Great Collapse

Neither Washington, Nor Moscow... Again (2018)

Jefftommy

“LISTEN, NAZI, NEVER AGAIN!”

This rally cry is as powerful as anything Thomas Barnett has ever shouted over the blaring roar of his brand of punk rock.

If Donald Trump has given us nothing else positive during his tenure of presidency thus far it’s this emotional, politically charged music, inspired by his madness, from those within the punk rock community. Corruption, lies, war and death have always made for compelling music. Not that this record is aimed entirely at the current administration.

The title of Great Collapse’s sophomore LP, “Neither Washington, Nor Moscow… Again”, seems to be a play on The Redskins 1986 album, “Neither Washington, Nor Moscow”. The Redskins were a powerful, though short lived, anti conservative band in their own right. “Think the Jam, the Clash, the Specials, Dexy’s, The Fall and the Supremes all rolled into one,” according to an online retrospective review.

Former Strike Anywhere singer, Thomas Barnett, has never shied away from spewing his political ideals over a punk rock soundtrack. Strike Anywhere released 4 amazing studio albums and a handful of EP’s but has yet to release anything new since their acoustic record in 2012. Thank the lords then for his side project super group of sorts, Great Collapse, which boasts a strong punk rock pedigree. Barnett is joined by current/former members of Rise Against, Set Your Goals, Death By Stereo and Love Equals Death for their second full length.

2014’s Elemental EP gave us a promising 5 songs

of politically charged melodic hardcore that teased us for the next record

“Holy War”. Though “Elemental” felt a bit like a band finding it’s footing as a

unit it gave us that raw angry punk rock we’d come to expect from this

gathering of veterans. “Holy War” missed the mark slightly though with melodies

that did not hit as hard as they could have and the poppier side of the music

taking precedence.

On the bands latest outing, written over the course of a summer, they continue

to follow that melodic hardcore path that some of their previous bands blazed,

peppered with Barnett’s in your face anti racist, anti war, anti piece of shit

social commentary. Barnett has never been one to mince words and this release

is no different.

“A Tale of Two Cities” begins with just Barnett shouting “like the dog’s of

Western culture!” When the rest of the band kicks in things take off, setting

the tone for the rest of the record. “Who Makes?” ends with the aforementioned

“LISTEN, NAZI, NEVER AGAIN” chant seguing into “Atomic Calendar” making for an

incredibly potent and moving moment, which is the crux of this record. We see

what the government is doing and we won’t take it anymore is a central message

at play here. Musically speaking, there are still a few of those poppier

moments on this record but they work alongside the faster cuts helping each

other shine in their respective moments. “Colony Blackout” sees the band enter

new territory with a somber acoustic intro before kicking you in the face with

that melodious, pummeling punk rock making it a stand out on the record. It’s

this acoustic intro that that helps break up the monotony of the record. While “Neither

Washington…” is a fantastic outing by a band that seems to have finally found

their groove as a cohesive unit the songs tend to blend about halfway through

the record. Each song is powerful in it’s own right but it’s a heavy subject

matter sung to songs that tend to sound similar which has always plagued this

brand of punk rock.

This is hands down the best release thus far by Great Collapse though moving

forward it would be exciting to see them challenge themselves and the listener

by switching things up musically here and there a la the Colony Blackout intro.

Lyrically speaking, Barnett is on top of his game here, really picking at the

scab of America. This is something everyone can relate to no matter which

country you reside in. This is a terrifying yet fascinating time to be alive

and it’s great to see someone another band from the punk rock community take

the bullhorn and shout out what everyone is thinking over an amazing punk rock

soundtrack.