Nevermind the Pistols...
This three piece punk band from the Netherlands have been together for over ten years and 'Start From Scratch' is their second full length album. We have Tom on the bass, Riekus bashing the drums whilst Willem pumps out tasty licks on the guitar. The vocals are delivered by all three members.
From the onset it is clear that this is not going to be just another punk-rock album. The intro is quite epic and could even be considered as prog. Prog-punk, I wonder whether this has been considered before. The chugging guitars would not normally be associated with punk, but when they kick it all off with their punk fuelled vocals, there is no mistake. This is punk rock with a serious rock groove, filled with tasty licks on the guitar.
This brings us to the lyrics. Just to ensure that no point is missed, Antillectual has been kind enough to not only include the lyrics, but also a few paragraphs delving into the topic and the meaning of the songs. There is a serious political statement made with "Start From Scratch". The album does not only discuss the usual anti-establishment and anarchy issues associated with punk songs over the last four decades. Antillectual delves a bit deeper to discuss more pressing issues in the world today.
They also discuss the economical and moral aspects of life, along with our consumerism wastefulness and commercialisation of underground lifestyles such as punk music and, uhm, skateboarding. Retaliation and resistance are expressed with clever lyrics such as "..hope our backs didn't hurt your knives...". Another soft target, George W. Bush, is also exploited with the ska sounding 'America's Worst Role Model', filled with groovy bass licks.
'Some Of My Friends Are Meat Eaters' is a nice little ode to vegetarianism, filled with nice guitar riffs and heavy drums, whilst 'Chinese Takeover' discuss the crisis of Asia's economical growth and potentially being the next super power.
'Our Hearts' was written by ex-bassist, Yvo, and is a resistance song in true punk fashion, whilst 'The New Jew' raises the sensitive subject of racism, which is a little unusual for the generally tolerant Netherlands; and that is exactly the point.
In essence, Antillectual provides us with a little bit more than three chord guitar bashing. They have a few delicate issues to discuss; and they manage this with tasty riffs, clear vocals and twelve fast paced, punk fuelled, political orientated songs. Don't expect anything like the Sex Pistols.