Album Review

Steve Ignorant and Paranoid Visions – When?

• 11th Nov 2013

Former Crass founder and front man Steve Ignorant still has the voice and the angry politics that brought him to the fore all those years ago. After recording a couple of songs with Dublin punks Paranoid Visions last year, Ignorant has now teamed up with the band once more to record a full length album – and very good it is too.

When? has twelve tracks that combine Ignorant’s strong vocals and anarcho-punk style political lyrics with the heavy guitar sound that has made Paranoid Visions so successful. The result is a powerful collection of mostly fast paced songs that seethe with rage. There is a brutal simplicity to the fuzzy guitar chords and the frenzied drumming behind the screams. A variety of targets get both barrels as Ignorant works himself into a frenzy, ranting against the system and the enemy.

The real surprise on the album is the superb Log On/ Bog Off, an acoustic tirade against the overuse of the internet. Attacking those who spend all day in front of a screen, controlled by what they see, the track is a real contrast. Soft acoustic guitar is the last thing you would expect on an album like this, but the hard hitting lyrics are somehow emphasised by the restraint with which they are delivered.

No Contrition is also very good, a track that opens with a burst of fast guitar that is straight from 1977. This is probably the most authentically old school punk song on the album. There are also several where very specific targets find themselves in the firing line. Charity Begins At Home starts with a news clip attacking Bono and goes on to satirise charities that raise fortunes yet distribute little to those they clam to help. Changing Times also opens with a news story (an old Crass trick), this time a piece on the Catholic Church’s cover up of child sex abuse by priests. Sex Kills attacks the objectification of women through pornography.

When? Is basically a good updated take on punk music. There are some new subjects and some old ones, but the approach is as hard hitting as ever and the effect is as stirring. Steve Ignorant has lost none of his old fire – and that’s great to see in an age of boy bands and manufactured music.

Venue: When?
Support Band: FOAD