Ann Beretta
New Union• Old Glory
Lookout!
On an Internet message board, I recently saw a post by a kid (no doubt all of 14) proclaiming that “old school punk is dead.” Ha ha. That little shit hasn’t heard Ann Beretta’s latest. This stuff would kick his ass so hard, his mommy and daddy would have to take him to the hospital.
Simply put, this is the best old school punk rock I’ve heard in a long time, possibly since Down By Law’s Fly The Flag and holding its own with slightly glammier entries like American Heartbreak’s Postcards From Hell and Libertine’s See You in the Next Life. Youth crew anthemic lyrics about leaving home, politics, heartache, and revolution, with all the right catchphrases like “nowhere generation” and “lock’d, ready, and load,” but just vague enough that just about anyone will be able to relate. Add to the solid lyrics great, melodic, mid-tempo old school punk music clearly inspired by The Clash (and a bassist clearly inspired by Rancid’s Matt Freeman), and instrumental variety not often seen on modern punk records (old school or otherwise), including the occasional acoustic guitar in with the electrics, and even a piano on one cut.
Get it now. Don’t make me tell you twice.
Lookout! Records, 3264 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703; http://www.lookoutrecords.com. Ann Beretta, PO Box 12246, Richmond, VA; annberetta@juno.com, http://www.abrocknroll.com
