And he does so with some wry humour, intellect and the very basis of what punk rock should be about asking the questions no one else feels compelled to ask. It isn’t all about the follies of politics, vocalist Joe McMahon spends a lot of time writing introspection questioning morality (“Monsters Among Us”), suicide (“Shotgun”), the dissolution of the punk rock scene (“Hope And Anchor”) and moving to Mexico (“Expatriate”). Who else would release a song about the declining American media (“Integrity”) or a folk-punk ditty about the terrible mistake that is the war (“Honey I Was Right About The War)” without worrying about the consequences? Fat Mike is like a bullhorn- for his own politics and that of his bands. The Speakeasy gets it due partly because the label, Fat Wreck, is no stranger to the airing of dissenting views. Boston-by-way-of-Richmond band Smoke or Fire are one such outfit wading through the mess of pop punk poster boys, emo heartthrobs and mohawked poseurs to deliver an aptly profound statement of our current time. Yet they do it, hundreds of them across the globe forsaking widespread recognition for something with a bit of meaning. It all seems like an endless slog through the commercial pig trough of the transparent. Being in a punk rock band in 2010 is a thankless job.
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