| Artist |
| Action Directe |
| Title |
| Contempt/Subversion |
| Format/Cat |
| 2CD |
| Label |
| Own Release |
| Style |
| Modern Punk |
| Date of review |
| 6th May 2010 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7/10 |
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Every AD release I've heard yet has been a very different beast; Intervention was a thoughtful mix of electro & punk with political lyrics that brought The Clash to mind while Vanguard was their synthpop album that, at times sounded like they were trying to be VNV Nation! For this latest double offering, the bare but uncompromising cover of which has led to it being dubbed' The Red Album', AD stalwart Joel Heyes has recruited a new line-up & this has borne another new facet for the band as this is a much more raw offering that comes closest to the true punk spirit. It sounds almost like a bootleg recording which gives it an immediacy that few albums lack now, almost as if it the band were jamming & the whole thing was recorded on the spur of the moment. Throughout the scything guitars & raw vocals seem to feed off of each other, the lyrics again making some very astute observations; one thing's for sure, nobody's gonna accuse Joel of being blindly patriotic!!! Although there is a cohesive whole running through both discs, with the music being constantly embellished by samples of figures as far apart as Desmond Tutu & Nick Griffin (or Nick 'Fucking' Griffin, as the sleevenotes so wisely put it!) the moods do vary with some fine piano work contributing towards such darker tracks as 'Still Human Still Here' & 'Bad Elements' while 'Singing For The Clampdown' ends the first disc on a manic note, full of energy & anger. There are more electro elements to be found on disc two, most notably some decent backing sequences that do nothing to dilute the essential rawness. Penny Dreadful's vocals on 'Hunger Strike' add to this, bringing to mind Patti Smith while 'Blood & Feathers' raise a smile by including a sample to The Comic Strip's Mr Jolly Lives Next Door (I live my life by those words, as well!!!!). And if it's unusual mixtures you're looking for, just check out 'Exploitation Bingo" which starts with the Stripper music before diving headlong into another adrenaline-filled superspeed punk rush while 'Together', with its dark moods & superb guitar noodling, should appeal to any death rockers out there & thus provides yet another facet to the band's sound.
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