Anti-Flag released ‘American Spring’ earlier in 2015 to great accolade as they shifted their songwriting to a perspective more focused in global and overall human struggles. This was a wise decision for a band now approaching their 23rd year together as it not only allowed them a chance to rejuvenate their core fan-base by demonstrating their ability to grow, but the opportunity to attract the latest group of disillusioned peoples looking for something to sing along to. Prior to that, Anti-Flag treated fans to a special subscription service celebrating their 20th anniversary, hence the name ’20 Years of Hell’. The concept was that over the course of a year, the band would mail out a 7″ containing two re-recorded Anti-Flag tracks on one side and two tracks from a current band on AF-Records on the other. This was a really cool idea that reminded me of the compilations that used to come with their CDs and sadly, I missed out. Thankfully, the band has put together all of their songs from this collection and added 2 B-sides from ‘American Spring’ to make up one hell of a compilation album that is a real treat for fans.
Right out of the gates, ‘Cease Fires’ comes out guns blazing with ‘The Coward in My Veins’ and ‘The New Jim Crow’. While they were left off the full-length, both songs embody the same combination of visceral ideologies and pop-punk songwriting conveyed by the tracks that made it onto ‘American Spring’. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the rest of this collection because the term “re-recorded versions of old songs” leaves a lot of speculation. Would they simply be verbatim updates with better production values? Maybe a straightforward acoustic version or two? As curious as I was to hear what older songs would sound like with updated equipment, it was the tracks that got the biggest face lifts and the most rearranging and reinterpreting that stood out.
‘The Consumer Song’ is a particular favorite as I have always been fond of it since I first picked up ‘A New Kind of Army’ many years ago, but had never heard a full band version. Now I could see this little ditty fitting in nicely and adding a breath of fresh air to current live sets. Anti-Flag have never been shy about how influential people like Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg are in their songwriting and the toe tapping, acoustic renditions of heavier songs like ‘Bring Out Your Dead’ and ‘No Futures’ exemplify this nicely. The trumpet on the latter is an especially nice touch. With ‘The WTO Kills Farmers’ and ‘The Ink & the Quill’, the band kept the intense urgency of the music behind the songs and further enhanced them by refocusing the energy or cutting down on frills like a children’s choir.
I spent a fair amount of time trying to regard the logic behind the songs selected for this collection as none of these were the most popular of their respective albums. The only thing I could conclude was that this is far and away from a greatest hits compilation. This album is directed at a small group of dedicated fans who managed to miss the subscription 7″s a few years ago and want to hear some really rollicking new versions of old songs. However, it also serves a statement by the band on the staying power of the songs they’ve written over the last 20+ years and the potential they have to carry on as long as people are struggling for their freedom.
MAT STOKES