A FEW NEW CAMBRIDGE REVIEWS

A couple of good ones and one by someone who just doesn’t get it. If you want to decide for yourself, you can stream the entire album at the Dying Scene punk news site, just head on over HERE …

From Razorcake:

CAMBRIDGE:
This Is Not a Victory: CD

With melodic structures and galloping drums, this second full-length from a quartet out of Canada is full-throttle hardcore. Imagine Jawbreaker on crystal meth. Just listening to this will make you sweat. Attacking militarism, American greed and corruption, Cambridge’s sharp, articulate lyrics are rooted in traditional political punk. “Kubark” has a hint of early The Sounds Of Animals Fighting, while “Hole in the Ground” throws in a one of the best guitar solos I’ve heard in a while. Cathartic and inspiring, Cambridge delivers again. Recommended. –Kristen K (Rebel Time, rebeltimerecords.com)

From Absolute Underground:

CAMBRIDGE – This Is Not A Victory

Quick punk licks and fast beats. Say hello to melody people, Cambridge aren’t afraid to say what they think and stick up for what they believe in. With political overtones draped over every song, Cambridge preaches a little louder than I am able to hear, but that doesn’t mean it ever stops being good tunes, it just means that I’m a stoner with the attention span of a small gerbil. But this gerbil was running on his wheel the whole time that Cambridge’s second full length album was playing. Jesse LeBourdais belts out strong vocals throughout the album with a vast range of highs and lows the have you visualizing the spittle flying across the room. The same could be said for the drums that go from fast to faster. Add some solid bass and speedy guitar action and you’ve got yourself one hell of an album. This Is Not A Victory is some of the band’s finest work to date, and thier hard work paid off getting them signed to Rebel Time Records. Cambridge has been around for over five years now and hopefully they’ll have the energy and the gusto to be around for five more.

From Earshot:

Cambridge
This Is Not A Victory
Rebel Time

Vancouver’s Cambridge play a pretty standard form of punk rock, heavy on anger and political themes and steeped in Bad Religion‘s trademark heavy, melodic sound. Though, copping a band who’s style sounded dated ten years ago may not be a great idea. Unfortunately, Cambridge‘s style and approach to music makes them “just another punk band”. Any band with a political message makes one wonder why they’re singing about the injustice in the world instead of going out to try to fix it. It’s hard to tell if the band is being tongue-in-cheek with their lyrics. They sing, “This shit was fucked up before I came along/It’ll be worse before I’m gone” in “Hole in the Ground”. In “It’s All Over, Man”, they sing “No one will remember this song after we are dead”. If there’s humour or irony in their message, it’s buried very deep in their music. Otherwise, it comes off as nihilistic and nothing like the “positive experience” they talk about in their bio. There’s very little that’s memorable here. Skip this unless you really like political punk.

REVIEW OF THE NEW CAMBRIDGE ALBUM

Here’s a brand new review of the new CAMBRIDGE album “This Is Not A Victory,”
from Maximum RockNRoll Number 330…

Cambridge

This Is Not A Victory:

These chaps are Canadian. Which is not a bad start.They play a rough-and-ready mix of the more melodic end of hardcore, like a speeded up Jawbreaker, or a furious Hot Water Music, or a slightly more demonic Good Riddance. Save, instead of songs about angst and emo and whatnot, they’re suitably indignant about covert torture programs and coporate malfeasance. AS one well might be. Don’t have to be Canadian to pen such gloriously melodic defiance, but apparrently it helps. Apparently this is their second full-length. Good family men (wives and girlfriends are the first on the thanks list), which makes me want to check out their first (and hopefully third) record even more. Though, to be honest, I wouldn’t expect anything less from the rather stupendous Rebel Time Records (RK)

You can stream the entire album HERE, thanks to the fine folks at the Dying Scene punk news website.

CAMBRIDGE is on tour across Canada in October. Check their Myspace for dates…

CAMBRIDGE FEATURED ON EXCLAIM MAGAZINE WEBSITE

There is  a nice little blurb about the new CAMBRIDGE album on the Exclaim Magazine website…check it out HERE. The new album, “This Is Not A Victory,” is out now on Rebel Time Records…

AN INTERVIEW WITH JESSE FROM CAMBRIDGE

Jesse, singer/guitarist for CAMBRIDGE, was interviewed on the We All Fall Down radio show this week…

You can download/stream the interview HERE. Questions are asked and answered and songs are played.

cambridge – a brand new tune!

Rebel Time Records is proud to announce that we’ll be releasing some new music by by CAMBRIDGE…great political hardcore out of Vancouver…think Propaghandi, A Wilhelm Scream, Good Riddance, etc…album should be out in June!

Check out the tune “Hole In The Ground” off the forthcoming album “This Is Not A Victory” on the jukebox to your right. Jesse, the singer, says the album deals, in general, with “political douchebaggery”…

Here’s what he had to say about the song “Hole In The Ground,” followed by the lyrics.

“It’s about the Tarsands and the fact that people are still arguing about whether there are environmental concerns not being addressed or the viability of continuing as it is, or any other issues put out by public relations on either side. While they debate, the workers keep working, every day gets worse and it is far beyond any sort repair.

They are digging fuckin’ holes that will never be filled. Any deals were made a long time ago that make all the debating just lip service. I am taking a very cynical position.

Read: Stupid to the Last Drop by William Marsden.”

HOLE IN THE GROUND

You say want to save me, from what I do not know.

But it’s too late for any kind of objection, and it’s too late for any feint of concession,

The deal has already been made.

SO THERE’S NO NEED FOR THIS BULLSHIT ANYMORE

THE TIME HAS PAST FOR US TO DO ANYTHING SO SIT BACK AND WATCH THE ENGINES BURN.

THE GREAT WHITE NORTH’S A FUCKIN’ HOLE IN THE GROUND FOR MONEY.

It’s been 250 years since the smokestacks went up, and our progress has not been receding.

We’ve traded a lot of our life in the name of free trade.

So don’t cry over the water, it was sold from us long ago.

The cost of life is rising but the worth of death is falling,

And life outside of human doesn’t count.

In a Prairie field, a tailings pile becomes a graveyard.

And it works so well.

SO THERE’S NO NEED FOR THIS BULLSHIT ANYMORE,

THE TIME HAS PASSED FOR US TO DO ANYTHING, SO SIT BACK AND WATCH THE ENGINES BURN.

THE GREAT WHITE NORTH’S A FUCKIN’ HOLE IN THE GROUND FOR MONEY.

SO THERE’S NO NEED FOR THIS BULLSHIT ANYMORE,

THIS SHIT WAS FUCKED BEFORE I CAME ALONG, IT’LL BE WORSE BEFORE I’M GONE.

THE GREAT WHITE NORTH’S A FUCKIN’ HOLE IN THE GROUND FOR MONEY.

CLASS WAR KIDS EURO TOUR JOURNAL

The Class War Kids are currently touring Europe and singer/guitarist Patty is keeping a tour journal called “Is This Class War? Yes, This Is Class War” …check it out!

Here’s a couple pics from a show in Germany…

CLASS WAR KIDS INTERVIEW

Maximum Rocknroll magazine said they were going to run this interview, but they never did. So, here’s an interview with Patty from The Class War Kids…

The Class War Kid are a political punk outfit out of Newfoundland, Canada, playing what’s been described as “uber-catchy, melodic, politically-charged, socially-conscious, activist posi-punk-pop.” Bit of a mouthful, but it sums up what they are all about. What follows is an interview with Patty O’Lantern, the Kids main song-writer, singer and guitarist

Could you provide us a brief history of the band?

Dave was playing in a band called Brat Attack and I was in a band called The Embarrassments, I met Dave when Brat Attack came through one year and The Embarrassments opened for them. A few years later he decided he wanted to move from Winnipeg, MB to St. John’s NL, We decided it would be an awesome idea to combine our efforts to try and write something, we also just thought it would be fun to be in a band together. Another friend of ours, Megan, was lined up to play bass and so we needed a drummer. After asking around a bunch we found one in Miles. We got together and wrote
some songs and recorded our first album ‘A Strong People Need No Leader’ toured it across Canada and then got picked up by Rebel Time Records. After the first album/tour we got back home and I started writing a follow up. Miles left the band shortly after the first tour for school and we got a new drummer named Kaitlyn, she was great but she decided she didn’t want to tour so we got Sean instead. Sean had been playing in another band with Dave and so that’s how we knew him. Megan left the band shortly after Miles for personal reasons and we tried a few people out before deciding on Kyle. Honestly I don’t think our lineup has been stronger than it is now. I love everyone who’s been involved with the band, we’re all still friends, but Kyle and Sean have certainly filled in all the gaps and totally raised the bar.

You guys say, and I quote, “The Class War Kids are a political punk rock band who believe that music can be a force for positive change in our world, and that music should be catchy as shit!” Having said that, what’s more important, the music or the message? Do you want people dancing or debating?

I’d like to see both happen at once to be honest, I think debates would
be way more interesting if people had to do the Hucklebuck or the Twist or something and talk politics at the same time; it’d be a challenge for the mind and the body.

The Hucklebuck?! Don’t know that one? You’ll have to teach me…!

The movement is pretty well outlined in the chorus to the song:

‘Push your partner out,
Then you hunch your back,
Start a little movement in your sacroiliac,
Wiggle like an eel, waddle like a duck,
That’s the way you do it when you do the Hucklebuck’

Actually that sounds like a fucking fantastic new way to throw down!

(Editor’s Note: Check out the Music Player to your right to listen to The Class War Kid’s version of The Hucklebuck. This song, (and 3 other covers songs) has been released by the band as a digtial EP, with all funds raised for it’s sale going to Haiti relief efforts. Check out the compilation here and buy it for just $3.00.  Again, all proceeds going to Haiti relief efforts.)

Okay…dance lesson is over, back to nitty-gritty… what’s more important, the music or the message?

Honestly I can’t imagine one without the other. Politics can be really
fucking boring, and it can be incredibly daunting to try to find a
starting point. Music infused with politics is a great way to start. I
don’t know how long it would have taken me to get involved (or if I even would have) without bands like Propagandhi and Rage Against the Machine.
There are PLENTY of other amazing political bands to choose from, those were just the first two that grabbed hold of me and screamed “fucking pay attention!” when I was a kid.

Any bands in particular with a “well thought out” message that have
influenced/inspired your song writing and lyrics?

I am really digging the Rebel Spell lately, Todd is a great lyricist. The
Fallout are super rad too. I’m finding more political bands everyday it’s
really great to know more bands are taking up arms in the struggle.
Broadcast Zero are working on a new record and I’m stoked on that.

OK, what strikes me about the songs on the album “A Strong People Need No Leader” is just how optimistic and, well, joyous, they are. Songs like “Break Me” “We’re Gonna Be Alright” and “Song for the Broken Hearted” are incredibly upbeat, both in terms of the music and the message. You seem pretty sure that “we’re gonna be alright”…how come?

The world has some pretty big problems that need to be solved, but it is a world worth fighting for and a fight worth romanticizing, as far as I’m concerned. Every time I turn around, I realize I am surrounded by love, by hope, and that provides the sense that everything is okay, that we are going to be alright. Our greatest asset in struggle is a positive outlook; negativity is defeating.

Speaking of issues, are there any in particular that The Class War Kids
are trying to get across?

I think we’re humanists, we believe in equality. We’re anti-fascist. I
write about a lot of things, violence; poverty; racism; sexism;
homophobia; I realize those are broad issues and I try to be specific,
thoughtful and inspire a message of hope.

You just released a new CD “Reflection! Rage! Rebellion!,” How
does it compare to “A Strong People Need No Leader”? Any particular
themes? What’s the title about?

The new album covers a range of issues, there’s an anti-military song, the last song on the new album is about sexual abuse, there’s one about the water wars in Bolivia, one about the 2010 Olympics etc… The title is a quote from Oscar Olivera, he was the person who led the riots during the water wars against the Bechtel Company.

You’re currently touring across Canada for the second time, right from
coast-to-coast…how’s that going? Any good stories? Any bands that have impressed you?

Yeah, last year everyone except me made it back in one piece, I was in two halves or maybe it was more like two thirds and one broken third, I’m not sure. This year I’m still in one piece.

Touring is a brilliant experience really; we get way tighter as musicians,
and much closer as a family. We get to learn a lot about geography, one another’s first kisses, eating habits, tendencies to wake up screaming” Where am I?!” all that awesome stuff.

There have been a few outstanding moments; we accidentally woke up in the United States at one point. There was a day Kyle and I rolled in the sand and when we stood up he yelled “Dude I totally feel like cinnamon toast crunch!” I found out that the stage that I broke my leg playing on last year was torn down and they rebuilt it after that happened, I asked the kids to start a petition to get the stage named after me.

So, what’s in the cards for The Class War Kids?

Well we just put out the new record in North America through Rebel Time Records, and we are in the process of setting up a spring/summer tour to promote the record in Europe alongside Fire and Flames Records.

And, I understand that The Class War Kids are featured on a new compilation put out by Insurgence Records and Turn It Down! A campaign Against White Power Music called Northern Aggression: Project Boneyard Volume II…

That’s right. Our song “Common Threads” is featured on the compilation, which should be out by the time you read this. We’re on there with some other hard-hitting bands like Union Made, The Class Assassins, The Fallout, Death In Custody, The Oppressed and a whole lot more. The compilation has been put together as a way of challenging the spread of fascist propaganda (and the accompanying bad music!). Specifically, it’s been put together as a direct response to the most recent Project Schoolyard sampler CD which was crapped out by a bonehead label in the US last year. The Insurgence Records website has lots more information about the Project Boneyard Volume II CD; the reasons for it, the history behind it and the campaign around it. And check out Turn It Down! A Campaign Against White Power Music too! You can also download the first Project Boneyard sampler from Insurgence Records for free.

Thanks for chatting Pat, any last words?

Thanks to MRR and everyone who has helped us make it this far. If anyone wants to stay up to date check out the Rebel Time website
(www.rebeltimerecords.com), where you can get our albums and/or our
Myspace (www.myspace.com/theclasswarkids)

NEW BRAT ATTACK VIDEO FOR “SPARK”

Brand new video for the song “Spark” off of The Brat Attack’s latest Rebel Time Records release “Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage.”

REBEL TIME RADIO: AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AND ALSO ON ITUNES

That’s right…you can now listen to/download all  the episodes of REBEL TIME RADIO, either from the REBEL TIME RECORDS WEBSITE or get it at Itunes…

2 hours of quality punk rock every Monday from 9:00 PM to 11PM on 100.3 CKMS in Kitchener/Waterloo…

CLASS WAR KIDS INTERVIEW IN DISTORTED MAGAZINE

Check out the interview with Patty from THE CLASS WAR KIDS in DISTORTED MAGAZINE (ALL THINGS PUNK ROCK)

Here’s the introduction:

“The recent tragic and catastrophic earthquake in Haiti triggered a global reaction in terms of trying to deliver aid and save lives on the struggling island-nation. The punk community too rose to the challenge and several artists lend their hands and time with benefits concerts, fund raising and auctions as well as digital downloads whose proceeds would benefit Haiti. One of the bands that came to Distorted’s attention are Canadian four piece The Class War Kids. The band released a 4-song Digital EP with all monies received earmarked for relief efforts so we decided to discuss their efforts with Patty (guitars and vocals) as well as the band’s music, mixing pop punk and politics as well as punks problem tackling apathy.”