[EX GRATIA RECORDINGS]
What can I say about Anarchistwoood? Where do I start?
As a supporting act last year for Anthrax (no, not that one, the UK anarcho one), it came as a complete surprise to us all when they hit the stage. A refreshing alternate musical hit, for sure.
After the initial intro track, the first song ‘proper’ kicks off with the palindromic ‘Rats Live On No Evil Star’, which is so catchy, with lyrical delivery a la Jello Biafra coming from Frank Cutter, combined with a Fuzzbox style chorus. A cracking opener for sure!
The fuzz doesn’t stop there, as ‘Bomb In A Luggage Rack’ picks up where RLONES left off, complete with trumpeting – of which there’s not enough of in punk I think, followed by the almost Butthole Surfers style ‘Body’ and then the electro-punkery of ‘And Some, Son’. ‘Supercrash’ calms the album’s freneticism a notch with its minimalistic enchantment.
‘Something’s Rotten’ differs from the other tracks as it’s a live recording of short acapella musing, reminiscent of something that might have gone unrecorded from Les Miserables. ‘Bucketae Cuntae’ brings back the trumpeting in its Zappaesque composition. ‘Wake Up Marie’, for me, has CRASS undertones to it, which is by no means a bad thing at all. All very entertaining for sure!
Then, we get a curveball – an alternate take on Minor Threat’s ‘Straight Edge’ complete with alt lyrics. ‘Answer To War’ kicks up the fuzz once again and is pretty much the heaviest song on the album, ending with the similarly paced ‘Bad Juju’.
If you like your music edgy and a bit on the alternative side, then try this album out for size – but – to fully appreciate it, you will need to track Anarchistwood down at a gig and experience the whole performance, as only then will you fully ‘get’ them.
Superb stuff – thoroughly recommended!
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