The problem with political bands signing to major labels is that it just becomes too difficult to give a crap. Maybe they signed because they wanted greater exposure for their ideas, but the label signed them because they want to exploit them for money, so their ideas get lost in the corporate machine. This Anti-Flag promo is a great example of why political bands should not sell out.

To sum it up, this is the song that Green Day wanted to write when they wrote American Idiot. However, instead of desperately grasping for punk credibility, Anti-Flag is pissing it away. There's something about the cleaned up production that removes all traces of legitimacy from whatever message they might be trying to convey. When I was listening to the title track, all I heard was 80's hair metal. That's what selling out does for your band: turns you into Poison (pun intended).

The B-side, "I'm So Sick Of You", is better. It's a faster, punk jam that seems pretty tough. After the A-side, though, it feels a lot like that Rancid crust punk album. The one that seemed like they were working too hard to be punk again. Not that I'm one to talk, of course.

If you like this review, you can buy me a coffee.