ALBUM REVIEW: All Out Attack – Gaslight Nation (self-released)
All Out Attack are a four-piece punk band from North East England, and Gaslight Nation is their second album. It came out about six months ago, but shamefully I’ve just got round to reviewing it.
It’s been a long time in the making, following 10 years after their debut album Dystopia, but I’m glad to say it’s well worth the wait.
They’ve had a change of personnel since then, with James taking over on bass, and he fits their driving punk style like a glove.
Gaslight Nation is 12 tracks of angry political punk, played with real zeal, delivering messages of hope, defiance, pride and despair.
Several of the songs were included on their 2021 digital-only release Step Up! (reviewed here), but are long overdue a physical release, having been in their live set for what seems like forever.
I’m thinking about the likes of A Holiday In Beijing (long a live favourite of mine) and (A Tale Of) Three Rivers, and both sound as good as they do on stage, which is testament to producer Alex.
He’s captured their gutsy guitar sound well, but you can hear the drums and bass too, with singer Adz’s voice also loud and clear in the mix.
They have resisted the temptation to include the two songs from 2022’s AA-side single Class War/Torchlit Life, and three songs are completely new; Serried Ranks, May Fly, and Common Ground, with the last-named hunt sabs anthem the pick of them.
The album kicks off with Hate Race, with air raid sirens giving way to a Discharge-like onslaught, and it’s followed by (Under) Leaden Skies,
(A Tale Of) Three Rivers, about the industrial decline of the Tyne, Wear and Tees, shows that while Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough might have sharp differences over football, they’re all hard-done-to working class places which are more alike than they might care to admit.
Never Grow Old is a tribute to the punk scene which brought All Out Attack together, while the excellent A Holiday In Beijing, about the dismantling of Teesside’s steelworks, is the standout track here with its searing Dead Kennedys guitar, and one of their very best songs.
Another setlist staple, The 15th Battalion, is a rousing tribute to the international brigade who fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. May Fly is about making the most of the time we have on this earth, while the closing False Flags, about things not seeming what they appear to be, brings thing to a close.
If you like your punk served with plenty of politics – and, let’s face it, why else would you be listening to it? – this is a release you need to get your ears around.
- Gaslight Nation is available direct from All Out Attack at gigs or via their Facebook page HERE.
