ALBUM REVIEW: Various Artists – For Family And Flag Vol. 1 (Pirates Press Records)
For 15 years, the San Francisco independent label Pirates Press has been issuing top-notch streetpunk and Oi! records by artists both old and new.
To mark its 200th release, it produced the excellent One Family One Flag 3LP compilation, celebrating some of the label’s finest moments.
It was so successful that demand for more of the same has grown from fans and punk DJs, and it has responded by announcing For Family And Flag, a new series aimed at regularly promoting music from the Pirates family.
Volume 1 brings together 14 songs by some of their top bands, including new and unreleased material, hits, and select tracks from recent records, and it’s a great collection.
Things open with Let The Good Times Roll, a track from the most un-Pirates-like release the label has ever put out, Shuffle & Bang (reviewed here), an album of Jamaican jazz by reggae musician Korey Horn and his dad Pops.
Normal service is restored next with Marching Onwards, a new, previously unreleased track by Pirates stalwarts Cock Sparrer. It’s a typically upbeat anthem from the East End kings of streetpunk, with vocalist Colin imploring: “Make today the greatest today, I wouldn’t have it any other way”.
The Slackers, a ska-punk outfit from NYC, have released several records on the label this year, as well as having back-catalogue classics reissued. Their contribution, Nobody’s Listening, is a new song previously available as a limited edition single.
The Bar Stool Preachers, from Brighton, were one of the first bands to issue new music during the pandemic, and contribute When This World Ends, previously available as one side of a stunning 12in picture disc single. It’s one of my favourite tunes here, and augurs well for their third album, which they’re in the process of making.
The Drowns released their superb second album Under Tension (reviewed here) at the beginning of this year, and Battery Street is one of its highlights, with gruff-voiced singer Aaron Rev in fine form. They’re shaping up to be one of the best streetpunk bands on the scene.
Motorhead might have gone, but Charger are keeping their spirit alive. They contribute Watch Your Back from their double-A-side 12in, and I’m sure Lemmy and co would approve.
No!se are a streetpunk band from Tacoma/Seattle who have released a steady trickle of new singles during this strangest of years. Here we have Lost, a track from a 12in single released on UV digitally printed vinyl in the summer. Did I mention PP are also great innovators when it comes to releasing records in new and exciting forms?
Bishops Green, from Vancouver in Canada, have been building a name for themselves on the Oi! scene for a while now, and are rightly regarded as one of its modern heavyweights. Working Poor is a new song and one of the many highlights of this record. It has their trademark hard-as-nails guitar and vocals, and is hopefully a sign that they’re ready to add to their two fine albums.
Seized Up were formed in Santa Cruz, California, in early 2019 by Bl’ast singer Clifford Dinsmore, Fast Asleep guitarist Danny B., Good Riddance bassist Chuck Platt and The Distillers drummer Andy Granelli. They arrived as a fully-formed hardcore juggernaut, and Taking Back The Neighborhood is from their excellent debut album Brace Yourself.
The breakneck Thought Is Free is one of the highlights of Crisis Point, the latest album by 80s anarcho-punk veterans, Subhumans (reviewed here), and shows they remain as political and relevant as ever. It was released as a flexi single to promote the album, which was their first in 12 years.
Formed in Paris back in 2012, Lion’s Law are another of the elite modern bands of the worldwide streetpunk scene. They released their fourth album The Pain, The Blood And The Sword (reviewed here) this year, and Damaged Heart is one of its standout tracks. Their sound is tough as old boots, but there’s plenty of melody there too.
45 Adapters are a Brooklyn Oi! Band whose sound is also influenced by ska and R&B. Now Or Never is a new song which suggests that a new album might be in the offing to add to the sole long player to date.
Black Clouds is the contribution from Antagonizers ATL, an oi band from Atlanta, Georgia, previously only available as a promo flexi disc – one of PP’s specialities. It’s a full-blooded anthem with a catchy as hell chorus and guitar riff.
The compilation started with something a bit different, and ends in the same vein, with Need, a new song from Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One, which offers a change of pace from the full-throttle songs which went before and bookends For Family And Flag Vol. 1 nicely. Check out the former Darkbuster and Street Dogs man’s recent digital-only live album here.
As a collection of some of the finest streetpunk around you won’t get much better than this. It’s available on black or blood red and vinyl from Pirates Press HERE. 8/10
