Political punk bands are a dime a dozen. You've got those who genuinely use their music to make a statement, get their voices heard, and bring about change. Then you've also got those who fight the power because it's 'fashionable', or even for the sake of selling records. Look at NOFX. Back in the day, they made some quality albums (I still crack out 'Punk in Drublic ' every once in a while) and they were a fun, skate - punk band. Fast forward a few years, and they see the opportunity to cash in on the increasing opposition to the American administration by releasing a diabolical record in the form of 'War on Errorism' and following it up with the whole Rock Against Bush Campaign.
Fortunately, ZSK don't follow in the footsteps of Fat Mike and his merry band of Anti-establishmentarians They're a band that have consistently released politically themed-albums, while still maintaining a quality, angry and truly genuine sound. 'We are the kids' proves just that. Consisting of a selection of the greatest tracks from their last two albums and an EP, this record has a steady stream of good tunes. Kicking off with 'Hello 1984', we're introduced to the paranoid themes of ZSK's music in a classic punk package. Inspired by George Orwell's '1984', it is a great opener and one of the strongest tracks here with its interesting vocal harmonies and relentless off-beat snare drumming. However, it does already highlight one of the problems with the album. Despite being a German band, ZSK have written many of their songs in English, and sadly the ideals they hold end up translating into amateur-sounding lyrics.
Despite this flaw, there are some killer tracks on this record. 'Riot Radio' and 'Small Steps' stand out head and shoulders above the others, especially with the latter's infectious chorus. At times there are elements of Rise Against creeping in, and on the intro to 'Was Uns Noch Übrigbleibt' this is most evident. The German-language tracks fare well here, although I feel the weakest parts of the album lay amongst them. While this may be my bias against songs I can't understand lyrically (and quite unhelpfully there's no translation provided), there are much stronger tracks here than the two continental additions. Put simply, this is a solid album of politically-themed punk from a European band. Combined with the CD inlay that provides background information about the ideas behind the record as well as a free 'Take Action!' CD Rom, 'We are the kids' is well worth a look.
Andrew R
» Listen on Myspace
