Album Review: ANTI-FLAG - American Fall

01. American Attraction

02.The Criminals
03. When The Wall Falls
04. Trouble Follows Me
05. Finish What We Started
06. Liar
07. Digital Blackout
08. I Came, I Saw, I Believed
09. Racists
10. Throw It Away
11. Casualty

Yes! Anti-Flag are back with a new record, and, as expected, it's full of anger fuelled by current events and an increasingly fascist political climate. You don't have to be a massively political person to feel pissed off right now, with the rich/poor divide widening, the attack on education, and the division between people caused by state endorsed propaganda, amongst a plethora of other things. There are a thousand reasons to be legitimately fucked off with the direction the world is going, and this record taps into this disenchantment perfectly.

This is also one of the strongest albums that Anti-Flag have ever released. The whole record is really catchy and listenable, boasting a stream of potential hits to bother the mainstream. American Attraction is a great opener, and probably my favourite. It's a great single, and the perfect introduction to the band for newcomers. When The Walls Fall has a healthy dose of Ska, and a huge sing-a-long chorus, whereas Racists is the band at their most 'Pop Punk'. Personally, I prefer their less poppy, more slamming, aggressive and riff heavy tracks like Digital Blackout, which is definitely a highlight of the album for me. The Criminals is stylistically somewhere between the two, and reminds be of early Zebrahead. All in all, this new record covers every style they're known for, and does it masterfully. I'm sure that American Fall will be remembered as one of their best and most important releases.

If you like catchy Punk songs, and hate fascists, this album is for you.