You remember 2001? You remember when, amidst the sea of proto stadium crust clones and a relentless assault of by-the-numbers rehash thrash coming from every corner of the world, a crew of teenagers from Copenhagen completely changed the face of DIY punk? Sure, there was the HUL 12", but that one slipped past most folks, but in rapid succession there were records by AMDI PETERSENS ARMÉ, YOUNG WASTENERS and NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS, whose self titled 2004 LP quickly became as omnipresent as Vengeance had been just a year earlier. There were others after that first wave, as the teenagers grew up and influenced teenagers of their own, but I can think of very few times in my punk life when one sound from one scene in one city so drastically affected the international punk scene. And this....? This is the natural progression. More than the bands that came after the initial detonation, THE WAR GOES ON listens like a more focused, more determined incarnation of those early sounds. When adulthood is a reality and that reality really sinks in - youthful idealism is washed away and the choruses are cloaked in darkness and resignation. I confess that The War Goes On didn't initially grab me as tightly as the aforementioned (now) classic acts. Where is the "Rainy Day" on this record? Where is the hit? But....just listen. "This Shitty Life" into "Darkest Days" is the highlight, followed by the guitar drenched desperate bliss of "The World Hates You" (check those titles, and that shit is back to back to back). There can be no mistake that while time may have been as cruel to these kids as it has been to the rest of us, they have remained as fierce (and as full of hooks) as ever. Songs to get lost in, songs to sing along to, songs to understand and a well earned time to be understood.
As always with current acts, support of the artists and labels responsible is encouraged. This cassette version of the LP on Adult Crash/New Dark Age comes to me (and now, you) courtesy of Singapore's Pissed Off Records.
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