ALBUM REVIEW: Gottlieb – The Far Fallen Fruit (Quiet Panic)
Gottlieb are an anarcho-punk collective from Los Angeles who were formed in 2020 and, after a couple of EPs and a handful of standalone singles, this is their debut album.
Completely self-produced – from writing and recording to mixing and artwork – they’re heavily politically driven, and have delivered a damning statement on the realities of life in modern America.
Blending a modern hook-filled approach with the confrontational spirit of bands like Crass (whose famous logo inspired theirs) and Refused, it’s 10 slices of urgent punk with a hard-hitting message.
At its core is the belief that people are no longer being served a system which only works in the interests of those at its very peak, the billionaires and oligarchs whose influence extends as far as deciding who becomes president.
The band describe The Far Fallen Fruit as both a eulogy and a breaking point. Vocalist Andrew Pescara says “the American Ideal has crumbled, and the American Dream is something we’ve been forced to reject — even while hoping it could still be recovered.”
He’s certainly got plenty to say, in vocals delivered as deadpan spoken word at times, and screamed bloody indignation at others. Angry? You bet they are.
Opener Pipe Bomb sets the tone, pure rage over the top of the kind of post-punk backdrop which IDLES do so well. Then What Are You Worth? asks why ordinary people keep going the extra mile, doing a little more unpaid work each day, so those at the top can increase their wealth.
The album’s centrepiece is latest single American Blood, which suggests individuals are fighting a losing battle against oligarchy, exploitation, and a feeling of powerlessness that affects many.
Dogs, Pt. 1 (Joy To Distract From Resistance) is full of righteous anger as Percara howls “pain’s the problem – you’re the problem – not my boot on your neck.”
There’s more visceral anger on City On The Hill, which pointedly asks: “Would the city still have slipped if the hill weren’t made of shit?” Elsewhere, Optimized Child has illuminated by jagged shards of guitar and a pumping chorus.
Dogs, Pt. 2 (The Far Fallen Fruit) is even more furious than part one, and there’s real food for thought in the shape of I Started Carrying A Knife Today, where Pescara asks “Is it gonna keep warm in a hole on my chest? Or yours?”
Perhaps the most powerful song here is White Vans, which paints a menacingly dystopian picture of ICE agents snatching people from their homes and breaking up families in Trump’s America.
Closing things out is Sugar Packets, a five-minute epic which reminds me very much of Crass as it compares our leaders to forgotten sugar sachets, “hardened, misused, discarded and buried beneath the failing wobbly leg”.
If you like your punk served angry – and who doesn’t? – Gottlieb have got the lot; aggression, pace and an important message. Their mission statement on their Bandcamp page is simple: “Get active or get out of punk.” They mean it man. 8/10.
