Labels: Dirtnap
Review by: Michael Stewart
The holy spirit of the Portland punk trinity, Autistic Youth have been largely quiet
since the release of their first LP while Red Dons continue the messianic proselytising
for the cause of high quality, thoughtful political punk with hooks that The Observers
seemed to create in six days back in 2004 with the seminal So What’s Left Now.
Hyperbole aside, all three bands are responsible for some of the best American punk
rock this side of the millennium, and Autistic Youth do not disappoint with their latest
offering. Rarely are bands as able to marry gravity with melodic infectiousness as
they are here, all the while coming out of it with something sounding fresh. This is
commendable enough, but for a band barely into their twenties it is worthy of genuine
remark. This is not quite the second coming of the Observers long-player mentioned
earlier, one of the few truly classic punk records of recent years, but it is very, very
good and a stick-on for the top ten of the year should the needle not have worn it out.