is still figuring it out for himself. In “Vertigo-go” and “You Were Wrong About Me,” people see how he is still insecure and introspective and trying to convince himself that he is normal. But this process may never end, though accepting it and guiding others through their insecurities—as No Way Out But Through reveals—can make us feel a little more connected.
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