Album Review: Beat Obsolete – Self Titled

Beat Obsolete released their self titled album just over a week ago via A Jam Records, they are a powerhouse punk band that carries an impressive pedigree as their line up includes members of Against All Authority, Load and To Be Hated. Beat Obsolete carry the spirt of their members previous outfits and of those that came before them, but this no regurgitation of the past, they have released an album that carries all the fury, creativity and originality of the first wave of American punk rock and brings it kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Beat Obsolete opens with a short hard hitting self titled rallying cry before they lay their cards on the table with Satan Is President, an apocalyptic slab of political hardcore tinged punk rock dedicated to Donald Trump, a president who has generated even more songs dedicated to his stupidity than even Reagan and Bush attracted. This is not the only song to appear that fights back against the current incumbent, defiance against the current resident of the White House is a recurring theme across Beat Obsolete as Civilised War and C.O.V.F.E.F.E. carry on the fight against the rise of the far right. The ten tracks contained on Beat Obsolete flash past in around twenty three minutes, every track, with the sole exception of the comparatively epic Citywide Destruction, is a short sharp political punch that hits it’s target every single time.

Beat Obsolete have served up an album that carries the feel of old school American punk and hardcore, and with good reason, the political landscape on both sides of the Atlantic has never been more divided and bands like Beat Obsolete are as much a reaction to modern politics as Dead Kennedys, NOFX and The Adolescents were (and still are) and this is a release that carries the same pummelling riffs and hard hitting lyrics. Punk and politics have always been a good mix and Beat Obsolete have picked up the torch, although not a tiki torch, and have released a heavyweight album of defiant old school American punk that appropriately enough crosses the border into hardcore, as we don’t need walls, we need open borders… and bands like Beat Obsolete.

Beat Obsolete can be purchased via A Jam Records here