The RadioActivist

This Moment in Black History is a difficult act to analyze, not merely due to their crosscutting stylistic directions or unorthodox structures, but for their entire approach as it pertains to art and substance. In what might be deemed the burgeoning style of hipster hardcore (or ”blipster” hardcore depending on whether you agree with the New York Times coining cultural terms), TMIBH joins the ranks of those such as Pissed Jeans, the Death Set and latter-day Fucked Up who dabble in experimentalism as much as raw energy. On Public Square, the sense of irony in songs like “Forest Whitaker (In an Uncompromising Role)” and “Theophylline Valentine” bubbles over much more so than any Minor Threat, Bad Brains or even late-era Black Flag. Sure, at times TMIBH can be rather straightforward, like in “MFA” where the simple message of the chorus is “It’s what I worked so hard for.” The verse is another story, though, spewing cryptically “250 miles down south / Put that chili back in your mouth / Fa...

The playfully perverse name Amish Electric Chair dons across their equally morbid DIY cover art gives little indication of the fiery melodic punk contained therein: a fuming concoction of equal parts Anti-Flag, Time Again and Strike Anywhere with their own fervent Midwestern twist. The initial shock of how much the EP’s opener “Social Revolution” sounds like Justin, Pat, Chris and Chris may take a moment to wear off given the familiar sneering vocals, rolling bassline, unabashed political stance and even the chord pattern. However, when it does, a varied but consistent five-song disc emerges. Arguably, the best of the bundle is “State of the Union,” which unlike its opening-number counterpart, seems more reflective than angry as it attests, “Young kids and girls / You’re at the top of the world” above a warm four-chord progression. Like the opener, “Jellico, Tennessee” gives a resounding nod to Anti-Flag musically and lyrically with a simple chorus of “Fuck you, Jellico, Tennessee.” “W...