Sick on the Bus
Set Fire to Someone in Authority
Punk Police/ Suck on Sick on the Bus
Go Kart
In reference to the title of Set Fire to Someone in Authority, the liner notes say: “An amusing way of dealing with the pigs, traffic wardens, teachers, parents, judges, probation officers, government officials, and any fucker else who thinks they have the right to tell you what to do. Die you bastards!” With a lead singer named Biff and a drummer named Wag, these British punks play tunes with a lot of sneering, anti-authoritarian attitude. SOTB presents the world as terribly corrupt, full of cameras so “THEY” can watch “US,” and crammed with leaders who lie to us. There are also songs about intoxicating substances and only wanting sex without the relationship. Fun. Musically, the whole thing sounds like background music on a skate video and may be painful to listen to all at once. Read the liner notes because they’re funny. Yes, it’s definitely vomit punk at its anti-everything best.
Punk Police/Suck on Sick on the Bus consists of two albums that support SOTB’s stance against, well, everything: supermarkets, television, religion, love, hate, police, and authority in general. You name it, and I’m sure they are against it. It’s sort of refreshing to hear something that’s not overly political and serious. My personal favorite out of the two discs is track four on Punk Police, “No Need For That.” Breaking up the heavy, fuzzy, old school punk sound, this tune with a ska sounding hook contains lyrics like, “People say I’m dirty, my mind is unclean/But I’ve got the right to be heard and seen.” I hate using such a cliché reference, but the singer’s vocal style (especially in that last track I talked about) really is similar to the sneering British defiance of The Sex Pistols. The songs that aren’t anti-everything are mostly about beer and girls, and a rather amusing track called “Kill Yourself” (need I explain that one further?). This record is like watching that kid who ate worms in kindergarten – you know you’re only encouraging his delinquency, but it’s just so fun to watch!
Go Kart Records, PO Box 20 Prince Street Station, New York, NY 10012; http://www.GokartRecords.com; Sick on the Bus, PO Box 631 Bedford, MK40 1ZF UK
