Review: Stirke Anywhere, Dead FM

Despite my initial concerns upon viewing what must be the ugliest cover art in the history of music, Richmond Virginia's Strike Anywhere have gone out and produced another great LP. In terms of lyrical content it's a G20 protest wrapped in plastic. There is a song covering just about any topical anti-globalisation message you could care to poke a stick at, and the redfern riots even get a look in. They seem to have gone a bit more melodic on this release, which I'm not really a fan of. But good on them for trying to attract a broader appeal to some marginalised stories and unpopular messages. I have to admit that I prefer Strike Anywhere's previous cds, and they are probably a better starting point for people who are not familiar with their sound. The old LPs have a greater sense of urgency- both in terms of the lyrical content, and the intensity of delivery. Famous hardcore producer Brian McTernan is behind the decks on this cd, and I'm not sure that he has added anything positive compared to the Jade Tree releases. When I heard he was going to produce the album I thought that they were trying to inject a bit of life into the bands sound, or take it down some entirely different new path. But this album really is just a continuation of the bands previous work, albeit a little more poppy and melodic, which I suppose you would expect from FAT Wreckchords. No songs really stand out on this disk, but the whole package will keep you flying along for 25 minutes- which is good enough for me.