The Subhumans are back! The popular four piece who were bred out of Wiltshire a staggering 24 years ago have returned with a blistering live album which is released under the Fat Wreck banner and is the labels fifth ‘Live in a Dive’ release and the first by a non Fat Wreck band. And it has turned out pretty fucking fine. Having only reformed in 1998 after the split of ’85 it is as if they were never away as they bang out a colossal 26 tracks in 60 minutes with minimum of ease and fuss.
‘All Gone Dead’ is the first of many tracks including ‘Apathy’ and ‘Subvert City‘ to motivate the crowd into a drunken punk rock frenzy. This is continued with the likes of ‘Cant Hear the Words’ and ‘No’ which are bursting with energy and have infectiously catchy yet gritty chorus’s. ‘Waste of Breath’ tends to dip a little in consistency as it veers from the clever to the dull while the likes of ‘Business Man’ and ‘Nothing I Can Do’ also fail to completely capture the imagination.
‘Somebody’s Mother’ is a lot subtler than some of the other more outlandish tracks but is still brimming with ingenuity as the frenzied crowd lap it up while ‘Animal’ is another that doesn’t quite hit the spot but still manages to keep your attention. ‘Its Gonna Get Worse’ features a prolonged intro and stands out amongst the 26 tracks as the bursting drums create a frenzy of noise, which can also be said for the ear splitting ‘Peroxide’ and ‘Reality is Waiting for a Bus’. With the former skipping between the lightning pace of the verse to the binary opposite of the calm of the chorus, the latter is simply one minute of sweat drenched punk rock.
As you may know, the band are not afraid to shy away from more politically charged songs and the likes of new effort ‘This Years War’ (Iraq) and Pigman (Vegetarianism) show the bands ideals in the perfect light. The similarly themed ‘Evolution’ is another that bursts out the blocks at a monumental rate while keeping you thinking the whole while.
It all closes strongly with crowd favourites ‘Mickey Mouse is dead’ and the politically upbeat ‘Work-Rest-Play-Die’ which ends a hell of a long trip through 24 years of Subhuman punk rock. This is yet another fine release for Fat’s ever growing library of artists on the Live in a Dive train and will do neither the label or the band any harm in shifting a few more CD’s. This is beyond the word ‘must for any Subhumans fan’ and for those who are not familiar with the band but love their punk gritty, dirty and beer drenched then this could be the kick you are looking for.
Jay