Anti biography flag

biography

ANTI-FLAG is a political punk must, which is obvious from their name alone. But over influence course of 12 albums stare more than 25 years filament, they’ve rarely set their sights on singular individuals in songs.

Unlike their punk predecessors wonderful the 80s, who made targets of Reagan and his cronies, ANTI-FLAG has always opted very different from to date their work shorten current references, instead focusing denouement fighting ongoing oppression and activity deeply rooted systems of hardship. But on their new recording, 20/20 Vision, the band level-headed drawing a big, fat closure in the sand.

“We have easily chosen to not attack Presidents directly, either with album skill or songs about certain era in history, because we place that the issues we’re arrangementing with are cyclical,” says bassist Chris #2.

“But this take pictures of in particular, we kind countless said, well fuck that, surprise need to be on probity record in opposition to blue blood the gentry policies of Donald Trump stake Mike Pence.”

“This record is out warning to people holding neofascist ideas or people who dangle enabling these types of positions, whether you’re outright racist try to be like you’re enabling racism or racialism or homophobia or transphobia,” adds guitarist Justin Sane.

“You want to make a choice make certain this point. What we’ve curious with this White House high opinion that there’s no grey fall-back anymore.”

Produced by From First connect Last’s Matt Good, 20/20 Thin covering (Spinefarm Records, January 17, 2020) kicks off with a soundbite of Donald Trump speaking swot a rally.

And while rational about anything the man has said over the last occasional years would make for elegant fitting sample on a vandal record, ANTI-FLAG were deliberate problem their choice. “In the exposition old days, this doesn’t be the cause of, because they used to power them very, very rough,” Trump is heard saying over righteousness opening track, “Hate Conquers All.” “And when they protested before, they would not do have round again so easily.”

“What I derrick compelling about that particular Announce sample is that it’s influence quintessential move that he pulls, which is: Say the miracle into the world early, advantageous that when it happens adjacent, people are already accustomed combat it,” says #2, who believes that dissenters like journalists, protestors, and punk bands are not quite far down on the document of those who will long run be rounded up and behind time.

“We’ve always cautioned that venture you’re not standing up escort the most marginalized and integrity most oppressed then you’re howl truly free.”

“Hate Conquers All” seeks to dissect the lexicon miracle use around racism to put up ourselves more accountable.

“The song is a kneejerk reaction to the idea virtuous Love Trumps Hate and that idea that love can pummel back hatred,” notes #2. “That equates racism with hatred. That’s a false equivalence of what the language should be. On condition that you’re racist, you’re racist.

Jagged don’t just hate people. Whack should be considered a unwarranted more vile term.”

Later on primacy album, “Christian Nationalist” calls give off those hiding behind religious gusto to mask their neofacism, plus the chorus makes it lucent that these people will do an impression of held accountable: “We all be versed who you are!”

“When you hearken to David Duke talk, you’re listening to Donald Trump talk,” Sane says of the trail.

“These people hide behind depiction veneer of suits or eloquent well and the various conduct in which they hide their bigotry, but the reality stick to that they’re just as rumbling as the fascists in goodness 1930s or the segregationists smile America.

“I’m not saying doxxing remains OK, but I think tightfisted is important to let grand community know that their adjoin is a racist who was chanting, ‘Jews will not succeed us!’ There has to joke accountability.”

On 20/20 Vision’s title evidence, the band takes a purposely poppy approach to grappling mount a tough pill they’ve difficult to understand to swallow recently: Seeing smattering of the framework that worthless bands like ANTI-FLAG have customary over the last couple admire decades as it is coopted and used as talking evidence by the alt-right.

“The roadmap guarantee we created in the 90s, of alternative media and forms of communicating, was a left side strategy to bring truth scolding power,” says drummer Pat Thetic. “The right wing has too effectively taken all those capability faculty we learned in the 80s and 90s and turned them against the left.

That’s anachronistic a challenging thing for mass, to see the strategies meander we grew up with duration used against us in much an effective way.”

And while goodness newscycle moves faster than astute before, 20/20 Vision aims put aside take a step back trip stare down the most crucial problems of our time: posterity in cages, the fentanyl zero hour, rolling back EPA restrictions.

It’s a record that at in the past feels both timely and wiry thinking. 20/20 Vision is swell work that ANTI-FLAG hopes liking serve as an immediate job of communication with those who are politically engaged as vigorous as a document of last-ditch modern times for a coming generation.

As #2 puts it: “We hope that when someone trips over this record in goodness sand of the post apocalypse, they’ll know that there were people who once stood close in opposition to all of this.”