Refused
The Shape Of Punk To Come
[Epitaph]
Rating: 8.7
It is a paradox ever- haunting the world of politically minded punk: the duality of
words and music, a mission- defeating breach between what is communicated lyrically
and musically. If these bands consider themselves vehicles of revolutionary thought,
why do so many select conventional and cliched musical modes as a means of delivering
this message?
With The Shape of Punk to Come, Refused attack this rhetorical beast with
everything their arsenal affords them. The album flows with an all- embracing
intensity-- not in any linear sense, but with a lateral ability-- capable of
incorporating every piece of inspiration it unearths along the way. Sometimes this
translates into subversion of a familiar sort: brash vocals, distorted guitars, and
relentless drumming; yet, even in these moments, the band reaches beyond familiar
stock, interrupting the accessible pattern of a song with disjointed drumming, lone
guitar riffing, or a completely different shift of song altogether.
In their more intriguing moments, this once strictly hardcore band resorts to
fashions completely foreign to their genre. Brief musical interludes with stylistic
components as varied as electronica and jazz sinuously connect the different tracks.
"Bruitist Pome #5" is a small but tantalizing slab of auxiliary percussion
experimentation-- it even incorporates a vibraphone, an unprecedented move in punk
history. "The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax" begins with a riff plucked on an upright
bass. A classical- style guitar line provides the next layer, while flutes sing
serenely in the background. Not the sort of thing one hears on a D.O.A. record, eh?
Through it all, Refused keeps its Marxist- minded message intact. A fiery intensity
seethes behind virtually every line, regardless of the musical mood being created at
that moment. May the bourgeoisie beware! The band's confrontational approach is
not meant to suggest they're incapable of more uplifting thought, however. The back
of the lyric booklet bears their evenhandedness well: "In such an ugly time the real
protest is beauty."
So, is this album really a representation of "the shape of punk to come?" Are Refused
visionaries who have managed to capture a piece of the future in the stagnating
present? It's doubtful, only because most bands, regardless of genre, don't share
the technical prowess and high- minded production values evidenced throughout this
impressive work. But perhaps others will imitate the band's recognition that the
classics do go out of style, and thus seek to express themselves in new and exciting
ways.
-Kevin Ruggeri