Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
One of the finest features of Punk is that it doesn’t require a language in which it can hide behind innuendo, insinuation, hints, and clues, Punk says exactly what it wants to say, no frustration, no games, and the implication of its truth is what scares some into declaring that they find it distasteful, that its aggressive stance is unconscionable in a world which they insist should be actively fed propaganda to about its future, its current state of existence.
Worcester is famed for many moments in British history, riots, invention, civil war and bishopric tussles all hidden behind the green leaf façade, the sense of county cricket and often damaging floods give it a gentle face in which to present itself to the world, but the act of rebellion looms large and in Fights And Fires the same Worcester rage that filled the blood in notable people such as Hannah Snell, Dave Mason, and Vesta Tilly, comes to the fore and in their latest E.P. Future Plans And The Things That Ruin Them, the melodic Punk not only struts its stuff on the greens and dare it be said implanted British traditions, it purposely lights a match underneath the toes of tranquillity and watches as the righteous fire takes hold.
The five track E.P. powerfully contains the images and demands of a broken generation, one betrayed by the stealing of dreams and loves and in Disposable Dogs, Shitty Ear, Bed For Bones, the damning Up, Down, Labour, Conservative, A, B, Start, and Pocket Full Of Flowers, Fights And Fires exemplify the reasoning of an age, that by denying a group of people all that you once fought for, the tranquil nature can soon be displaced and what emerges is our own fault, the sense of karmic time taking a huge and nasty bite out of the hand that once fed.
But in here lays the rub, this, despite its arc is not one of complaint, just anger, and in anger lays the beauty of hope, for how else are we meant to address the elephant on parade in Britain’s shires and the spray painted green grass that adorns the picture postcard philosophy of a nation; for Fight And Fires the timing could not be better, and in an E.P. of quality and strength, of moral rebellion, the Future Plans And The Things That Ruin Them are laid bare, the conversation is opened, and the Punk belief of shaking the tree of antagonism in the hope that it brings change is very much on view, and appreciated.
We may continue to fight the fire of constant change, but sometimes we should in reality, allow it to burn, to clear the scrub wood from sight and replace it with a more robust system of conflict, and by doing so open up plans that won’t be ruined by old traditions and philosophies.
Fights And Fires release Future Plans And The Things That Ruin Them on 18th February via Lockjaw Records.
Ian D. Hall