Strike Anywhere

One of punk’s most intelligent groups deliver another batch of melodic hardcore that is on par with their equally thought-provoking full-lengths, Change Is A Sound and Exit English. With all the melodies of their past work intact, the band have added a newfound sense of harmony, which is apparent from the very first moments on the disc’s opener, "Sedition.” This slightly more mature vocal approach makes for even stronger sounding choruses on tracks like "Prisoner Echoes,” and makes the change from singer Thomas Barnett powerful scream to equally charged clean vocals all the more stirring. One of the band’s greatest attributes in the past has been the focused nature of their lyrics, and this continues with Dead FM. Not content to sing of generic political discontent, Barnett’s words deal with military recruitment tactics, the trampling of the rights of indigenous people, and, in the record’s most personal song, Barnett’s grandfather’s involvement in the Manhattan Project. Fast and powerful, Strike Anywhere have succeeded once again with melding aggression, melody, and intelligent political discourse on Dead FM.