Usman's Staff Pick: April 14, 2023

Hello and thanks for reading. Today I am writing about ANTI-SYSTEM. My introduction to the band was via their debut 7” ‘Defence Of The Realm EP’. At this point, the band more or less has that classic UK anarcho sound. The guitar sounds fairly tinny and noisy like a band on Crass Records, but the drummer plays with more DISCHARGE style compared to most of those bands. This EP is excellent, and I’m not sure I could say which of their records I like the most… but man, I’ve been playing their full-length ‘No Laughing Matter’ non-stop lately. I feel like it’s one of the best records that came out in 1985. They leaned way more into the DISCHARGE on it. The guitar tone even sounds more like ‘Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", with the tinny guitar replaced by a huge wall of sound. While these elements were pushed harder on the LP, they still take the time and space to go deeper into the anarcho side of things. From audio-clips, to percussive passages accompanied by chanting, and even a tiny bit of political spoken word—this record has it all for me. I feel like this fusion of DISCHARGE and CRASS was not too uncommon around this time, but when has it ever been this perfect? ANTISECT’s ‘In Darkness There Is No Choice" is another example of this perfect fusion for me. Alright, I’m happy to say I don’t have to go back to work for once… but I am going to drink gin and tonics, and make some pizza. I hope everyone is well. Thank you for reading and thanks to everyone for the support!!


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