Come Out Swingin'

Album Review

New Society of Anarchists, true to their name, play uncompromisingly political hardcore punk in the classic late-'80s style: tempos are speedy but not as breakneck as the first wave of faster-and-louder HC kids had been (yes, there are mosh breakdowns), and the vocals are handled by one shouty guy (bassist Zakk Zarnowski) who occasionally shades almost into the standard metalcore growl, as on "Pig Business." On the choruses, he's backed up by brother Arlo Zarnowski and cousin Jason Zarnowski (both on guitar), whose shouted gang vocals are enough to make old-school dudes misty-eyed for the glory days of D.R.I. and Discharge. It's perhaps a sad state of global affairs that the lyrics rail against the same set of injustices as the '80s political hardcore bands, but Zarnowski does avoid the worst kind of political punk, the bands heavy on the moralistic fingerpointing but light on actual solutions. Solid stuff, overall.