When precisely did punk stop being a threat? Arguably, by 1980, after the Pistols had spawned infinite imitators and the vigour of punk as a real challenge to music, culture and the industry, punk's revolutionary force had dissipated and become absorbed by the mainstream, at least to an extent. But the punk renaissance of the 90s is what really grates with me. It's the Green Day brigade, the churning out of formulaic poppy tunes, the party punkers. Slightly pissed-off lyrics and tattoos doesn't make it punk. Rehashing the same old crap ain't gonna change anything, and it's not even about asserting individuality: quite the opposite, in fact, and these bands are guilty of reproducing the kind of uniformity and conformity they're supposed to oppose.
Versus You's seven tracks are pretty much of a muchness, all cut from the same neopunk template, that well-worn blueprint that means they sound like any of the predictable unthreatening 'punk' acts favoured by Kerrang! TV. Taking an indie slant on the punk pop sound, 'This War is Like a Drug to You!' is particularly lame and tame.
White Flag may be contemporaries of Black Flag, but the latter had the sense to call it a day a long time ago, and whatever your opinion of Henry Rollins' subsequent musical output, credit is definitely due for having the decency not to go on churning out the same kind of stuff in diluted form for another 25 years. In fairness, White Flag's tracks are by and large punchier and more old school / authentic sounding than Versus You's, but their half of the album still suffers from being weak, mediocre and overtly poppy. It's not that I can't appreciate pop, but the pop end of punk really is so far removed from the spirit of punk that I find it hard to dig. That goes tenfold for generic, un-catchy punk pop. Sure, I get that it's supposed to be fun, but in reality it's just a drag.
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Versus You on MySpace
White Flag on MySpace
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