Growing up, the punk culture was always something that appeared really amazing to me. Looking at the kids at school who wore their hair spiked, torn jeans (they didn’t buy that way from Hollister and Sex Pistols buttons all over their tattered backpacks. But at the same time I had to play devil’s advocate with some of the people around me who identified with it. I mean, how “anti-establishment” is it to buy an anarchy patch from Hot Topic? Nevertheless, I still think it’s interesting and appreciate the music and the branches of it. The following isn’t about any of the varieties of punk though, just some straight up punk music via Anti-Flag and Hostage Calm on their Split 7″.
Split 7″ only consists of a pair of tracks, and that’s not each. Anti-Flag and Hostage Calm both contributed just one lone soldier to the split. Hostage Calm’s “Olly Olly Oxen Free” is the lighter of the two. At first I thought they were a British band because the accent led my ears to believe so. Apparently they’re from Connecticut though. Other than a geographical confusion, “Olly Olly Oxen Free” is a catchy tune that allows it to be a sing along track thanks to its repetition and the light hearted music it’s accompanied by On the other side of the split is Anti-Flag’s “Branded Rebellion.” This track is the attitude of Split 7″. It’s got the punk sound you’d expect from Anti-Flag, and nothing less. Of the two, it’d really depend on your mood when it came to which would be a better was fit for you.
Punk comes in many forms, and while I’ll always question the “mall punks” it’s still a style that resonates with many people and continues to be relevant thanks to bands like Anti-Flag and Hostage Calm. So when bands like that team up for things like Split 7″, it just further strengthen the genre. Get Split 7″, out February 26th on Run For Cover Records.
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