Strawberry Blondes – Fight Back

Strawberry Blondes are a band that not that many people may know on this side of the pond, but the UK band has been making quite a name for themselves back home. Having toured with the likes ofRancid, Bad Brains, The Unseen, Aggrolites, Anti-Flag, Millencolin, Westbound Train, Stiff Little Fingers, The Briggs, Left Alone and Time Again, it would be hard for them to have not caught people’s attention; and with their sophomore album, Fight Back, the band is poised to make an even bigger name for themselves.

Taking elements from a lot of the bands they had toured with, Strawberry Blondes are a mixture of the some of the best punk bands the States has to offer but merged together in one group. The record progresses through different styles as it plays through, pulling in different aspects of varying genres with each passing song. Starting with a fiery opener of Revolution Radio, a track that would fit nicely on theHellcat Records roster, Fight Back kicks off with a straight ahead punk rock vibe. They continue that through the title track and the Anti-Flag-influenced Faded Dreams (packed with the perfect amount of “Woahs”) but they seamlessly throw in a curve ball afterwards with their reggae induced Manners and Respect, Ft. King Django and a fantastic horn section.

Throughout the record they continually mix it up. The entire record has a British punk feel, ala Clash, with a bit of Rancid thrown in for intensity and sing-along choruses; but there’s also a Oi! punk vibe threaded amongst the songs too to add an extra sense of community and working class ethos to the sound. There’s an obvious Briggs influence in the songs while Joey LaRocca from The Briggs even makes a guest appearance in the Joe Strummer tribute Goodbye Inspiration. No Pasaran! sounds like male-led Distillers, Las Brigadas Internationales falls somewhere between The Pogues and Dropkick Murphys without the traditional instruments, and Hard Times pulls in a beautiful horn section just like Snuff.

All of these different styles and genres are tied together with a blue-collar, working class ethos alongside fantastic vocals and interesting instrumentation. It keeps the fifteen track, fifty minute album fresh for the entire time, which makes Fight Back a record that deserves to be heard and Strawberry Blondes a band to keep an eye on.