A.P.P.L.E.

In the 80s, anarcho/peace punk belonged to the UK.  I would say this was because they did it better than everyone else, but with only a few exceptions, no one else even did it at all.  New York City's A.P.P.L.E. were one of those exceptions (along with TRIAL from San Francisco), and their unabashed peace-filled approach to the world of punk and politics resonated in the form of their legacy far beyond their scope of actual influence.  I even heard of A.P.P.L.E. in Nowheresville, Oklahoma and I remember how excited I was when I finally tracked down one of their records and prepared to listen to these stalwart supporters of peace and equality for the very first time.  They were terrible...I mean seriously awful.  I still don't know what record I first listened to, but I confess that I never really bothered tracking down any of their material after that fateful afternoon.  

Perhaps my musical horizons have broadened, or perhaps I didn't start with the right release, but this 1986 cassette release from A.P.P.L.E. packs all of the peace punk punch that I was hoping for when I first took the band for a test spin some years ago.  Forceful female vocals that could have proudly fronted any number of influential bands from the other side of the proverbial pond, and far better than average songwriting that suits the excellent guitar parts quite well.  The politics are pretty standard fare for todays well read anti-establishment punk rocker (which I'm sure all Terminal Escape readers are, yes?) but in a relatively apolitical 80s New York City punk scene more famous for junkies and political conservatives than flag waving activists, I imagine that A.P.P.L.E. endured more than their fair share of attacks, verbal and otherwise.  Neither Victims Nor Executioners is an 8 song attack from 1986, the second cassette release from A.P.P.L.E. (I think), and it comes with an extensive booklet that I am shocked has lasted the last 24 years mostly in tact.  Three of these tracks appear on the On The Edge compilation posted last fall, the others are just as awesome.  If you've never heard, then dive in, and if you have previously eschewed (as I did), then give it another shot.

NEITHER VICTIMS NOR EXECUTIONERS