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The Subhumans are back in action, and I’m not talking about the UK version of the Subhumans. On September 15th, the original Subhumans, who hail from Vancouver, British Columbia , are set to release their newest album in nearly 24 years. The punk rock band initially broke up in 1982, but has reformed on a couple of occasions for reunion shows, but in 2005 reunited to finally record a new album. The name of the new album is New Dark Age Parade, and it reeks of political angst from start to finish. The band is appropriately releasing their new CD on the Winnipeg-based indie label, G7 Welcoming Committee Records, who are home to other political acts such as: Propagandhi, GFK, and Noam Chomsky.

The new album reminds me of what other punk acts like Descendents and Social Distortion have been doing for the past two decades. At many points on New Dark Age Parade, the band’s vocalist Brian Goble even reminds me of the early singing style of Milo from Descendents. The album's production is crisp and clear, with musicianship tight and the guitar solos rocking. The lyrics are fairly straightforward and fueled with frustration regarding the current state of affairs around the world. This frustration is quite evident in the song "Moving Forward," which is a tirade against the current American administration. The song's chorus sings, “You say you want to liberate, but you really want to dominate, you’ve got your sights set on Iran but what about Uzbekistan,” and showcases the band at its finest, and most livid on the new album.

However, the album's overall vocal performance seems to lack a certain energy that is needed to pull everything together. At times the vocal melodies seem to repeat from song to song, and this causes the band to seem a bit lacklustre. Also, the majority of the songs on New Dark Age Parade are of the same tempo and similar song structure, so the album begins to sound a bit tired and dull nearing the end.

The album's artwork is related to the album's lyrical content, and is composed with pictures of cartoon characters living in the 1950s in a time of war. The characters appear content yet ignorant to the effects cause by their war. My overall impressions of New Dark Age Parade are that of a solid yet simple album written about various political issues. There aren’t too many standout tracks on the album; however, there aren’t any weak songs either.

For fans of old-school mid-tempo punk rock, be sure to check out the Subhumans' New Dark Age Parade and be sure to check out the Subhumans out on their cross-Canada tour this fall.

Highlight tracks: "World at War," "Moving Forward"



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    Posted by Dominic on 2006-10-16 21:39:49

    Love that political music! Gimme some more. That's what brains are for!

    Great show in Vancouver.

    Dominic

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 2:12 PM (EDT)

    god, more political music

    stop it already, you have nothing new to say

    Posted by repo_man on 2006-10-14 21:59:27

    Subhumans played last night here in Vancouver, it was the start of the Canadian tour. Show was great, fantastic set of old classics and some great new tracks from the new lP. Band has 3 out of 4 origial members. The newest member Jon Card on drums is no stranger to the punk scene, he played with DOA, SNFU and Personality Crisis, fantastic drumming. The band looks and sounds great together.

    Posted by Adam2 on 2006-10-10 21:57:23

    The new album is great. Love the lyrics. People who see the new album as "anti-American" are really missing the point. They are commenting - among other things- on the history of US foreign policy and looking at how power is exercised in this world. Sometimes the outlook is angry (Moving Forward) and sometimes it is funny (Daisy-Cutter).

    The tempo is in keeping with the tempo that the Subhumans (Canada) have always used. It is not speed-core or grind-core to be sure. I don't have a problem with that. It is the more rock-oriented sound of old school punk.

    Anyway, its a fine release and worth a listen.

    Adam2

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 8, 2006 at 10:19 PM (EDT)

    You could also declare war if that's what your public and government think!

    Posted by trolley on 2006-10-05 14:41:45

    "...the real subhumans from the u.k...."

    Do your research before you post asshat:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subhumans_(Canadian_band)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subhumans_(U.K._band)

    In case you're illiterate, which would be a safe bet considering your apparent typing skills, the point I'm trying to make is the Canadian band was founded 2 years earlier than the U.K. band.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 12:48 PM (EDT)

    fuck this band. only subhumans that matter are the real subhumans from the u.k., dumbass.

    Posted by lushj on 2006-10-05 01:51:23

    Close. Trotsky the drummer for Subhumans is also the drummer for Culture Shock and, until this year, 16 years into the band, the drummer for Citizen Fish. The Subhumans bassist Phil moved to guitar for Citizen Fish, while Jasper from Culture Shock stayed @ bass when Citizen Fish began in 1990 or so. Culture Shock had 1-2 studio records and was the "missing link" between Subhumans and Citizen Fish. Jasper is behind the merch table for Citizen Fish tours (at least here in the US).

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 11:14 PM (EDT)

    "...But the DC Youth Brigade is so much better! Still, I agree that the UK Subhumans are the more obvious band...Dick Lucas is really an excellent songwriter. Why did Cititzen Fish have to be a different band, though? Couldn't they have made ska albums under the name "Subhumans"? Also, I hate it when people type "Subhumans" out like the logo -- you know, "[SUB][HUM][ANS]"."

    I think the drummer's different. Or at least one of them are.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 5:22 PM (EDT)

    Why the hell is Punknews not covering the issues discussed at www.vandalscandal.com?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!

    Posted by Maks on 2006-10-04 12:32:48
    My Score:

    pretty solid release.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-10-03 23:10:52

    shutup, not funny.

    Posted by FuckYouOiOiOi on 2006-10-03 21:51:24

    damn this band has changed.They'll never top The Day the Country Died.

    Posted by feeeding5000 on 2006-10-03 21:08:30

    ...But the DC Youth Brigade is so much better! Still, I agree that the UK Subhumans are the more obvious band...Dick Lucas is really an excellent songwriter. Why did Cititzen Fish have to be a different band, though? Couldn't they have made ska albums under the name "Subhumans"? Also, I hate it when people type "Subhumans" out like the logo -- you know, "[SUB][HUM][ANS]".

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 7:12 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    this is some good rock n' roll. Nice to see legendary bands like these come back with solid releases years later

    Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2006-10-03 18:15:04
    My Score:

    Great album......I'll agree that it's nothing groundbreaking, but it's definitely great. I'll also agree that Moving Forward is the best song. I like these guys and the UK band of the same name about equally.....both have seperate qualities.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 4:56 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I think this album pretty much can stand its ground compared to their older material. They more or less took up from where they left off, which is pretty rad, considering how long ago it was they initially called it quits and all the shit thats gone down since then. While its not as good as Incorrect Thoughts, this album is still pretty rad. They really kick it out live too, but unfortunately due to Gerry Hannah's post-Subhumans activities they won't be able to tour outside Canada with him.

    -skizot-

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 2:55 PM (EDT)

    If you lived in Canada, you'd bitch about the US too.

    Your government is fucking it up for ALL of us.

    And all we can do is sit and watch.

    Posted by rkl on 2006-10-03 13:58:44

    the canadian subhumans are like the dc youth brigade... the canucks mayve been first, but the uk band is the one that most people(excluding bsd & his font of knowledge)are concerned about

    Posted by lushj on 2006-10-03 12:30:04
    My Score:

    I'm super-stoked on this- I've always loved the Canadian Subhumans and I was a bit scared before listening to this that it'd be their "Power and the Glory" or "Sandinista"- thankfully it's not.

    The better production is the only difference between this and "Incorrect Thoughts." Really spot-on songwriting here and the production makes every song stand out. I always thought that the muddiness of "Incorrect Thoughts" made it sound more mono-tempo then it actually is.

    Definitely in the running for top 10 of 2006- no kidding!

    P.S.- This Subhumans was one of the first Vancouver punk bands along with DOA and the Pointed Sticks, and started in 1978. The UK Subhumans started in... 1981? 1980?

    P.P.S.- Check out the band's bio, it's a pretty crazy story. The one on the Alternative Tentacles site is lifted from the G7 site, so either label will give you the same bio. Your choice!

    P.P.P.S.- And if Canucks can't comment about the US, can the US comment about Iran? North Korea? Japan? Britain? Mexico? France? Venezuela? Logically that's a dead end fellah.

    Posted by baseball on 2006-10-03 12:29:31
    My Score:

    agree with this review

    pretty good but not very memorable

    Posted by Scruffy on 2006-10-03 12:14:37

    "I am going to start a band and point out every one of Canada's shortcomings as a nation."

    And those would be? All I can think of is the seal hunt, still paying any attention to the queen and Alanis Morrissette.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 11:19 AM (EDT)

    "Whoa, another Canadian band who has nothing better to do than bitch about the US. I am going to start a band and point out every one of Canada's shortcomings as a nation. I am not saying they don't have something to be upset about, but, you know, glass houses and shit."

    Yeah, because Canada's foreign policy really impacts the entire world the way that the US's does. I mean, Canada is definitely a world superpower and all with massive political clout.

    Stop being so defensive about people criticizing the US, you fucking idiot. Those of us living in the US are certainly not the only ones who are affected by our government's decisions.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 10:35 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    These guys are the REAL subhuman. Dumbass.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 10:28 AM (EDT)

    fuck this band, up w/ the real subhumans

    Posted by skankin_in_the_pit on 2006-10-03 10:11:47

    Yeah. I'll even take it a step further. All bands should take their cues from my friends fake posi-core band NEVADITUDE! and only sing about the state they live in.

    Some people are dumb.

    I can't wait to get this.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 8:48 AM (EDT)

    Whoa, another Canadian band who has nothing better to do than bitch about the US. I am going to start a band and point out every one of Canada's shortcomings as a nation. I am not saying they don't have something to be upset about, but, you know, glass houses and shit.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-10-03 02:06:06

    Moving Forward is about the only song that really caught my attention...

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 1:29 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I love this album.

    There's only 2 songs that I don't really dig, but overall it's really catchy and really rockin'. The songs are very easy to sing along to

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 1:15 AM (EDT)

    Why not just call them "Subhumans CA" or "SH CA"? "Subhumans (Canada)" just seems pretty wordy for a punk band.

    --Cos

    Posted by shindo on 2006-10-03 00:13:22

    This is a pretty fair assessment of the record. It's quite nice, nothing world shattering, but it shares many qualities with the latter day Descendents, Buzzcocks, Social D etc releases.

    -adam

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-10-03 00:03:02

    By the way, I believe Alternative Tentacles is releasing this in the U.S.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-10-03 00:02:23
    My Score:

    Agree with this review 100%. Good album, but just nothing incredible.

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