We got bombs, and they’ve got gasoline!
I think that it was those Swedish pop-sensations, Abba that once said, “There was something in the air tonight…”, and do you know what? I think that they were right. Whilst we have been getting excited with the current fashions and musical fads, there is no doubting that bubbling underneath like a volcano suddenly become active again, is the real roots of music. The sort that you can smell the grass, and feel the rich earth through your fingers, as a fresh breeze free of carbon monoxide caresses your cheek. This is the back-to-basics rock that has a homely and old-fashioned feel in that comforting and full of nostalgia way - dripping with folk and acoustics, whilst having a real message.
Just like Dusty Rhodes & The River Band, Langhorne Slim, Rocky Votolato, The Ike Reilly Assassination, Reader’s Wives, Chuck Ragan, Frank Carillo and Frank Turner (to name but a few!), we suddenly see a crop of bands and singers playing this Blues and Country influenced rock, and State Radio are no different, except of course they come from Cambridge (in USA, not UK) and also have a tendency to have a cool Punk and Reggae side that they are not afraid to show.
Here on their single, ‘Gang Of Thieves’ • which is their UK debut single off of their well received album, ‘Year Of The Crow’ - we once again have the deep and political poetry that have made the band what they are today. “Then they sold us down the face of the might river // Sold Turpentine for tea // Hold me now it’s the evil liberator // And he’s coming with a gang of thieves…” goes the chorus heavily nodding towards the race for the White House. We have a heavy bass that sounds almost like the rhythmic dull thud of a double-bass, over gentle guitar licks that take nothing away from the messages of the song.
State Radio are a band that can quite happily mix up Blues/Rock, with Acoustic and then switch seamlessly to Reggae like it’s no big thing. Always preaching musically with their many fights for freedom in a way that we’ve not really seen since Rage Against The Machine, State Radio have been chosen for the forthcoming ‘Justice Tour’, whilst they’ve already been seen by many on the Warped Tour.
‘Gang Of Thieves’ is a good strong song, and it’s only a shame that there is no B-Side, however State radio have the potential to be one of the most infamous, and influential bands of recent times, and this is something that can only be encouraged.