Slow Faction has been one of the UK's finest political punk rock bands for nearly a decade now. Having already issued a digital retrospective that would be envy of most punk bands (political or otherwise), Slow Faction seems poised to launch the more "mature" phase of its career. New album Culture & Other Wars is an auspicious start to the next era of Slow Faction. If you're worried that John might have finally turned to dub mixes and children's choirs, fear not. Such things will have to wait until at least the next album. But on Culture & Other Wars, you can definitely hear the musical progression from earlier releases. Style-wise, the band remains firmly planted in the territory of '77 punk. That said, John's songwriting has evolved to highlight proper musicianship and give songs more room to breathe. Three of these six tracks exceed the four-minute mark, and one even stretches to five and a half! Yet as I listen to this album, none of the songs drag or feel unnecessarily long. When you get to the heart of the matter, this is a vintage Slow Faction record full of anthemic punk rock songs with a political message. It's bookended by a pair of songs that all fans of the band will be familiar with. "Culture War" laments the way the powers-that-be have utilized the media to get us fighting amongst ourselves while they stick it to all of us ("Living Marxists sucking Koch/They seem to like his money a lot" has got to be the greatest punk lyric since Joe Strummer made that one particularly keen observation in "Death or Glory"). "Bubblegum for Josh", a song inspired by a quip I once made about the band's lyrical content, is nothing short of a Slow Faction mission statement. At this bizarre moment in time when "social justice warrior" is some kind of put-down, this song reminds us that it ought to be a badge of honor. "You've Been Fooled Again" is an impassioned indictment of post-Brexit Britain that pulls no punches. Elsewhere, the band turns its attentions away from contemporary politics and towards the lessons of history with songs about the Paris Commune of 1871, the consistently tragic consequences of imperialism, and the last 75 years of American foreign policy (absolutely spot-on, John!).
While Culture & Other Wars clearly finds Slow Faction progressing musically, it does so without veering from what the band does best: politically-minded punk rock in the classic style. Of course you can't separate Slow Faction's music from its message. But if you had too much time on your hands and chose to cover these songs with re-written lyrics about pretty girls or drinking beer, they'd still be terrific tunes. With all that's going on in the world right now, I can't wait to hear the songs this band will write next. Tonight I will drink to another decade of Slow Faction -- at least!
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