Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights Of America [CD]
 

It's always a tough one isn't it? The one that bands go on and on about; the difficult 8th album. Well not really, most bands are lucky enough to make it to album number 3 before critics and fans alike have written them off or decided they're no longer cool.
Barring pop punk legends NOFX and hardcore godfathers Converge you probably won't find many bands out there that after going for so long have never once compromised their sound. Anti-Flag don’t really fall into that category but they kind of do. Forever uninfluenced by whatever current crop of chart fodder is surrounding them at the time the band have always managed to stay true to their roots and unlike the eventual ridiculousness of bands like Blink and Green Day, have never truly changed their outlook.

Signing to a major label RCA Records was not something that went down too well with the Anti-Flag hardcore, but ultimately it was something they just had to get past and when they're still making albums as good as 'The Bright Lights Of America' it's not difficult to see why it wasn’t a hard choice to make.
Old school fans may be disappointed to find that the band no longer seem to believe in the short and sweet side of things (the shortest track on the album being 3 minutes) which on the first few listens is a little annoying. Anti-Flag are a band who won the hearts of millions by carrying the torch for sharp, jagged 1 and a half minute punk tracks but on ‘The Bright Lights Of America’ there’s none of that and at times the music does suffer. ‘No Warning ’ is a particularly good example, it’s a stellar effort by a band clearly trying to take their music to better places but ultimately it grows tiresome and could’ve/should’ve been at least half the length.

‘The Bright Lights Of America’ is by far the most experimental album Anti-Flag have ever released, tracks like opener ‘Good And Ready’ and ‘Go West’ start out in familiar territory but end up descending into full-blown epics with a children’s choir featuring in the former and even the inclusion of bells and timpani. Not really your typical Anti-Flag style and although effective it does sometimes sound a little try hard. Saying that, the experimental aspects of this album are perfectly executed on tracks like ‘Shadow Of The Dead’ and ‘Smartest Bomb’. Both are perfectly rounded in every way and it certainly gives a lot of promise as to what album number 9 is going to offer if the band continue with this style.

The title track of the album is by far the best and truest offering, an awesome sing a long chorus and an underlying frustration brought out in only the way that Anti-Flag can voice so perfectly. As front man Justin Sane sings the words “I just want you to know there are warehouses full of fucked up kids like you and me” he is still hitting the nail right on the head even though he himself (hardly a kid) is now pushing 36.
The lyrical content remains typical to what we know and love best about this band, it’s pissed off, political and totally honest.

It’s not often a band can go as long as Anti-Flag have without growing up a little. ‘The Bright Lights Of America’ is a fine example of a great band trying to broaden their appeal and horizons with elements that have never before been included in their music. Although a little confusing after the first few listens the true beauty of this album really shines through and cannot be denied. It will appeal to new whilst possibly alienating the old but they’ll get over it I’m sure.