No Choice
"Dry River Fishing" CD (Newest Industry)
My affection for this album, such as it is, is colored by what I see as a lack of explicitly political punk as the United States marches to and engages in war. Even so, this had to come out of the U.K. It doesn't tread new ground in terms of beliefs, expression or form. It's typical left-wing punk. It's not even that it's good left-wing punk; it just seems to stand alone amongst songs about high school and girls that bad guys want and other pop tripe to appear necessary, if only for the moment. Musically, it falls somewhere between Four Letter Word and "Fore"-era Pegboy with hints of Leatherface, Fuel and Propagandhi thrown in for good measure. And for shits and giggles, the breakdown in the middle of "Wonderland" sounds like it might as well be a cover of Jane's Addiction's "Ted, Just Admit It ..." which just puts the final stake in this whole record. There's not much here, here. There was just enough to make me think that it might be worth listening to again. And now I'm done with that idea.